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1) For a sudden recovery you can slam the shifter from 1st to reverse without hunting or shifting into park by mistake
Jim, in case you have not seen or heard of this concept, if you are about to go head over heels on a climb, you can slam the tranny into reverse and get on the gas to pull the vehicle back to where the head will not come over the heels.
I had not heard of this before now. That seems like a really good safety feature to have. This is something I'll keep in mind. My concern with this is always knowing it's there and pushing the jeep more than I should because I've got that option. I suppose that then becomes an exercise in discipline. Thanks for the explanation Clark.
TH350 is plenty strong for what we do, esp. if it has the K case. Tripp's correct about the OD. It will be cheaper than a computer controlled tranny both to buy and to integrate. With a buggy where you don't worry about all the JK sensors and gauges, a 4L80 makes more sense. Otherwise the harness will be $$$.
What is the K case? As this will be as much of a budget build as possible that sounds like a good option. Also, there will be very few if any sensors or gauges to deal with in this build.
If you are going LS family then dont be scared of the electronic trans. 4l60E is plenty strong and is made to mate with those engines. They are cheap and the harness that you will have to buy for the engine will plug right in. Nothing extra to buy or program. I paid $450 for a newly rebuilt 4l60 without a core. OD is worth it. Tons of transfer case options and easily adaptable to most jeep cases.
From one who has done it. I fully support any decision that starts with one of the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 GM motors.
Tons of aftermarket for the motor, easy to work on, easy to program, easy to install. Nearly bulletproof.
I'm not so much scared of the electronic trans as I am the affordability of an electronic trans, which it seems they seem to be somewhat affordable. Thanks Matt.
It seems like everyone completely supports the LS motors. Is there a range of years they are best found? Or vehicles? Does there happen to be any model/variant that was a dud/recalled and I should stray away from? It also seems like the consensus is to select a transmission geared for the street in high but have the durability? to handle what we do off road. Is there a difference in strength in transmissions? I.E. if one is running D44s front and rear with 35's vs. running tons and 42's? Or is it strength of the transmission to hold up to the motor output?
Also, slightly off topic, what are everyone's thoughts on diesel vs. gas? I had this idea of having a turbo diesel engine vs. gas. I know that most diesel motors are more expensive, and was told they can be heavier, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.