How to Avoid a Dipstick Move in 4L60-E Series Transmissions

Ensuring your fresh build has adequate fluid is crucial to the life and longevity of a transmission. No competent builder would knowingly let a vehicle leave their shop when the transmission is under or overfilled by a quart. With a small parts compatibility issue, that could happen unknowingly if you aren’t careful.

当空间供应不足时，GM 4L60-E系列长期以来一直是发动机交换的转速。这些单位在大多数情况下，这些单位不需要切割地板，与他们更大的兄弟4L80-e不同。虽然4L60-e，4l65-e和4l70-e不支持股票形式几乎和4l80-e的电力，但有很多售后市场部分，使它们可靠地生活一直到1,000hp。基于1982年从1982年使用的通用电机的700-R4，4L60-E系列从1993年使用，直到2013年被6L80所取代。他们安装在船上后轮驱动平台上的一切，如Silverado，S-10，Corvette，Astro等。传输在其寿命期间接受了许多变化和设计更新，这可能导致一个模糊的重建过程中的零件兼容性问题。

One of the changes over the years could easily be overlooked: the dipstick. A big change occurred in 1998 when the 4L60-E series received a deeper transmission oil pan on the C/K/G trucks and vans to increase the fluid capacity in the larger vehicles. The addition of this deeper pan was accompanied by a longer dip stick, tube and dipstick stop bracket. Meanwhile, models with the standard pan received a revised-design dipstick stop bracket with the same height as the previous design, but shorter than the deep pan dipstick stop. In the early years of the 4L60-E series the dipstick bracket was not used on all vehicles, but after 1998, all models besides the Corvette utilized one.图1显示三个不同的停止括号。

图1 - Dipstick停止括号

Repesign的原因是为Dipstick创建更大的目标，以停止。图2shows the small contact area for the ’97-earlier dipstick compared to the contact area for the ’98-later dipstick and new deep pan bracket.

图2– Dipstick Contact Areas

1998年发生的另一个变化是在阀体本身上添加一个小倒角，以便于使用新设计停止括号（图3.).

图3 - 阀体铸造差异

由于之前的4L60-E系列阀门体没有该倒角，这可以防止新设计停止括号在1998年之前安装在任何内容。旧设计停止支架仍然可以安装在'98 -Later标准平底锅上，没有任何问题，但考虑到新支架所做的改进并不有利。Figure 4显示支架和阀体的三种不同组合。

Figure 4 – Valve Bodies & Brackets

The confusion begins when 4L60-E series units are swapped into hot rod projects or cores are purchased to replace a stock unit. Through testing, here are some possible combinations and the outcomes.

	Regular Dipstick, Pan & Tube ’97-Earlier 阀体	Regular Dipstick, Pan & Tube ’98-Later 阀体	普通的Dipstick，管和深锅 ’98-Later 阀体	Deep Dipstick 和管，常规锅 ’97-Earlier 阀体	Deep Dipstick 和管，常规锅 ’98-Later 阀体	深斯蒂克， Pan & Tube ’98-Later 阀体	深斯蒂克， Pan & Tube ’97-Earlier 阀体	深度尺和锅,常规的管 ’98-Later 阀体	深斯蒂克， 普通管和锅 ’98-Later 阀体
旧设计 括号	好的	好的	Higher Fluid Capacity	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰
新设计支架	部分干扰	好的	Higher Fluid Capacity	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰
新设计深括号	部分干扰	Potential to Overfill by .75 Qt。	Potential to Overfill by .75 Qt。	部分干扰	欠填充的潜力	好的	部分干扰	部分干扰	部分干扰
没有括号	Potential to Overfill by .75 Qt。	Potential to Overfill by .75 Qt。	Potential to Overfill by .75 Qt。	欠填充的潜力	欠填充的潜力	Potential to Overfill by .5 QT。	Potential to Overfill by .5 QT。	欠填充的潜力	欠填充的潜力

As you can see, there are many combinations, and some are not favorable with potential to underfill or overfill. The biggest issue is when a deep bracket is used with a regular dipstick or no bracket at all is used. Dipsticks are made longer than they need to be on purpose so that they make contact with the stop bracket and provide an accurate fluid level reading. Using the incorrect or no bracket at all allows the dipstick to read lower into the pan, giving the illusion the level is at normal capacity when it actually isn’t. In the regular pan setup, neglecting to install the corresponding bracket could result in underfilling up to .5 quart. The deep dipstick without its bracket is up to a .75 quart underfill. Another issue is using the deep dipstick and tube with a regular pan. Checking the level using the dipstick, it will read in normal operating range, but your fluid capacity will be much lower than it should be. It will be quite obvious if you tried to use the deep dipstick with a regular length tube and any of the brackets, however it is possible to incorrectly install this setup if one were to neglect using a stop bracket, which would lead to underfilling the transmission significantly. SeeFigure 5for the length difference between the two regular and deep dipsticks.

Figure 5 – Dipstick Lengths

其他manufacturers use similar dipstick stops in different locations. One transmission that has been heavily modified lately is the 68RFE found in Dodge diesels. These transmissions are often behind modified, 1,000HP, turbo diesel monsters that almost have matching torque and horsepower numbers. To make the 68RFE survive in this environment, a variety of aftermarket parts are utilized, including deeper oil pans for more capacity. The problem is that some aftermarket deep pans aren’t designed with the dipstick stop that factory pans are designed with, which creates the same underfilling situations as we’ve illustrated with the 4L60-E series. This is certainly an issue that you should look into to ensure that your transmission has adequate fluid capacity to live a long healthy life.

杰森劳肖尔is a Sonnax product support representative. He is a member of the SonnaxTASC Force(Technical Automotive Specialties Committee), a group of recognized industry technical specialists, transmission rebuilders and Sonnax technicians.