June 1st, 2018 was the day I blew up the transmission in my 2005 Silverado 1500. After taking me through 23 states, hauling trailers, conquering blizzards, slinging mud, etc, the transmission finally let go. It was a sad day. Now faced with a nearly 14 year old truck with over 135,000 miles I had to think long and hard about calling it quits and buying a new one.
After weighing my options all that weekend I bounced back and forth between finding a good used transmission, having mine rebuilt locally, or towing the truck 170 miles to Level 10 based on the recommendation of a trusted friend. After some sleepless nights and with that terrible gut feeling in my stomach that I might not be making the right decision, I decided to take it to Level 10. That terrible feeling was not because of Pat or Level 10, it was simply because sinking thousands of dollars into an old truck when you have an 82 mile round trip commute to work every day is a bit intimidating. The sensible side of you votes for the 2018 sitting on the dealer lot, the emotional side of you says keep the truck you have all these great memories in.
After arriving at Level 10 using my dad's truck and a friend's trailer to get it there, I reluctantly gave up my keys and limped the truck into a parking spot. It was a sad drive home that night all the way to Upstate, NY, but I knew my truck was in good hands. I had Pat's assurance that I would love his truck specific transmission build he was putting in it with a 2500 stall torque converter, all upgraded internals, shift kit, and his magical transmission tuning (more on that later).
The next day I get a call from Pat, using his usual line, "Happy (day of the week) how are you today?" As of 9:10 am, only 2 hours after they open, he told me he had the transmission almost out of the truck. Fast forward a whopping two days and I get another call, the truck is done. In the span of three days my truck went from broken down and unuseable to perfectly running.
As a natural born skeptic I was very curious if I would notice much if any driving difference from before the transmission blew. No one will believe me when I say this, but I am dead serious when I say the second I shifted it into drive it was like driving a totally different truck. The shifts into drive are instantaneous. As I pulled out onto the road the higher stall torque converter became very apparent. The truck genuinely felt like it had another 20-30 hp/tq on the low end and is so much more responsive at low throttle inputs. With 33" mud tires, 3.42 gears and the fairly high first gear ratio of the 4L60e transmission, having a little bit higher stall makes a world of difference.
The real surprise was when it shifted into second gear. I was genuinely bewildered at how smooth yet firm it was. By the time I got to overdrive I was finding it hard to believe that the truck still had a 4L60e in it. At the next intersection I let it rev out to about 3500-4000 rpm. It was at this point that I discovered a new world. I suddenly realized why people go to level 10 and spend their hard earned money on these things. I've never felt a transmission that can shift so quick and firm yet not jerk you around and scare your passengers. Kickdown when trying to pass cars happens twice as quick, it holds gears longer (partly thanks to the higher stall), and definitely seems to stay locked up a little longer in overdrive.
What is most amazing of all is full throttle accelerations. In tow haul mode letting the truck wind out to redline the shift into second is so fast the tachometer has no chance of keeping up. It's hard to explain, but with the torque management eliminated and the firmer shifts the truck actually accelerates harder after the shift into second than in first gear, a feeling you never got with stock transmission tuning. In stock form, these trucks fall on their face after shifting into second gear. I can't stress enough how much better it is than stock.
Despite only having the truck for a week I have already towed a 5500lb trailer with it and I can say that I've never had so much confidence in the truck than I do now. Anyone who knows 4L60's knows that their 1-2 gear ratio is a very large split (3.06-1.62). As a result, it is easy for your truck to get stuck at about 3500 rpm up steep hills with heavy loads where it won't shift into first until you've slowed all the way down to 30mph. This forces you to manually hold your truck in 1st or to accelerate up to say 50mph, let it shift into second, then slow all the way down to 30 and repeat. This is incredibly frustrating and can make towing trailers much more painful than it needs to be. Fortunately, the transmission now will kick down at around 40mph which is huge, and the shift itself into second doesn't lose nearly as much momentum as it does stock which also greatly helps.
Overall I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The service was fast, everyone I spoke with was super nice, and the results a read more
