Shift Pointers
- Author: Wayne Colonna
- Subject Matter: 4L60-E from a 2010 4.8L Silverado
- Issue: Changes in transmission components
With the challenges we face with today’s cars, unexpected surprises are not usually welcomed to the party. It’s a Friday night and you’re staying late to rebuild a 4L60-E from a 2010 4.8L Silverado that must go Saturday morning. So you go to have a bite to eat first. When you return, the shop is nice and quiet. You are alone and thinking to yourself, I could bang this out in a few hours and still be home in enough time to watch a show.
The transmission was put on the bench for you while you were on your way out to get a little something to eat.
You decided to take the valve body off first, so you flip the trans on its back and away you go. In minutes you have the pan off, the wiring harness and the valve body removed. You then spin the unit around to start pulling the guts out of the transmission. It has a bolt-on converter housing that must come off first before the pump bolts can be removed. Instinctively, you grab your impact and the 15 mm socket you always use and you go after those bolts.
And then, SURPRISE:
You do not see 15 mm bolts. You see what you think are torx head bolts (Figure 1). But it looks more like a 3/8” drive. So you start looking for something that will fit and nothing does, as this is not a torx or a 3/8” drive.
You then start thinking, when did they do this? How come I haven’t seen or heard of this before? What am I going to do now? You already know these bolts are practically glued in with the lock compound they use on those threads. Really good stuff, so you know there is no chance of getting them out with a makeshift socket.
Not only are you not sure what you need, it’s also too late at night to find a Mac or Snap-on tool truck in hopes they may have something. The only plan left to make is to go home much earlier than expected and figure it out in the morning.
If you have yet to come upon this surprise yourself, it will be a good idea to spend 34 bucks and get one of these right away so you are not faced with a show stopper.
Available from Snap-on, the socket needed for this style bolt is a PFMTS4E Bit Socket: Mortorq®, Pinless, MTS-4 (Figure 2). Don’t let this spoil your party!
