* Level 5, Performance Built 4L60E Transmission, 4L60E / 4L65E / 4L70E Electronic Transmission, “4L60E Extreme Raptor”

Description

4L60E Level 5 Extreme Raptor

– Stronger because it has the “Smart Tech Input Drum” .
This drum is able to use 9 Red Eagle clutches and 8 full thickness Kolene steels with a special ZERO-FLEX backing plate.

– Faster because it has our PATC “Power Gear” planetary.
This planet gear has the correct gear ratios so you don’t get the usual RPM / power drop-off between first and second gears.
This gearing will lower your quarter mile time by 3/10 to 5/10 of a second.
This transmission is able to handle extreme horse power.

We have many reports of the Level 5 Extreme Raptor transmission holding 1500 horsepower.

Lets take a look at our build in detail.

1.    We start with ripping out the factory 4 pinion rear planet and replacing it with a modified (to improve oil flow) 5 pinion  planetary. 4L60E Extreme Duty rear planet with 5 pinion gears. This planet gear is twenty years past due, this has always been a weak point on the 700R4 transmissions. These 5 pinion 2002 type gears are at least 25% stronger than the old type. The use of five pinion gears for the input and reaction gear sets spreads the torque load so that less of the load is held by any one gear. This five pinion reaction carrier was designed for the increased torque load of the 6.0L version of the Gen III V-8, as well as Corvette LS6 engine. The 5 pinion gears are a great feature. 

2.       The next major improvement we perform moves us to the PATC 6 pinion front planet gear that controls first and second gear ratios. In High horsepower applications the factory 3.06 1st gear ratio gives a less than desired RPM from 1st to 2nd. If you have a larger cam with a lot of duration on a tight LSA (Lobe Separation Angle) then your recovery when engaging 2nd gear puts you at an undesirable rpm that doesn’t make a decent amount of port velocity, giving a slight lull upon apply. This also holds true with turbo chargers and centrifugal superchargers. The flip side to this is that the 3.06 1st gear is over and done with so quickly that it is practically a wasted gear. We have corrected both the 1st and 2nd gear ratios by changing them to 2.84 1st gear and a 1.57 second gear. This gives you less RPM drop between the first 3 gears improving E.T. times as much as .4 tenths as tested and confirmed by Champion Motors in Canada. This close ratio 700R4 gear set will have a 11.72% less RPM drop between 1st and 2nd than the wide (stock) ratio gear set. In other words the close ratio gear set will only have 88.28% as much RPM drop as the wide ratio gear set. This is what people have been asking for, for years. These will work on any 4L60E / 700r4 type transmission without a gear ratio error code, if the PCM is modified. The sun gear is made from 4340 billet steel and the pinion gears are 4130 steel. This gear set is used to reduce torque multiplication / rotating speed in the transmission in first gear. This improves track applications that overpower the rear tires upon launch. This is common with numerically high final drive ratios. Now you will have a choice between the wide ratio or the new close ratio gear sets. This planet gear has the correct gear ratios so you don’t get the usual RPM / power drop-off between first and second gears.

3.       The 3-4 clutch failing has long been the big issue with these transmissions. The issue has always been deflection of the 3-4 backing plate that occurs during high pressure apply (see video below of the Smart Tech Input Drum). This was caused by flexing in the backing  plate and snap ring. Flexing / Bowing of OE and other aftermarket backing plates is eliminated with this heavy duty bolt-on backing plate. This unique design ensures even clamping of the 3-4 clutches in higher horsepower, higher pressure applications. By eliminating the 3-4 snap ring and using a stiffer backing plate, space is made available for one additional friction and steel. This makes it possible to simultaneously increase the clutch torque capacity and eliminate the possibility of retaining ring blow-out. A steel reinforcement sleeve prevents breakage in the spline area. Housing fatigue failure resistance and housing life are significantly improved with a special treatment process that reduces stress crack formation. “Thirty years in the making, these were the last two parts needed to make the 700R4 / 4L60E truly an awesome transmission” (#2 & #3).

4.       This is the answer to every shaft concern you have ever had. During our testing when developing our 300 Maraging steel (Vascomax) shaft we found that even heat treated shafts and conventional 300M shafts would twist and deflect. This twisting would cause the fluid passages within the shaft to become out of round, leading to fluid issues within the transmission. Our 300 Maraging steel shafts differ from conventional 300M shafts in that they are a high nickel alloy, virtually Carbon frtransgoee, Have a much higher yield point (294,000 lbs vs 243,000 lbs per square inch), and are age hardened. This makes this this shaft incredibly stable, when age hardening process is performed on this shaft shrinkage is less than .001. Other manufactures typically opt to use 300m material due to the fact that 300 Maraging steel is typically 3-4 times more expensive in raw material and requires more expensive tooling to work with this harder material. We have designed these shafts with no TCC check balls (No capsule ball assembly). The removal of these TCC check balls will result in a firmer torque converter lock-up. This also allows the Lock-up clutch to apply at a much faster rate due to there being no restriction for exhaust of the oil. When you look closely at the check ball you will notice there is a small hole that allows the oil to pass at a certain rate. In testing these shafts the splines and shaft held to an amazing 1800 ft. lbs of torque before the spline eventually gave way. We highly recommend these shafts for use in vehicles with high horsepower and frequent drag racing. This Shaft is also recommended for vehicles towing heavy loads or Trucks with oversized tires.   

5.       The Sonnax Smart Shell 77749-02K is a heavy duty reaction shell kit with revised thrust loads. Stripped or cracked shells are a problem in 4L60E units, however an equally common problem is a failed rear planet captured bearing. The Smart Shell is the only heavy duty shell to address both issues. The Smart Shell is made of thicker material and the hub area is strengthened further with a steel collar that is precision welded to the shell. The splines are heat treated with a tested process to ensure strength and longevity. The lugs that engage the reverse drum are heat treated as well to avoid flaring. By replacing the black plastic washer with a thrust bearing and controlling the height of the modified OE race, the Smart Shell reroutes thrust loads away from the captive rear planet bearing and sun gear. The rerouted end play / thrust loads pass through the new thrust bearing and modified roller clutch race directly to the rear planet carrier, completely bypassing the vulnerable captive rear planet bearing. See details below. Smart Shell Features. Reinforced shell withstands torque load at the hub. Large bearing supports shell to withstand thrust load. Thrust load passes directly to the carrier from the shell through the large bearing and race, bypassing the small captured rear planetary bearing. In addition to torque load damage, thrust load flexes and breaks shell at the hub bend. Thrust load passes from shell through the sun gear, then overloads the small captured rear planetary bearing.

6.     Remanufactured high performance transmission pump assembly. We blueprint this pump and Dyno test each one upon assembly. We install the upgraded billet 13 vane billet pump rotor and slide. We also add our larger .500 oversized boost valve along with several other proprietary modifications such as our high output pump slide spring that keeps transmission fluid pressure steady at RPM’s in excess of 7,500 rpm’s.

7.     “MegaRaptor-2L” This is our 10 1/2 inch Billet Converter with a Billet Clutch Apply Piston that will not flex. It has a very large carbon clutch with 40 square inches of clutch lining. The torque multiplication rates can be ordered in 2 to 1, 2.5 to 1 or 3 to 1. The torque multiplication of this converter will deliver an increase of up to 50 horse power to the rear wheels. The MegaRaptor-2L with its carbon fiber clutch will withstand power levels of 1000 horsepower. This 10 1/2 inch converter can be ordered with stall speeds of 2000 to 5500 RPM. 

8.     13 Vane Billet Steel Pump Rotor. Made from 4140 steel then heat treated. The stock pump rotor has been known to explode with very fast acceleration due to sudden centrifugal force shock.

9.     Pinless forward accumulator piston. In 4L60E units it is common for the plastic forward accumulator piston to wear or crack. This causes a fluid loss resulting is delayed engagement, slips, burned clutches and/or band. Repeated reciprocation of the accumulator piston causes the piston pin bore to wear. Fluid loss through the piston pin bore or cracks causes forward clutch to slip. The stock accumulator piston can develop a large pressure leak at the pin area over a period of 50 to 100 thousand miles. 

10.     4L60E Heavy Duty 2-3 Shift Valve. Sonnax has developed a drop-in replacement 2-3 shift valve that applies the overrun clutch in D3, 1st , 2nd and 3rd gears where the factory valve applies the overrun clutch only in D3, 3rd gear. Applying the overrun clutch in 1st and 2nd provides added durability to the input sprag and forward clutch in heavy duty vehicles, plow trucks and high performance applications. In addition, this Sonnax valve allows full downshift engine braking in 1st, 2nd and 3rd while the shifter remains in the D3 position. This upgrade would work well with applications using aftermarket electronic “paddle” shifters

11.     4L60E intermediate servo release check valve. This valve meters servo release oil for a shorter 2-3 shift while providing proper exhaust for a smooth 3-2 downshift.

12.     4L60E high output pump slide spring. When engine speeds exceed 5800 RPM, the centrifugal force on the pump vanes acts to center the pump slide and reduce the pump volume. In high performance applications, it is critical to maintain maximum pump volume in order to hold line pressure and avoid 3-4 clutch failure. This high output single spring is stiffer than the dual OEM springs and is able to hold the pump slide in a maximum volume position despite the high engine RPM.

13.     Stop burning apply bands with this 4L60E high performance intermediate billet servo. This Superior / Fairbanks servo has 35% more holding power (fluid apply area) than the Corvette servo found on other brands. It’ll give a firmer 1-2 and 2-3 shift. It also fits 4L65E / 700R4 transmissions.

Add Pan and Output Shaft upgrades if needed. We recommend our #MR-2 or #MR-2L billet torque converters for this transmission.

 

We have many reports of the Level 5 Extreme Raptor transmission holding over 1500 horsepower.

Transmission ratings are for non-supercharged systems using pump gasoline. Superchargers, Turbo Chargers, Nitrous, 4WD, Oversize Tires and Weight will lower these ratings.
Transmission	Horse Power Rating	Torque Rating	Notes
Level 5 –  4L60E Extreme Raptor	1000	800	Comes with Smart Tech Input Drum, Billet Input Shaft, Smart Shell, PATC Power Gear
Level 4 –  700-E Mega Raptor	700	700	Comes with 5 Pinion OEM Planets, Torque Master option, Raptor Drive option
Level 3 –  700-E Raptor	600	450 / 600 with Raptor Drive package	Add torque converter and Raptor Drive upgrades if needed.
Level 2 –  700-E Raptor Junior	500	400 / 500 with Raptor Drive package	Add torque converter and Raptor Drive upgrades if needed.
Level 1 –  Stock , 4L60E	350	300	Add torque converter upgrade if needed.

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