This is not a business, nor do I plan for it to ever be. But if you are rebuilding or upgrading your own 4L60E, you'll quickly find that it's impossible to find a reasonably priced rebuilt valvebody that has an actual listing of what's been done to it. And no before/after leakage readings. Frustrated, I bought all the tools necessary, and learned on several transmissions I've done for myself and local guys. But for the DIYer doing just his own, this isn't feasible. Now there's a way.

I am equipped to rebuild 93-2008 4L60E, 4L65E and 4L70E valvebodies from any vehicle so equipped.

Price is $400 plus shipping (and $100 core if you send yours back later). Add $50 for spacer plate repairs and mods.

1. Buyer pays 2-way shipping of the valvebody (buyer cost TBD, at pirateship.com rates)
2. Includes all usual Sonnax parts (see next post), and everything you need to reinstall the valvebody (pan gasket, filter, valvebody gasket, etc).
3. Additional parts at extra cost, as needed (see next post)
4. I am happy to accommodate custom parts, or if you've already purchased parts, to use yours.
5. I can repair and modify your spacer plate for an additional $50.

If you need to minimize downtime, I have a limited number of '96 cores on hand. I can ship you a rebuilt one and you return yours. Core charge is $100, fully refundable within 30 days assuming it doesn't need additional work. Otherwise I can turn yours around in 36 hours.

I am located in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. For more information, hover over my username, click "start conversation" and send me a message.

 

Detailed Standard Parts List:

1. Sonnax 77754-04K TCC PWM regulator valve assembly. - Permanently fixes P1870 codes and TCC shudder
2. Oversized 4-3 sequence valve: Sonnax 77964-04K
3. *Sonnax 77964-08K O-ringed end plugs (two needed, comes in a pack of 5)
4. *Sonnax 77754-35K Abuse valves, springs and tighter plugs (two needed, comes in a pack of one)
5. *Four torlon (plastic) check balls (Sonnax 10000-08) for key locations (I'll reinstall all check balls with transjel for you) (these are included in the Sonnax HP-4L60E-01 shift kit). Fix any worn checkball orifices in the spacer plate with the Fitzall VB-101 kit (services five orifices).
6. For '94-95 valvebodies, modify the manual valve to cure the lo-reverse design defect, eliminating reverse failure.
7. *NOTE: starred parts are ones you can install yourself without special tools if you are wanting to upgrade your valvebody on a budget.

Assembly parts included:

1. New valvebody gaskets
2. New filter screens in separator plate
3. New filter (stock, or truck depth (+$5))
4. New pan gasket.

Optional parts deducted from your core charge:

1. Accumulator valve: Sonnax 77777M-K $50 installed (these are rarely needed)
2. AFL valve: 77754-09K $65 installed (these are rarely needed)

Parts you must buy and install (or I can supply - PM me for details): (preferred vendors: Summit Racing, Jegs or Rock Auto)

1. TransGo drop-in pressure regulator valve, part number 4L60E-PR (do NOT get the OS oversize one; it requires a reamer and pump disassembly to install)
2. Sonnax 4L60E-LB1 boost valve or Transgo .500" boost valve.
3. Strongly encouraged: New GM or Borg Warner EPC solenoid (pre-2003 design).

Necessary tools:

1. Transmission Pressure Gauge that reads to 300psi. I like the OTC 5610 (comes with two gauges (0-100 and 0-300) and a quick-disconnect), but the GearWrench 3343D works and is half the cost. Why do you need it? To verify before and after improvements, and check that your EPC solenoid is working properly.

 

Are you machining provided pumps as well? I have a couple 94ish pumps that need to be machined

 

@dloch I am working on a machine shop connection locally but don't have that lined up yet.

 

Thanks.

 

@dloch the rear face is pretty easy for any shop to do once the stator shaft is pressed out. The critical item is the front face with the guts - they'll need to match the slide thickness with 0.010"-0.015" clearance.

 

you should turn the pump with whatever stator you will be running installed, that way the face will be perpendicular to the stator bore.

 

Update - a number of refurbished valvebodies are for sale on Ebay. To see if I could save money and time, I bought one from a seemingly well established vendor who clearly knew his stuff and had lots of positive reviews. What I received was a bone stock, untouched core that, according to my test equipment, was worn in every single typical circuit, and two solenoids were damaged. Be careful who you go with. Hopefully this vendor just shipped me a core by accident. I'll keep you updated.

UPDATE 2 - The vendor swears the one I got was legitimately refurbished. He offered to send a replacement; I guess I'll give him a second chance.

UPDATE 3 - Vendor quietly refunded my money and that was the end of that. Buyer beware.

 

Wow, what a difference a pressure regulator valve makes. I will beat this drum all day long. I pulled the transmission on this Impala only 3000 miles after a rebuild because of intermittent soft shifts and seeing line pressure oscillate under load. I replaced the pressure regulator valve (in the pump, above the boost valve) with the Sonnax oversize one (requires a reamer), added forward and reverse abuse bore plugs in the valvebody, and reinstalled.

The line pressure is now rock solid. Zero oscillation. The shifts are consistent and repeatable. Amazing difference.

Bottom line, if you are at DIYer at home, keep your 4L60E alive by swapping to a TransGo or Sonnax boost valve, and a TransGo drop-in pressure regulator valve. This can all be done in the driveway just by taking off the pan; no transmission removal required.

I don't care if you have me rebuild your pump and valvebody, but it MUST be done by somebody with vacuum test equipment and the Sonnax reamers (which many of their valves require). It is the secret sauce of 4L60E longevity.

 

Parts list and details updated.

I also highly recommend the OTC 5610 engine and transmission oil pressure gauge. You'll need something that reads 0-250psi. I'm very pleased with this gauge set.

 

Some valvebodies I did recently, including a '95 for forum member @cappy p:

Here's the forward end of a '95 valvebody. It has two solenoids and both are identical. This end plug I'm pointing to always gets mushroomed and fights me on the way out. The center two get replaced with o-ringed end plugs.

The AFL valve was pretty leaky; this controls feed oil to the solenoids, and can cause oscillations in line pressure when worn. The little block of steel to the left of the reamer is a shim that Sonnax includes to stiffen the accumulator oil release.

This valvebody got the full treatment - new 3-4 relay valve bore, TCC PWM regulator bore, and AFL more. All full of Sonnax oversized valves.

TransGo reverse abuse bore plug, made out of steel, very tight, with some Loctite 609 to further seal it. NOTE - do NOT use this on the forward abuse bore plug; it will interfere with the valve outboard of it, although you can grind the valve down a bit to make it work.

 

Sonnax pinless forward accumulator piston cleaned and reinstalled.

Factory accumulator regulator valve cleaned and reinstalled with the shim at the end of the spring (see the right side).

From left to right:

1. Sonnax 77754-04K TCC PWM regulator valve.
2. Sonnax 77964-04K Oversized 4-3 Sequence Valve Kit.
3. Factory valve with Sonnax o-ringed end plug.

Sonnax 77754-35k reverse abuse valve with TransGo steel abuse bore plug. See all the wear on the factory aluminum one, and how wide the bore hole is? TransGo shrinks that down quite a bit to reduce oscillation movement.

 

Sonnax 77754-41 HD 2-3 shift valve reinstalled. Factory valve is on the right. This applies the overrun clutches while the shifter is in D, giving more strength and support to the input section of the transmission. The downside is that you feel the 3-2 and 2-1 downshift because there is no longer any overrun.

New AFL valve going in. The reamer for this one is $$$ and it's definitely a tricky install. But the leakage is completely eliminated.

You'll probably never see these posted on the internet, but I promised I'd post before and after data. This is hard to interpret for the novice, so to summarize; @cappy p before/after is on the right column, Ed C is on the left.

1. 203B reverse abuse bore plug went from 13.5 to 18.5" of vacuum. This supplies the 3-4 clutchpack.
2. 204B 3-4 shift valve went from 12.5 to 20.5." This supplies 3-4 clutchpack.
3. 205B 3-4 relay valve went from 11.5 to 21.5." This supplies line pressure.
4. 205C went from 14" to 19". This supplies 2nd gear.
5. 205D went from 7.5" to 20.5." This supplies 4th gear.
6. 206A/206B is the infamous TCC PWM regulator valve - 25" is perfect; these are basically there.
7. 207A is the AFL valve - went from 12.5 to 25." Left alone, this would have eventually caused poor line pressure rise and transmission failure.
8. 208A accumulator valves are always around 15-16", even the replacement Sonnax valves.
9. 211A mysteriously dropped a bit on both valvebodies even though I used the TransGo tight abuse bore plugs with Loctite 609. Oh well, they're in there good, and they won't ever get leakier like the factory ones do.

If there is 'n/a' in the middle column, that means there's no aftermarket valve available for that bore.

 

Reserved for Ed C valvebody pics.

 

Reserved for Ed C valvebody pics 2.

 

Reserved for Ed C valvebody pics 3.

 

Ed sent me some pics. He installed my rebuilt valvebody along with a new boost valve and TransGo Drop-in Pressure Regulator valve. He then competed in a road rally. Road race, drag race, autocross.

'96 Roadmaster wagon, full bolt-on. 139,000 miles on the original 4L60E.

93 tune by Solomon, shorty headers with Pypes X-pipe and exhaust, no cats or emissions, 52mm TB, K&N CAI, 3.73 gears.

Didn't finish so great on street tires against a very competitive 20-car field with track tires, but hey, he's out there!

Ed opted for the Sonnax Heavy Duty 2-3 shift valve which keeps the overrun clutches engaged in D for more input torque capacity.

 

No slouch on the autocross.

Zero problems the whole time. He took my advice and used the cheapest DexMerc3 he could find. Just flush it out the cooler line after competition is done, and be on your way. Takes 10 minutes with a helper to start/stop the engine while you work the milk jugs on the cooler line.

From Ed: "Trans felt great. We had a guy with a 95 z28 who had a freshly rebuilt 4l60e that started having issues leaving the drag strip and ended up having to get it trailered home. Not sure the issue but I had been talking up your valve body and telling him a lot of what you had told me. "

 

Might be hitting you up for a VB, injectors, and tuning software soon. Just picked a 96 RMS with 125k that's bone stock. Gonna make some upgrades and then give it to my father for his 69th birthday this year.

 

125k is right where I see most valvebodies getting pretty worn. Doing this work will guarantee a trouble-free experience for him. We can drill out the shift feed holes in the spacer plate to give slightly quicker shifts too if you like. Send me a direct message whenever you're ready to proceed.

 

A few great links from Sonnax:

Valvebody layout: this link ; great resource in case you get confused putting your valvebody back together.

Why I never just block the TCC regulator valve full open; I exclusively use the Sonnax 77754-04K TCC regulator valve in all my rebuilds: A comprehensive look at all the fixes out there.

How to avoid losing your 3-4 clutchpack ever again. I follow this guide to the letter on all my rebuilds.

 

Just sent out a '96 VB to a longtime friend up in the northeast USA, @95BRMW. He contacted me about a '96 RMW he recently acquired with 125k and TCC shudder on it. He's already replaced the boost valve and pressure regulator valve which helped significantly. This will be the full and final solution. Bring it to ISSCA Nationals and run it wide open on the road course Dave!

Reamed out for Sonnax 77754-04K TCC regulator valve (permanent fix), and 77964-04K 4-3 sequence valve (this has become standard since every valvebody I've tested has lousy vacuum here). AFL valve tested good at 20" of vacuum so I left it.

All checkball locations filled with assembly goo, plus some extra in the upper right for holding the checkball next to the 4th accumulator. Four plastic checkballs pre-installed in the high-wear locations.

Fitzall VB-101 checkball fixes to the two most commonly worn locations. Main feedholes drilled out to 0.093" except for the 1-2 shift which I drill out to only 0.086" for street applications. TransGo and Sonnax both recommend 0.093" but I find it too harsh at part throttle. AFL feed drilled out to 0.052". Valvebody and case gaskets also included (not shown).

New modified EPC solenoid filter included. This is the finest filter in the whole transmission and tends to clog. The only way you can get to it is to remove the valvebody. Dumb. TransGo has you drill the top so it works like a bypass filter until it clogs, which is a pretty smart plan B. Cork pan gasket also included.

Truck pan filter. this one had a busted nub on the bottom but it doesn't affect filtration. I had one with a cracked top recently and it failed a vacuum test. This one passed, so it's good to use.

 

This is why component testing is so important. Normally I do before and after, but this time I was assembling a previously disassembled core valvebody and went ahead and made all the usual upgrades before testing. @95BRMW 's is on the right column. The 205A-C bore readings (highlighted in red) were way below what they should have been. I investigated and discovered that the inboard valve was not where it should have been. Turns out I had missed a spring. I installed the spring and re-tested, and the values all passed. In case anyone's wondering, the 77964-14K reamer is unavailable and impossible to find (I've tried), so I ream and install the 77964-04K as most of the wear is always in 205B, C and D. That reamer took me almost a month to locate and procure.

202A and 202B are both for the '95-earlier valvebodies; @Sshockr 's valvebody was a '95 and so he had real readings there; the '96-up are wide open due to a different 3-2 downshift valve layout.

 

Update - I updated post #3 to star the parts you can (and should) install yourself if you install a shift kit or remove the valvebody for any reason.

 

Video on how to install the boost valve and drop-in pressure regulator (PR) valve: