Ok, so my 2001 Blazer has been down quite a while. Basically when the trans started slipping, I parked it when the wife got a new car at the same time. I took the Yukon she was driving & it's starting to show it's age & has issues I'd rather not get into due to cost. So, now it's time to get this thing done & back on the road. I want the trans to outlast the rest of the life of the truck so I'm going to do it myself & add some upgrades if possible. Little bit of learning experience & a lot of costs savings some of which I can use to offset better parts.
I'm I'm looking at buying this rebuild kit on Amazon & I already purchased a Sonnax Smart Shell upgrade. I don't think the one in it is bad but everyone has told me it's worth the cost to at least upgrade to a monster shell, this was a step above that for about $30 more than the monster shell.
-Anyhow, looking for opinions on the rebuild kit that I linked or spend an extra $100+ to get one with raybestos frictions?
-Any opinions on whether or not I should upgrade to the 5 gear planet from the 4L653 & up transmissions? Not sure if that's worth the extra cost since I don't need a monster transmission, just one that's going to live a long time.
-Anything else I should automatically replace aside from the torque converter?
-Any tools that are must haves?

I do have a buddy that rebuilds transmissions for a living & he may help me out or walk me through it, but I plan on doing it myself for the most part since I have another one sitting next to the truck that I can rebuild to sale or trade to offset the cost.
Other things that I'll be doing at the same time is the lower intake gaskets & putting a billet distributor in it.

 

I had to have mine rebuilt several years ago due to the 3/4 clutch pack being burned out. (I towed using overdrive, a big no-no!)

I had a shift kit and a torque converter with a higher stall speed installed as advised by the shop based on how I use my truck. I also had the shop install an extra transmission fluid cooler in series with the existing one in the radiator and I got an Ultragauge OBDII reader (https://ultra-gauge.com/ZC/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_ id=195&zenid=a2f6d63a2c4ca284fc5368f1100f4550) so that I could monitor the transmission temperature. (I tow a boat and trailer that weights 2,200 lbs.) They installed 100% synthetic transmission fluid in it too.

What I wish I had asked about are the following:

• installing the stronger shell (that you already have)
• upgrading to the 5 vs 3 gear planetary gear
• inspecting and if found leaking, replacing the rear main bearing seal on the engine

Hope these thoughts help.

Be sure to post what you decide to do and why.

Good Luck!

Edit: P.S. It all depends on how you will be using your truck. If you will never be towing, then the mechanical upgrades are probably not as important as using high-quality parts in the rebuild, e.g. best quality seals and gaskets, and also doing regular fluid and filter changes.

 

Good thought on the rear main. I'll check the endplay & see if that's bad while I'm at it since it will be accessible with the tranny out. Motor was running fine & no oil loss, but I know the spider injection assembly needs to be replaced. That's happening at the same time that I do the lower intake. Even if it wasn't leaking, I would probably upgrade to the later assembly since it probably has the earlier poppet style in it.

 

Hopefully Transman304 will be along shortly.....

 

Transman304 knows everything! (Seriously)

 

Re; LIM I did the same as you mentioned; upgrading the fuel injectors. And you know of the higher-quality LIM gaskets from Fel-Pro with the metal carrier, right?

 

 

Yes, I have those in my Amazon shopping cart. I might drive over to Summit Racing though to get some of the stuff I want or need. I keep most of it in my amazon cart, but I will shop for the lowest price deal on the actual stuff I settle on.

 

 

No problem, I can wait. Thank you for the manual recommendation. I did already buy the blue one a while back. I'll try to source the other one too. Take you time & stay safe & warm.