Big block with manual transmission recommendations

SO what did I do wrong to only get an ave of 30K out of a th400 and early 4l80e tranny? I had a 700r4 go longer along with a 4l60! Probably the slow speed, steep grades etc I did frequently. The 4l80e/th400 is one of the tallest geared auto's with a 2.48-1 first gear. THe 700r4/4l60e auto and allison have 3.1 first gears. SO better take off from a start without issues of heating the tranny up!

GM used an NV4500 in the 93-2000 trucks behind the 350/454 and 6/5td, Before than a muncie 4 spd. That is a better tranny than the 4l80 if you do a lot of towing. The 93 and 94 had a wide ratio, 95 and later the narrow ratio like Dodge.

Marty

I would try to expand your year range one year to 2001. Then you can get a Chevy with the awesome 8.1L and a 6 speed or the excellent Allison auto. I've owned 3 Chevy's with Allisons: '01, '05, '07. They have all been flawless and these are work trucks that haul and tow hard.
The 8.1L is certainly my choice for a big block. The one in my '01 dually is quiet, smooth, reliable, and powerful.
With a 2001 2500HD or 3500 truck you will also get other upgrades of frame, brakes, etc. that will help in towing.

I had a late 80s Chevy 3/4T diesel 4x4 with an overdrive automatic in it that I couldn't find any fault with. I did have it rebuilt once, but I really abused that poor truck.

I haulded a lot of heavy loads of firewood and 8 fuel drums in it at a time. Had to put on Hellwig overload springs on it to handle the loads and a very heavy TC.

Plowed snow with it for twenty years, usually with one or both axles chained up. Came 40 miles back accross country on the tundra and iced over creeks one time with two trucks chained on both axles pulling a dead Nodwell trailer.

Broke the frame in half one time and blew out the front end another. Also tore the splines off of the front drive shaft once. In 140,000 miles only had to change the OD tranny once, I thought that was pretty good considering everything I did to it. The guy I sold it to is still using it for garbage runs and plowing his own drive.

If you really want an automatic to survice heavy loads, put a larger cooler on them and a larger capacity finned oil pan.
Bill

I'm using a 1997 F250 heavy duty. 460 7.5 5spd manual. I have the 4.10 rear end. Extended cab. 72k miles

I tow a pretty small Terry 5er 22'. Depending on what is in it it weighs around 5500. On DOT scales. Fully loaded I'm 900 lbs under max payload. Max trailer weight for the truck is right around 10k. I've done close to 8k and it wasn't bad even in the Wyoming mountains.

I also tow a gooseneck horse trailer with 3-4 horses all the time with it.

It is paid for and what I could afford.

Ford does not recommend towing in 5th/OD. So towing in 4th mainly keeps the speed down unless you want to run your rpms up. Although I will shift into OD going downhill at times unless I need 4th to keep my speed down. I generally cruise along the highways at 55-60 while towing. So I won't win any races and it will slow down some on the hills. Pretty reliable motor and transmission.

I get around 13.5 mpg empty going 65 and 9.5 with the fifth wheel going 55-60. I think that is above average for this motor, but I live 30 miles from town, no traffic around me and I drive pretty conservatively.

We like the truck, wish it was a crew cab. No frills just a truck.

The 4l60 is******compared to the 4l80, In fact the 4l80 is very much the same as the 3 speed one you referred to. I have a 2000 k3500 454 with the 4l80 and I just put it in 3 when towing.

Chevy does have a very good manual tranny in that era as well but I do not see them often and they are usually on work trucks not the plush leather crew cab like mine.

The 4l80 is the best rated tranny in the pre 2000's for automatic in a gasser. (probably diesel as well)
Good luck on your decision,
Paul

et cetera wrote:
It's the newer ones I am worried about. I had a 4L60E disintegrate at a relatively low mileage and since then am skeptical.

The 4l60e isnt even in the same ball park as the 4l80e. The 4l80e is basically a Turbo 400 with OD electronically controlled. Even in stock form its one of the best 4 speed autos out there.

Do some searching on performancetrucks.net and you'll find many swap to the 4l80e when adding power mods to their vehicles.

I have a 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500HD with an 8.1L big block with a 6 speed manual. I had to special order it. They are really pretty rare.

Any Chevy/GMC pickup that came with an 8.1L will have the Allison if it doesn't have a manual. We have three other HD Chevy trucks, and they all have the 4L80E. Buy with confidence, if you can't find a GM truck with a manual either the Allison, or the 4L80E is a solid, reliable transmission.

I had a 1983 GMC Suburban 2500 w/7.4L, Turbo 400 and never any transmission problems. I have 2001 Chevy 2500 Suburban with 8.1L and 4L80E transmission and have never had any transmission problems the GM Exec. I purchased it from towed horse trailers before I bought it and owning it for 11 years still have never had any transmission problems. I suspect you will have problems finding a big block in a Chevy or GMC with manual transmission, as the the majority purchase with auto, and some models have the Allison transmission, if I recall.

I personally would not own a manual transmission in a tow vehicle.

Most of the guys with big 5th wheels were using Dodge pickups with diesels and manual trans. Everyone else seemed to be using automatics in the Fords and Chevies.

I had a 1986 1 ton chevy with a 454 (7.4 L) but had the turbo 400 auto no over drive. I pulled a 38 ft 14000lb 5th wheel with it. No transmission problems in 15 years.

I currently have a Duramax diesel with the Allison automatic and exhaust brake, I wouldn't tow with anything else. This in my opinion is the best towing setup to come along.