Manufacturer General Motors Predecessor Turbo-Hydramatic | Production 1992– Successor 6L80/6L90 | |
Class 4-speed longitudinal automatic transmission | ||
The 4L60-E (and similar 4L65-E) is a series of automatic transmissions from General Motors. Designed for longitudinal engine configurations, the series includes 4 forward gears and 1 reverse gear. It is an evolution of the Turbo-Hydramatic 700R4, originally produced in 1982.
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The 4L60-E and 4L65-E are built at Toledo Transmission in Toledo, Ohio and have also been built at Romulus Transmission in Romulus, Michigan and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
The two transmissions are differentiated mainly by the number of pinion gears in their planetary gearsets: The 4L60-E has four, while the heavy-duty 4L65-E has five. Other elements of the 4L60-E design were strengthened when the 4L65-E was introduced, but these were incorporated into the 4L60-E in 2002.
Gear ratios:
4L60-E
The THM700 was renamed "4L60" (RPO MD8) following the new General Motors naming convention, when the electronic version, 4L60-E (RPO M30), was phased in. This happened in 1993 for trucks, vans, and SUVs, and 1994 for rear wheel drive passenger cars. In 1996, a bolt-on bell housing was phased in (along with a six-bolt tailhousing) for S-10 Trucks and S-10 Blazers and beginning in 1998 for all other applications. Beginning in 1998 a new 300mm torque converter with improved higher-capacity internals, 300mm style input shaft, and 300mm style pump was also introduced on models coupled to a Gen III Small Block. The 4L60-E is rated to handle up to 360 ft·lbf (488 N·m) of torque.
The 4L60-E family of transmissions use 2 shift solenoids, initially called Shift Solenoid A & Shift Solenoid B, later changed to comply with OBD II (On Board Diagnostics revision 2) regulations to 1-2 Shift Solenoid & 2-3 Shift solenoid. By activating and deactivating the solenoids in a predetermined pattern by the PCM, 4 distinct gear ratios can be achieved. The shift solenoid pattern, also sometimes referred to as solenoid firing order, is as follows;
Shift Solenoid Pattern
Applications:
4L65-E
An updated 4L60-E, the 4L65-E (RPO M32), was phased in the 2001 model year when coupled behind the 6.0 Vortec. Five-pinion front and rear planetaries, along with an additional 3/4 clutch allowing 7 clutches in the input housing and induction hardened input shaft assembly, were improved to withstand up to 380 ft·lbs (515 N·m) of torque.
Applications: