GM's early automatic transmissions were replaced by variants of the Turbo-Hydramatic by the 1970s.
• 1940–1967 Hydra-Matic — Oldsmobile (now the trade name for all GM automatic transmissions)
• 1948–1964 Dynaflow — Buick
• 1950–1973 Powerglide — Chevrolet (also used by Pontiac)
• 1957–1961 Turboglide — Chevrolet (V8 models only, except Corvette)
• 1958–1959 Flightpitch — Buick
• 1961–1963 Dual Path Turbine Drive — Buick
• 1961–1964 Roto Hydramatic — Oldsmobile/Pontiac
• 1964–1969 Super Turbine 300 — Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac (Oldsmobile Jetaway)
• 1968–1969 Torquedrive — Chevrolet (manually shifted automatic, 6 cyl only)
[edit] Turbo-Hydramatic
The Turbo-Hydramatic was used by all GM divisions, and formed the basis for the company's modern Hydramatic line. The basic rear-wheel drive Turbo-Hydramatic spawned two front-wheel drive variants, the transverse Turbo-Hydramatic 125, and the longitudinal Turbo-Hydramatic 425. A third variant was the light-duty rear wheel drive Turbo-Hydramatic 180 used in many European models.
Heavy-duty rear wheel drive
• 1971–19?? 3L80HD (heavy duty version of TH400)
Medium-duty rear wheel drive
• 1964–1992 Super Turbine 400/TH400/3L80
• 1969–1986 TH350/TH350C/TH375B/TH250/TH250C
• 1972–1976 TH375 — Light duty version of TH400
• 1976–1987 TH200/TH200C
• 1981–1990 TH200-4R
• 1982–1993 TH700R4/4L60
Light-duty rear wheel drive
• 1969–1998 TH180/TH180C/3L30 — 3-speed European/Asian model
Transverse front wheel drive
• 1980–1996 TH125/TH125C/3T40 — 3-speed light-duty
• 1984–1994 TH440-T4/4T60 — 4-speed medium-duty
Longitudinal front wheel drive
• 1966–1978 TH425 — 3-speed
• 1979–1981 TH325 — 3-speed
• 1982–1985 TH325-4L — 4-speed
[edit] Electronic Hydra-Matics
The next-generation transmissions, introduced in the early 1990s, were the electronic Hydra-Matics based on the Turbo-Hydramatic design. Most early electronic transmissions use the "-E" designator to differentiate them from their non-electronic cousins, but this has been dropped on transmissions with no mechanical version like the new GM 6L80 transmission.
Today, GM uses a simple naming scheme for their transmissions, with the "Hydra-Matic" name used on most automatics across all divisions.
3/4/5/6 L/T ## -E
Number of forward gears L=Longitudinal
T=Transverse GVWR rating
"E" for Electronic
"HD" for Heavy Duty
First-generation longitudinal (Rear Wheel drive)
• 1991–2001 4L30-E — 4-speed light-duty (used in BMW, Cadillac, Isuzu, and Opel cars)
• 1992– 4L60-E/4L65-E — 4-speed medium-duty (used in GM trucks and rear-wheel-drive cars)
• 1991– 4L80-E/4L85-E — 4-speed heavy-duty (used in GM trucks)
First-generation transverse (Front Wheel drive)
• 1995– 4T40-E/4T45-E — 4-speed light-duty (used in smaller front wheel drive GM vehicles)
• 1991– 4T60-E/4T65-E/4T65E-HD — 4-speed medium-duty (used in larger front wheel drive GM vehicles)
• 1993– 4T80-E — 4-speed heavy-duty (used in large front wheel drive GM vehicles, only with Cadillac NorthStar V8.
Second-generation longitudinal (Rear Wheel drive)
• 2000– 5L40-E/5L50 — 5-speed medium-duty (used in Cadillac's Sigma vehicles)
• 2007– 6L45
• Identification
Transmission Identification By Pan Shape
Image Number Transmission(s) Pan Bolts
1 Aluminum Powerglide 14
2 TH200 (Metric), TH200C (Metric) 11
3 TH250, TH250C, TH350, TH350C, TH375B 13
4 TH375C, TH400, TH475, 3L80, 3L80HD 13
5 TH200-4R 16
6 TH700-4R, 4L60, 4L60E 16
7 4L80E 17
Transmission Dimensions
Typical Application Information
Two speed automatic
Powerglide
The Powerglide transmission was used in Chevrolet vehicles, even Corvettes. The 2 speed automatic used in Buick , Olds and Pontiac vehicles was known as the Super Turbine 300 or ST-300. The ST-300 transmission was similar to the Powerglide but few parts were directly interchangeable.
The ST-300 was also produced with a variable pitch torque converter. This converter could change stall RPM with an electric solenoid inside the transmission that was activated by a switch usually mounted on the throttle linkage.
Three speed automatic
THM-350, THM-350C, THM-375B
the T-350 trans was built in 5 different lengths. Two were 4x4 applications. Tail housing lengths of the two wheel drive were 6 inch , 9 inch and 12 inches. The 12 inch length is not very common. It was used mostly in station wagons of Buick - Oldsmobile brands
TH-400(3L80), THM-375C, THM-475(3L80HD)
1987-up 3L80HD is the HD version of the TH400 found in light trucks. It has 27 spline output shaft and is 34.5" long over all in 4x2 version. common tag code on these is LJA. Found cast on the bell housing in medium size letters is 'HD'. 1964-1990 are the years of the TH400 transmissions. 1987 was the year the transmissions were renamed to the new alpha-numeric values.
Four speed automatic
TH-200-4R
This 200-4r transmission is the same length as a 6 inch tail housing T-350 transmission.
The 200-4r requires a TV cable hook up at the EFI - carb with the correct geometry for correct operation.
TH-700R4(4L60)
4L60E
4l60E is an electronic shifted and pressure controlled version of the 700-r4 / 4L60 transmission.
4L80E
4L80e is a full electronic controlled and shifted transmission with similar design and strength to the T-400 trans. Early 4L80E and T-400 shared some parts that could be swapped. In 1996 the 4L80E has some design changes in lubrication circuits. You must be very careful when replacing gear train parts in late design 4L80E.