newbie has a tranmission question????

[blackbird77]

Let me first start by saying hello to all!!

I have been a fan of the f-bodies for a long time now and still think they are some of the most beautiful cars on the road...

With that said I am the owner of a 2000 Trans Am in which I bought new when I was 18..I have done alot of work on this car and is my pride and joy...
My problem is the transmission, it is a 4l60e and has been nothing but trouble for me.The car has only 65k on it and has had the tranny out and "built" 3 times now, I just cant seem to keep it in the car..I was wondering if their are any other options for me in the tranny department..I have heard of guys swaping out the 4l60 for a th400 of 700r4 and was wondering if this was a good change or should i keep the 4l60 and have it rebuilt again...I do hope that someday i will be able to swap it out for a t-56 but that will not be for a while..I am making about 475-500hp now on motor and have a 200 shot of juice to go with it..As far as the current tranny, it is a stage 3 build with a 4400 stall (way too big) and vette servos.. The issue is that it will now go into ANY gear but park every other gear is like neutral no reverse or drive it will just rev like it is in neutral..Any ideas on what could cause this problem??
I was doing a burnout when it went to shift into 3rd and hit rev limiter and that was all she wrote...done...Any help on this issue would be GREATLY appreciated because of money issues and the time it takes to remove the tranny i havent been able to enjoy my baby in 3..yes 3...years..It sadens me everytime i go to my garage and see it under the cover..........

Thanks for any help,
Blackbird77

[Injuneer]

A 4L60E is the same trans as a 700R4, but with no electronic shifting controls. If your builder can't build a 4L60E, he won't know how to build a 700R4 any better.

The TH400 is very strong, but it has no overdrive, and the RPM on the freeway with no O/D will drive you nuts and eat fuel like crazy. I know... I have one. But my car was built for the track. I added a Gear Vendors O/D unit, to try and control the RPM on the street. If you go with the TH400 you have to have all the tranny controls deleted from your PCM. The Gear Vendors unit is an excellent piece, and very reliable, but you are looking at $2,500 for a new unit (I got mine used for 1/2 price).

4,400 stall is way too high if that's a brake stall. My TH400 convertor has a 5,000rpm flash stall, on the 300-shot (800 ft-lb), but on straight motor (500HP) its a 3,500rpm brake stall.

Try Rossler for a beefy 4L60E build. Or look into Performabuilt. They have demonstrated the ability to handle the 4L60E. Another alternative is a 4L80E, but that's big, heavy and an expensive conversion.

[blackbird77]

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it...I hope that i can get it fixed soon..Thanks again..Do you have an idea on what is wrong with the tranny that i have in the car now from what i described??

[blackbird77]

I have done a little research and have found that the PCS (pressure control solenoid) in the tranny could cause the problem that i have described..Does anyone know of this and if so how hard is it to replace, does it intail removing the tranny or can it be done in the car??