Transmission Vendor Recommendations

[Matt69olds]

I only take vehicles to the dealer for covered maintenance or warranty work. Just recently I had a vehicle at the dealer here. Their rate was over $200/hr. I did a double take to see if my eyes were deceiving me. That’s double what most professionals are making in this area. Using my formula (billing for about triple what an employee’s hourly rate is), the technician’s must be making close to $70/hr; though I highly doubt it.

I worked in a Cadillac/Buick dealership about 30 years ago. At the time, the labor rate was 45 an hour, the top guys made about 12. Warranty work in a dealership SUCKS!! The flat rate time estimate is a rip off.

The last dealership I worked in was Buick only, this was 25 years ago. The labor rate was 60, I made 15. The old timers there told me in the “golden years” the shop/labor was split 50/50.

I made far more money at the Buick only dealership, but working flat rate sucks. The pay is so unpredictable. You could t pay me enough to go back to turning wrenches for a living. It’s ok as a hobby.

 

[Matt69olds]

No reading between the lines is necessary. He's primarily building "racing transmissions" these days, so of course he's going to focus on the stronger transmission to work with. 4L80e's are the new TH400s in my mind. Nobody chose a TH350 over a TH400 for their race car before the modern transmissions were introduced.

The OP's Blazer does not need a "racing transmission". A 700R4 will suit his Blazer well, and save on the expense of retrofitting anything.

I have bought lots of stuff from Jake. He definitely caters to the high performance crowd.

This isn’t 1985. The reputation the early 700s had is hard to overcome. In typical GM SOP, they continually improve a design until it’s basically perfected, then cease production to start over with another design. By the time the 4L70E (top of the line 4L60E with tons of factory upgrades) was done, it was a pretty good transmission. They used it in the 500hp corvette, so it has potential. The electronics is a big help, the PCM pulls timing for a split second during shifts to limit shock loads. Obviously, that’s not a option on our vehicles.

A 700 can be pretty reliable behind a 500-550hp engine. If it’s something you are really going to beat on, like a truck with huge tires, it’s best to be conservative with the power. If you just can’t help yourself, then just bite the bullet and use the 4L80. The problem with a 700 is about the time you build enough hydraulic pressure and enough friction material for ideal clamping force, that’s about the point you start breaking parts. There are a ton of aftermarket upgrades available to deal with parts breaking, but the get expensive pretty fast. That’s money better spent on a stronger transmission in my opinion.

None of this is really relevant to the OP question. A well built 700 will last just fine.

 

[TFerguson]

Been a while since my original post, but wanted to send an update to any who might give a rat's...

I was finally able to locate a local shop that was willing to rebuild the 700R4. Before I found them, I ran into a lot of "we only replace, don't rebuild". The shop I went with is Gearbox Transmissions, in Richmond, VA. He quoted me a price that was basically what it would have cost me to buy a stock-spec reman unit from a big name vendor and do it myself. They basically replaced everything, from the sound of it, including the valve body. And I made sure that also included the torque converter and sun shell. While it was in there, I also got them to put a posi in the rear and install 4.11's front & back. It's a small shop, and they stay really busy, so it took a couple weeks.

So now it's shifting much better and definitely peppier off the line and less "boggy" at highway speeds with the 4.11 diffs. Time will tell if the trans holds up, but if I have issues I'll update this post.

Thanks again for all the good suggestions and insight!

 

[Snoots]

Glad you found someone to do it and you're happy with the results.

Thank you for letting us know how it turned out. A lot of people don't and upon them I wish fleas ;-)

 

[oldretiredafguy]

Been a while since my original post, but wanted to send an update to any who might give a rat's...

I was finally able to locate a local shop that was willing to rebuild the 700R4. Before I found them, I ran into a lot of "we only replace, don't rebuild". The shop I went with is Gearbox Transmissions, in Richmond, VA. He quoted me a price that was basically what it would have cost me to buy a stock-spec reman unit from a big name vendor and do it myself. They basically replaced everything, from the sound of it, including the valve body. And I made sure that also included the torque converter and sun shell. While it was in there, I also got them to put a posi in the rear and install 4.11's front & back. It's a small shop, and they stay really busy, so it took a couple weeks.

So now it's shifting much better and definitely peppier off the line and less "boggy" at highway speeds with the 4.11 diffs. Time will tell if the trans holds up, but if I have issues I'll update this post.

Thanks again for all the good suggestions and insight!

As someone said earlier on the forum, the adjustment of the kickdown cable is the most important part of the re-build process. I assume that the shop did the complete remove and re-install?

 

[SirRobyn0]

Been a while since my original post, but wanted to send an update to any who might give a rat's...

I was finally able to locate a local shop that was willing to rebuild the 700R4. Before I found them, I ran into a lot of "we only replace, don't rebuild". The shop I went with is Gearbox Transmissions, in Richmond, VA. He quoted me a price that was basically what it would have cost me to buy a stock-spec reman unit from a big name vendor and do it myself. They basically replaced everything, from the sound of it, including the valve body. And I made sure that also included the torque converter and sun shell. While it was in there, I also got them to put a posi in the rear and install 4.11's front & back. It's a small shop, and they stay really busy, so it took a couple weeks.

So now it's shifting much better and definitely peppier off the line and less "boggy" at highway speeds with the 4.11 diffs. Time will tell if the trans holds up, but if I have issues I'll update this post.

Thanks again for all the good suggestions and insight!

Hey Rick. I've got a 700R4 about to be rebuilt. Like you I've not been happy with the local options but was finally pointed to someone not to far away I think he's like 25 miles from the farm or something like that. Got a good reference for him, called him up and he seem to know his stuff. He's a one man operation, and I like that. Also like you I need to re-gear, my current rear end is a Semi-float 3.41... That's terrible with a 305 BTW. But I want to swap to the full float. Anyhow just want to relay the beginning of my story to you. I've got my own thread going on it to BTW.

 

[TFerguson]

As someone said earlier on the forum, the adjustment of the kickdown cable is the most important part of the re-build process. I assume that the shop did the complete remove and re-install?

Yep - I've read about the TV cable and how critical it is to adjust it correctly on these transmissions. They did specifically say that it was adjusted after the rebuilt trans was in. From what I understand, the true test is to ensure the 1-2 shift occurs right around 20mph. Mine shifts at about 18-19 (was previously at 20-21), which I think is spot-on, due to the lower gears. Good reminder - thanks!

 

[TFerguson]

Hey Rick. I've got a 700R4 about to be rebuilt. Like you I've not been happy with the local options but was finally pointed to someone not to far away I think he's like 25 miles from the farm or something like that. Got a good reference for him, called him up and he seem to know his stuff. He's a one man operation, and I like that. Also like you I need to re-gear, my current rear end is a Semi-float 3.41... That's terrible with a 305 BTW. But I want to swap to the full float. Anyhow just want to relay the beginning of my story to you. I've got my own thread going on it to BTW.

Thanks Rob - sounds like you're following the same path I took, for sure. So far my results have been good - hopefully yours turns out the same. The lower gears definitely make a difference, especially with the 33's I'm running. Best of luck with yours!

 

[SirRobyn0]

Thanks Rob - sounds like you're following the same path I took, for sure. So far my results have been good - hopefully yours turns out the same. The lower gears definitely make a difference, especially with the 33's I'm running. Best of luck with yours!

I'm running... A little wider than stock tires, but stock 31" height, but I do a good bit of towing and hauling with the truck so that's the reason I'm after lower gears.