Nov 26, 2020 What Does A Shift Kit Do For A 4l60e? Adding a shift kit to your 4l60e equipped car, truck, or SUV will help correct and improve the lazy shifting that the 4l60e is somewhat known for in factory form. Properly installed shift kits will make all shifts more firm and quick without making it feel like you got hit by a train. GM 4L60 Transmission Shifters Go Custom - add a Custom Shift Knob! Get the right fit with a Shift Knob Adapter for your vehicle. Push Button Transmission Shifter Kit w/ 6” Black Arm for GM 4L60. Designed for use with GM 4L60E automatic transmission. This unique shifter features reverse and neutral safety lockout button and safety switch. Multi-point installation positioning, shifter rotation for precise comfort. Brushed hi-tech aluminum knob. May 25, 2019 Installing the Go Shift Transmission Controller from FiTech for GM 4L60E, 4L65E, 4L80E, and 4L85E. The Art Carr/Winters Shifter Sidewinder is available in Stock and Reverse Patterns. Winters Shifter for TH400, TH350, 700R4/4L60E, Powerglide, & more.
A shift kit is a great way to improve the performance of your 4l60e transmission, but there are a number of things to consider before installing one. When most people think of installing a shift kit, they have the notion that their car will have violent and jarring shifts. While this can be achieved if you desired, the fact of the matter is that a shift kit in your 4l60e will not only benefit you, but improve the way the transmission works.
What Does A Shift Kit Do For A 4l60e?
Adding a shift kit to your 4l60e equipped car, truck, or SUV will help correct and improve the lazy shifting that the 4l60e is somewhat known for in factory form. Properly installed shift kits will make all shifts more firm and quick without making it feel like you got hit by a train. Similar to a corvette servo upgrade, this may help prolong your transmission’s lifespan by reducing the amount of slip between shifts. This is highly recommended in performance or towing applications.
What’s the Best Shift Kit For A 4l60e
With how common the 4l60e is and the popularity of retrofitting classic cars with modern transmissions, there are a number of 4l60e shift kit options.
The most popular 4l60e shift kits include:
TransGo 4l60eHD2
TransGo is arguably the leader in the shift kit game, and rightfully so. Their kits are extremely high quality and produce reliable results without breaking the bank. The kit includes all the parts you’ll need for a few different transmission shift improvements ranging from an upgraded stock feel to what users may call a race oriented feel.
The TransGo 4l60e HD2 has complete instructions for the DIY user that are easy to follow.
TransGo HD2 4l60e Shift Kit Reviews
4l60e Shifter Kit
Sonnax Performance Pack
The Sonnax Performance Pack (HP-4l60e-01) is more of a “shift improvement” kit as opposed to a traditional shift kit. However, this does not mean it is any less effective. The Sonnax Performance Pack is a great upgrade for any heavy duty or performance oriented vehicle. All of the components in the HP-4l60e-01 Performance Pack work in conjunction to fine tune transmission line pressures, accumulator and shift calibration.
Overall, the Sonnax Performance Pack is a great way to improve the performance of your 4l60e with quicker, more firm shifts under any load.
When it comes to installing a shit kit in your 4l60e, it can be tricky for someone whos never done the install before. While there are detailed instructions, things can still be confusing. However, there are plenty of guides and resources available to help you correctly install your shift kit.
There are various components that can be used to make the kit work differently depending how you set it up.
This video does a great job of going over the TransGo HD2 kit, and how to properly install it in your 4l60e.
While the purpose of a shift kit is to improve how firm the shifts are, there is the potential for “harder” shifts. A high quality kit will improve the shift feel without making a harsher shift. However, there are kits out there that will make the transmission shift very hard, almost too hard. These kits may do more harm than good, so be sure to do your research before buying or installing a shift kit.
Since a shift kits purpose is to have quicker, more firm shifts, a transmission in a race oriented application may make the car quicker with a properly calibrated and installed shift kit due to the reduced delay of the shifts.
A shift kit is designed to improve the shifts your transmission makes, but there is a risk that a shift kit that’s improperly installed may hurt your transmission. However, a properly installed and calibrated shift kit will do no direct damage to your transmission. Your right foot on the other hand…that might hurt your transmission over time.
Shift kits can have various feelings, but the commonality of all shift kits is a more crisp feeling shift. Some kits may feel like you’re being hit by a train during a shift, and others just take the “laziness” out of shifts.
Installation of a shift kit in your 4l60e can vary depending on your skill level and experience. For a professional who deals with the 4l60e on a regular basis, installation can take an hour or 2. For the average DIY weekend warrior, installation can take anywhere from a few hours to all day. Depending on your mechanical ability and familiarity with transmission internals, a shift kit installation my be something you let the professionals do for for you.
If your transmission has any slipping issues before installation of a shift kit, odds are that there are other issues at hand. A shift kit will not directly fix a slipping transmission that has pre-existing issues such as work out clutches.
July 15, 2014
Here’s a simple electronic device you can make with only a few switches, a project enclosure and a salvaged wiring harness connector. It allows direct control of shift solenoids A, B and TCC while bypassing the vehicle computer. All 4 forward gears and the converter clutch can be controlled independently to determine if an electronic problem is in the transmission or not.
Have you ever heard of a Schaffer shifter? Probably not, but if you work on automatic transmissions professionally, you have. It’s an extremely useful piece of diagnostic equipment to help technicians solve electronic problems while the transmission is in the vehicle. It’s different from a diagnostic scanner which plugs into the OBDII port under the dash. Those are mainly for reading trouble codes. The Schaffer shifter, on the other hand, can be plugged directly into the main harness connector on a transmission substituting for the computer. It’s basically a 12 volt powered box with many switches and other controls to manually manipulate the various solenoids inside the transmission while the vehicle is on the lift or even traveling on the road. An assortment of connectors allows it to be used on a wide variety of vehicle makes and models. Equipment like this is expensive and therefore cost prohibitive to most people. Let’s take a look at a similar homebrew device we can build on the cheap!
4l60e Shifter Connection
Here is my first experimental shifter made from components in my junk drawer. The parts are: a fused cigarette lighter plug, an enclosure from another project (with extra holes), 3 spst switches, 8ft. of multi conductor cable (I used ethernet cable), and a junkyard section of wiring harness with the connector.
Take a look at this schematic. This is what you must build. I used a multitester to determine which wires corresponded to connector pins A,B, E and T.
As you can see it’s pretty simple. First of all, notice the 12 volt positive side goes straight through the device without being switched at all. It goes from the center conductor of the cigarette lighter plug (+) all the way to pin E on the harness end. For safety, make sure the cigarette plug you use is the type with an internal fuse. The fuse should be .5 amp. The three spst switches control shift solenoids A and B, as well as the torque converter clutch solenoid (TCC) by grounding them.
Here's a view from the transmission case connector and the actual components being controlled.
4l60e Shifter Control
Here's how to use the shifter:
Disconnect the vehicle wiring harness from the transmission at the case by sqeezing the sides together while pulling the connector up. Connect the shifter you have made to the transmission. Now route the cable from under the vehicle into the inside without letting it drag the ground. Plug it into the cigarette lighter recepticle. Start the engine and while holding the brake put the transmission selector into drive. After releasing the brake, you can manually command the 4 forward gears.
This is the switch logic:
4l60e Shifter Cable Adjustment
1st gear - sol A= ON sol B= ON
2nd gear - sol A=off sol B= ON
3rd gear - sol A =off sol B= off
4th gear - sol A =on sol B= off
The TCC switch can be switched on at any time. Confirm clutch is working by noting a drop in engine rpms.
Note: I did not test the shifter on a pwm TCC type transmission. Because the amount of clutch engagement is related to the duty cycle of the PWM solenoid which is controlled by the vehicle computer, the switch may not function.
4l60e Shifter Linkage
Hot rodders and street machiners could use this shifter as alternative to expensive custom wiring.
4l60e Shifter Linkage
One more important note: Because the pressure control solenoid is not wired in this simple shifter, transmission line pressure will be at maximum. Watch out for the neck snapping shifts!!