I'm in the planning stages of swaping in a 5.3l in my s13. I'm trying to figure out what tranny to us. the 1st choice is the t-56 but they are not cheap. how would the 5.3l with a t350/t400 on it drive? I know it would be good for drag racing but how about just normal day to day driving on the street. I'm new the the t350/t400 world so any info anyone has would be great. thanks

a good used t-56 isnt really that expensive... i mean after all your trying to put a V8 into a 4 cylinder car, if there isnt a local junkyard that is willing to locate one for you, there only 3-4 hundred in my area... with this kinda swap your gonna have to pay to play, and unfortunatley this is a time consuming and wallet consuming swap, especially if you dont search for the best deals, and get ahead of yourself

a stock 4l60e will be better than the th350 or 400, they'd rev the motor very high.. id run a 5.3/4l60e combo with a factory ecm or find a nv3500. the t56 would be ideal but id definiately veer away from a 3spd auto unless strictly drag racing...

C2CAHOON wrote:a good used t-56 isnt really that expensive... i mean after all your trying to put a V8 into a 4 cylinder car, if there isnt a local junkyard that is willing to locate one for you, there only 3-4 hundred in my area... with this kinda swap your gonna have to pay to play, and unfortunatley this is a time consuming and wallet consuming swap, especially if you dont search for the best deals, and get ahead of yourself

t56 for 3-4 hundred? you sure about that

3-4 hundred is the price for a T56 bellhousing and shifter.......

You can pair a LS with a TH series.... I used to have a built TH350 behind my LS6 in my S13. Now it has a T56 in her, all you need is a TCI flexplate and 5 of the 8 bellhousing bolts, vacuum line if using it as an auto valvebody. The gearing sucks though. T56 or 4l80 or even the 6L series.

All in all it depends what you want to do with this thing....

If you want the best of everything go with a t56....

I priced out an ls1 w t56 for 2800 shipped to my door....or 4 k with a 2 yr warranty.....

But whatever you get buy from a reputable seller.....Sikky makes bar none the best ls1 s13/14 kit to date...100 percent bolt in
affair, no bs hinson kit that mods the subframe, actually alot of sanctioning bodies are trying to eliminate cars with modded subframes.... Email me if interested with the sikky kit.....

Personally the t56 is the perfect balance......
1-2-3 for dragging,
2-3-4 for drifting and auto cross
and 6th gear for 35 mpg on the highway......

How can you go wrong>,,,,,

drifter2180 wrote:I'm in the planning stages of swaping in a 5.3l in my s13. I'm trying to figure out what tranny to us. the 1st choice is the t-56 but they are not cheap. how would the 5.3l with a t350/t400 on it drive? I know it would be good for drag racing but how about just normal day to day driving on the street. I'm new the the t350/t400 world so any info anyone has would be great. thanks

The discussion between auto vs. manual is a pretty tough one.. also you are talking old auto trans tech. I'm with the guys who say go 4L60E.. they were designed to work with LS series motors (correct shift points, computer controls, etc) and would give you the best overall driveability package. The good news is used they can be had for less than a T56 but slightly more than a TH350, etc. A 4L60E will be your best "cheap" alternative.. I'd only do a TH350 as a last resort or for a drag only car or perhaps on a car with carb conversion.

The T56 used sells for roughly $1400-1700 on avg though sometimes you can find them cheaper. Beware cheaper units though... unless someone doesn't know what they have it could be damaged/abused/etc. Also a T56 from a Mustang, Viper, etc will not work without spare parts, etc. Same goes for a vette T56 as this is mated to a rear transaxle setup. Do some searching online and you can find all the info you need on identifying T56's by tag #, etc.

If you want auto I suggest finding a 4l80e over the 4L60e. The 4L60 trans is light duty and was placed behind V6 and V8's. Where the 4L80 is a beefier version that was only placed behind the V8's. LS 4L guys often swap the 60 for the 80, or rebuild the 60 with 80 internals. It's just a much stringer transmission.

rebuilding a 60e with 80e internal? exactly what parts are talking about. the 4l60e is alot weaker than a 4l80e. the 60e can be built or bought already built to handle alot, esp in a little light car like a 240. the 60e also weighs less, by a large margin and consume less HP from the motor (ie 60e will be faster).

t56 or 4l60e... either way your going to have a quick little car.

I want a t56.

@ ky hunter89

A 4l60e is basically an acronym for 4 spd longitudinally mounted 60mm input shaft electronically shifted modified simpson gearset.... a 4l80e has stronger clutch packs and a larger cryo treated 80mm input shaft....

I say if you want a 6 speed, but don't want a t56 .....

How about a 6l80e.... 6 speed auto 80mm input shaft modified simpson, so very similar to th350,th400 and all the other 4l trans....

It has an oem max holding capacity of 850hp,850ft/lb ...Best thing thats on a 6,000 lb truck

http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums ... 9&t=401899

or you can opt for AN 8 speed gear vendors setup http://www.gearvendors.com/hrgm4s.html