2001 Saturn L300 Aftermarket Swap?

Zuhbargus

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USA - Fresno
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2001 Saturn L300
Hello I drive a 2001 Saturn L300. I was wonderign if there are any manual trannys that i can drop into my car so i may tune it up. Due to the current transmission (4T45-E) and its limitations (Car produces 190flb torque and trans lasts up to 205) I cannot put a turbo, nos or supercharger on my car! Does anyone know an aftermarket transmission that i could drop in to eliminate this problem?

Thank you!
 
Hello I drive a 2001 Saturn L300. I was wonderign if there are any manual trannys that i can drop into my car so i may tune it up. Due to the current transmission (4T45-E) and its limitations (Car produces 190flb torque and trans lasts up to 205) I cannot put a turbo, nos or supercharger on my car! Does anyone know an aftermarket transmission that i could drop in to eliminate this problem?

Thank you!

Actually. If you looked further into it, you CAN do a bit with that transmission. Take the car to a transmission shop and they can uprate everything in it. The 4T45E was also used in the following popular tuner cars:
1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am
1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero
1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu
1997-1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass
2000-2005 Chevrolet Cavalier
2000-2005 Pontiac Sunfire
2005-2007 Saturn Ion
2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR
2007-2009 Pontiac G5

That's a short list, but that was GM's automatic transmission *&&^$ for the longest time. If you truly want to switch transmissions though, GM's 4T65E, and 4T65E-HD are great choices with plenty of aftermarket. However, you would have to worry about transmission bolt patterns at that point. Being an L300, it uses the 3.0L DOHC V6 Cadillac used in the Catera, and Opel/Vauxhall used for years in the Vectra and Omega. It's part of the 54* V6 engine family and I don't know if it shares the same bolt pattern as any of the cars which used the 4T65E or 4T65E-HD.

A better options would be switching to a manual transmission, but this is a big job, requiring pedals, ecm/pcm, axles, transmission, shifter, wiring harness, etc. GM's manual transmissions can take a beating. The Getrag F23 5 speed in my Saturn Ion is rated to 175 ft-lbs, but the transmission itself can handle up to 300 HP no problem (proven many times over in the Chevy Cobalt and Cavalier community). The torque rating on that manual is more for the clutch than the transmission. A big job for sure.
 
Last edited:
Actually. If you looked further into it, you CAN do a bit with that transmission. Take the car to a transmission shop and they can uprate everything in it. The 4T45E was also used in the following popular tuner cars:
1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am
1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero
1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu
1997-1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass
2000-2005 Chevrolet Cavalier
2000-2005 Pontiac Sunfire
2005-2007 Saturn Ion
2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR
2007-2009 Pontiac G5

That's a short list, but that was GM's automatic transmission *&&^$ for the longest time. If you truly want to switch transmissions though, GM's 4T65E, and 4T65E-HD are great choices with plenty of aftermarket. However, you would have to worry about transmission bolt patterns at that point. Being an L300, it uses the 3.0L DOHC V6 Cadillac used in the Catera, and Opel/Vauxhall used for years in the Vectra and Omega. It's part of the 54* V6 engine family and I don't know if it shares the same bolt pattern as any of the cars which used the 4T65E or 4T65E-HD.

A better options would be switching to a manual transmission, but this is a big job, requiring pedals, ecm/pcm, axles, transmission, shifter, wiring harness, etc. GM's manual transmissions can take a beating. The Getrag F23 5 speed in my Saturn Ion is rated to 175 ft-lbs, but the transmission itself can handle up to 300 HP no problem (proven many times over in the Chevy Cobalt and Cavalier community). The torque rating on that manual is more for the clutch than the transmission. A big job for sure.

So if i took it in and got it uprated what would change? Would my engine block still work without a rechip? How much more torque could it then handle? Im more of a car audio guy so any information you can provide is great! Thank you very much, youve gotten my hopes up haha!
 
The car would be in there for a while. Stronger gears, gear ratios, final drive, a stall, and hydraulics. To know what it could handle afterwords, you'd have to talk with the shop.

PERSONALLY, being you live in America, and it's got the 3.0L DOHC 54* V6 (which BTW has 4 timing belts that are a nightmare to change), AND it's an autotragic, I wouldn't dare modify it. You're talking an engine with no aftermarket support here and a finicky, high maintenance design. Sell it and if you've settled on customizing an L-series, get one with the 2.2L ecotec 4 banger and a 5 speed manual (they were available, but hard to come by)
 
The car would be in there for a while. Stronger gears, gear ratios, final drive, a stall, and hydraulics. To know what it could handle afterwords, you'd have to talk with the shop.

PERSONALLY, being you live in America, and it's got the 3.0L DOHC 54* V6 (which BTW has 4 timing belts that are a nightmare to change), AND it's an autotragic, I wouldn't dare modify it. You're talking an engine with no aftermarket support here and a finicky, high maintenance design. Sell it and if you've settled on customizing an L-series, get one with the 2.2L ecotec 4 banger and a 5 speed manual (they were available, but hard to come by)

Well thank you for the information! Idk why they dust just give the L300 a 5-speed. It would have solved so many heartaches for us :\ I guess I'll probably stick to my sound system then and just lower/dynamat my ride. .. :] when I win the lotto tho.. Haha
 
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