Like Lav74 (Rob) said it is in our interest to save money where we can. Our dealerships are always recommending new and expensive parts on cars that are always falling apart.

"Your 83 Dodge Dynasty need brand new door handles, locks and a grill- Total $1700"

Responce - umm... I just use it to get to work and back.


This is an actual experiance for a girl I know. She literally didn't have anything in the car but a snowbrush and a bottle of Heat. The lock was damaged on one side (not both), one door handle was broken but still operated, the other just had little cracks in it. The grill is shattered but holds together fine. The rest of the car has the faded paint, you get the idea.... but $1700 in repair fora car worth $400 tops????

She was actually going to pay for it until I had her go on ebay for locks and handles... told her to forget the grill.

 

I agree with Bowtie, and freely admit there are some places that "prey" on the lesser knowlegable. With ANY customer pay job at a dealership orantwhere else for that matterthe CUSTOMER has the final say as to what is done and what he/she will pay for. I have worked at several dealerships and aftermarket shops as a tech and I remember like it happened yesterday, I quoted a customer several thousand $ repairs for a car which wasn't worth the repair bill. I knew it and the customer knew it, But he said to do the repairs because it was cheaper than car payments. Bottom line is before anyone gets into your pocket, take it somewhere else for a second opinion, If a Dr said you had a fatal illness you would, No one is going to fault you for it then learn the word NO. It is amazing how much those two littleletters can cost/save you. The value of any vehicle is only whatever price someone is willing to pay.

lav-- the 4t65 behind the LS4 is not the completely the same as the 4T65 you find behind the V6. It is actually an HD version with a lot of internal mods to handle the power/torque of the LS4. $3500 is a good price installed for the HD version, thats what I spent for a 4T65 in my 96 Z34 2 years ago with 3/36000 warranty.

 

No comment....

 

Eh, 3000 for a tranny installed at ZZP that can handle low 12 second quarter mile runs, continously, as seen being used in many cars that are throwing down 350-380 horsepower, and have been doing so now, for over 3 / 36,000.

Just figured I'd throw that out there.

-Keegan

 

We just take a general look to see if there is anything obvious. Check the tires for evidence of wheel spinning,inspect the wheelwells for presence of molten rubber particles,check for the presence of a trailer hitch & question what the weight is of what is being towed to name a few things. As far as modifications,things we do not want to see:wheel/tire combinations much larger than original,other than OEM intake manifold,headers,evidence that a nitrous system or other power adder has been on the vehicle. Cat back systems,CAI systems do not really add enough power to a vehicle to consider either to be a major contributor to a transmission failure. We also do not waste anytime trying to find out if there has been any modifications to the PCM/ECM tune calibrations because its pretty much impossible for us to detect this. I'm sure that eventually I will be removing the trans. from my 2007 SS for modifications. There are a number of strengthupgrades available from ZZP that I will be considering. These include the input shaft,oil pump driveshaft & possibly a gear ratio change kit.A shift improver kit should always be installed.I have the shift kit from ZZP installed in mine.The 4T65E's used in the LS4 cars are HD's with more strength upgrades than the HD's used in the 3800 engineW-bodies. One item that I do have my sights on is the Torsen differential (part#88958682) that is available from GM Performance Parts for the 4T65E. This differential will deliver a very close to ideal 50/50 power split to the front wheels,similar to a posi/limited slip differential but without the clutch plates.

 

I'd love a torsen diff, but they are pricey... I know a GM tech here in town that can probably get a better price on one, but I'm looking for one at store crasher price... which I know won't happen. Until then, I'll keep risking the 1 wheelers at the track, but so far so good.

To comment on these quotes:
There were HD versions of the 4t65 on every L67 powered car from '97 and on... it's only in the L36 that you would see a 4T65e (non HD)... no HD diff, and different output shafts.

and

What are these special strength upgrades? I'd be hellishly curious to know, because a 4t65e-HD is a 4T65e-HD... no matter how you slice it, though there have been slight improvements over some of the electronics attached to itsince its inception in '97.... I'll read up when I have a chance to try and put some facts behind my post.

 

The wholesale price on the Torsen differential is in the $1700.00 area! This indeed is a great upgrade but the cost is extremely offensive!To the best of my knowledge the upgrades listed below are found only in 4T65E HD's in LS4 cars.
These are the upgrades that GM made to the MN7 version of the 4T65E-HD transmission to be able to handle the increased torque outputof the 5.3L LS4. Attached is the spec sheet listing the improvementsfor the LS4 version of the MN7. This information was obtained from a GM proving ground engineer on another forum.





- 258mm, RI 15 Torque Converter
- Enhanced Heavy Duty 3.29 Final Drive
- 2.93 Effective Final Drive
- Transmission case for transmission mounted starter
- Net-formed Input Sun Gear
- Ceramic bead Peened Final Drive Sun Gear
- Input/Reaction Carrier Assembly

[blockquote]- Contour Hardened ReactionInternal Gear[/blockquote]

[blockquote]- Input Carrier & Gear Asm. with lube grooves[/blockquote]

[blockquote]- Shot-peened, Black-oxided Input Carrier Pinions[/blockquote]

[blockquote]- Shot-peened Reaction Carrier Pinions[/blockquote]- Shot-peened Final Drive Sun shaft
- Upgraded Drive sprocket Thrust washers (new for high speed capability)

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