transmission options for 360

[ChrisM_59]

hey yall. recently made the wonderful discovery that my current 46RE is essentially done for. transmission after a while of driving would start stuttering and drop speed, and dropped the pan to a magnet full of metal. currently looking at doing a swap, but unsure what to do. i know a 46re is an easy straight bolt on, but was also researching about an nv4500 bolting up after swapping over to a flywheel, clutch, etc. as this is my first truck, i was always wanting a manual truck, but wanted to know if it would be worth it to go with a manual swap and go through the ordeal of new parts, pedals, and the work that comes with it. truck is a 1996 1500 laramie club cab long bed with a factory 360 4x2 46RE. should i commit to the swap, find a new 46RE and keep the 4 speed, or bite the bullet and get the currently blown tranny remanned? thanks!

 

[Yeret]

Once upon a time, I toyed with the idea of doing a manual swap in my truck. From what I remember, there's a huge amount of PITA details that you can't really skip over with the general consensus being that if you want a manual truck, you're much better off just buying one.

I'm of the opinion that, with a few upgrades, the 46r is no less reliable than any other automatic offered amongst the Big 3 of the era. The stock torque converter sucks (flows too little fluid at light load) and just about anything aftermarket that focuses on fluid flow at low-mid RPM is an upgrade. Also, shift kit helps reduce wear in exchange for feeling the shifts (which I personally like).

My truck had 156,000 on the clock when I first got it and the transmission was freshly rebuilt by the local transmission shop. Never could figure the brand of torque converted as the receipt from the shop simply referenced it as a "heavy duty" model, but the shift kit was a Trans Go set. My truck now has 240,000, has done literally everything a truck could be asked to do, and the trans is still going strong, so I think it was done right.

 

[ChrisM_59]

Once upon a time, I toyed with the idea of doing a manual swap in my truck. From what I remember, there's a huge amount of PITA details that you can't really skip over with the general consensus being that if you want a manual truck, you're much better off just buying one.

I'm of the opinion that, with a few upgrades, the 46r is no less reliable than any other automatic offered amongst the Big 3 of the era. The stock torque converter sucks (flows too little fluid at light load) and just about anything aftermarket that focuses on fluid flow at low-mid RPM is an upgrade. Also, shift kit helps reduce wear in exchange for feeling the shifts (which I personally like).

My truck had 156,000 on the clock when I first got it and the transmission was freshly rebuilt by the local transmission shop. Never could figure the brand of torque converted as the receipt from the shop simply referenced it as a "heavy duty" model, but the shift kit was a Trans Go set. My truck now has 240,000, has done literally everything a truck could be asked to do, and the trans is still going strong, so I think it was done right.

after doing some light scouring of the internet and looking at many an attempt at a manual swap, you would be right to just buy one with everything already manual. as much as it does sound fun, its just not realistic for my budget and experience right now. my only question is, should i go and have my local transmission shop do a rebuild, or save them the work and buy a cheap replacement 46re and replace the torque converter? i dont know terribly too much about automatic transmissions in this much depth. i looked up some quotes for refurbs and my local shop wanted almost $230 just for a transmission flush, and that makes me scared to even see how much a full refurbish would be.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

It won’t be cheap either way.

 

[Docwagon1776]

JEGS has them on sale for $2100 before shipping. They used to be highly thought of, but I'm *at least* 20 years behind the times on this, so do your own research on current QC.

 

[Yeret]

I'd have to dig up the receipt, but I believe my trans rebuild plus removal/installation was somewhere around $1,800. That was over a decade ago, however, and the economy being what it is these days, I wouldn't be surprised if the same deal would be $2,500.

It would cost a fraction as much to do it yourself, of course, but it heavily comes down to time vs money, and as I get older, I find my time to be increasingly valuable. That said, crap work is crap work, so finding a reputable shop is always a critical consideration.