Can you swap out a 5L40E to a 6L50E in a 2008 SV6?

[consistent blunder]

Hey guys so my mate has a 2008 SV6 with the 5L40E tranny thats cactus and I've just recently written off my 2010 VE commodore international which has the 3 litre motor but has the 6L50E transmission.

Can we swap the transmission's over without too much hassle?? We have both Ecm's both Bcm's and both Tcm's and both keys..

 

[Commo64]

Have a look at a similar thread made by @J_D 2.0

https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/ve-5-speed-auto-to-6-speed-auto-conversion.285636/

 

[J_D 2.0]

Hey guys so my mate has a 2008 SV6 with the 5L40E tranny thats cactus and I've just recently written off my 2010 VE commodore international which has the 3 litre motor but has the 6L50E transmission.

Can we swap the transmission's over without too much hassle?? We have both Ecm's both Bcm's and both Tcm's and both keys..

I didn’t end up going ahead with the conversion as I ended up getting rid of my SV6. I wasn’t going to have sufficient funds to fix it as well as doing what I want to get done on my SSV so I sold the SV6.

The main issue between the two setups is that the 5L40E uses an external TCM whereas the 6L50E uses an internal TCM inside the transmission itself. Seeing as you have a complete donor car I expect it would help immensely in converting it over.

I expect that the scenario for you would probably be that you would transplant all the electronics (wiring loom, dash, etc) and find someone who can tune the 3.0L ECM to work with the 3.6L engine?

If the 2010 VE has the series two dash then doing this would probably be worthwhile to get the upgraded head unit etc. You might need to find a decent engine tuner in your area and discuss it with them.

 

[losh1971]

I didn’t end up going ahead with the conversion as I ended up getting rid of my SV6. I wasn’t going to have sufficient funds to fix it as well as doing what I want to get done on my SSV so I sold the SV6.

The main issue between the two setups is that the 5L40E uses an external TCM whereas the 6L50E uses an internal TCM inside the transmission itself. Seeing as you have a complete donor car I expect it would help immensely in converting it over.

I expect that the scenario for you would probably be that you would transplant all the electronics (wiring loom, dash, etc) and find someone who can tune the 3.0L ECM to work with the 3.6L engine?

If the 2010 VE has the series two dash then doing this would probably be worthwhile to get the upgraded head unit etc. You might need to find a decent engine tuner in your area and discuss it with them.

If this is what it takes there will be no change from $1500 a tune alone is around $1400. Add the time it takes to do the work if capable of doing it himself it would likeky work out cheaper to have his mates trans rebuilt.

 

[J_D 2.0]

If this is what it takes there will be no change from $1500 a tune alone is around $1400. Add the time it takes to do the work if capable of doing it himself it would likeky work out cheaper to have his mates trans rebuilt.

Nope. A 5L40E costs about $6000 to rebuild because it’s rare as rocking horse sh!t.

 

[losh1971]

Nope. A 5L40E costs about $6000 to rebuild because it’s rare as rocking horse sh!t.

I knew there was a problem child in the range. I didn't realise it was the one the OPs mate had. In that case I'd sell the car with a stuffed trans than go to the effort of trying to make something else work.

 

[_R_J_K_]

without too much hassle??

No. Each ECM will only run it's specific combination of engine and trans. The 3.0 ECM is probably capable of running the 3.6, but it's a whole rabbit hole of tuning and GM specific electronics and tools.