Recommended Tranny upgrades

[ChrisCNC]

2003 F250 SD with the standard upgrades (4" exhaust, Stage II intake, PHP tunes). I'm awaiting 80HP LT tune and will be towing our relatively light 4500lb trailer, 2 kids, gear and a dog around the mountains of Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho. I've got 35" tires.

I've done nothing to the transmission yet, but can feel quite a shudder when taking off from a stop, and it is worse when towing the trailer. I assume it is the transmission slipping and would like to upgrade before I find out I should upgraded and am stranded alongside the road with my family. While I'm waiting for my custom tunes, I've been using the tow safe tune that comes stock on the edge evolution programmer. Using stock tires my tranny temps maxed out at 220 degrees while going to the top of a 4000' pass over 10 miles (max less than 10% grade).

What all should I be considering? From my perusing the forums, I see that an upgraded tranny cooler (truCool or 6.0L ford cooler), BTS Valve body, and aftermarket Torque Converter are all good ideas.

What Torque Converters are 'good' ATS has a whale of a warranty on some of theirs (5 year, 500,000 miles), I've heard good things from Banks. I'd like to hear from one of the PHP crew on this one (Bill, Cody..."if it were me, I'd buy a ______") or anyone else that has an expert opinion.

What would be a laundry list of items I should prepare for?
Torque Converter upgrade
Valve Body upgrade
Tranny Cooler upgrade
???
???
???

I do rod around on occasion, but am more concerned about towing and tranny longevity.

Thank you,

Kevin

[rammertide07]

Pretty sure dieselsite does not offer the trucool max anymore. They discontinued it to concentrate more on their products. And I can not find anywhere else to buy it. Your best bet is the 6.0 cooler. You can get a used one and flush it real good or buy a new one with a sound mind, which is what I'd do. I have a BD torque converter and been running it mainly on the 100 tune for a year, then 140 tune after I got my PHP tunes. I've heard sketchy things about ATS products and their customer service...but then again...I've only heard one side of the story. The most bragged about transmissions are from Brian's Truck Stop in Arkansas and John Woods, I think he located in California. I broke down down here in Louisiana shorlty after I moved here. All I know of that the transmission shop did to my transmission is the torque converter (they charged me about $600 for) and shift kit. Not sure what they did about the VB. IMO, banks is over rated. You can by just as good or better products for a cheaper price.

[ChrisCNC]

Thanks for the info RT!

I found this website,
transmissioncoolers.us (http://www.transmissioncoolers.us)

and they've got enough different kinds of coolers it'll make your head spin. There is one called the TruCool Max

transmissioncoolers.us: Tru-Cool MAX transmission cooler with external thermal bypass (http://www.transmissioncoolers.us/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=T&Product_Code=4739&Category_Code=trucool-MAX-cooler)

for $162 and some change. Do you think this is the same one?

thank you for the information.

Anyone else care to chime in? I'd like to soak up all the information I can.

-Kevin

[rammertide07]

Yes, it looks exactly what dieselsite offered. Thanks for the link. Its been months since I looked for it. Great info:thumbs up yellow:

[ChrisCNC]

Got an email into BTS about the torque converters they use, the Precision Industries "Stallion". Looks like a whale of a T.C. with a 5 year unlimited warranty. I always get nervous when no one puts prices on their websites....

I've heard some good things about the Troyer Tranny cooler:

Troyer Performance (http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi-bin/ppistore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=PPI-ATCKIT)

Does anyway have any information on these? They're a good deal more money than the TruCool, they are fan driven, thermostatically controlled which makes logical sense...but is more effort and more things to fail.

-Kevin

[rammertide07]

That costs more than the TruCool unit. Have you read user reviews of the TruCool? You can google and find forum links where people have posted their results with the TruCool Max. I think that would get you to what you need. And like you said already, there's less to fail on the TruCool.

[ChrisCNC]

You're right RT, on other forums I've heard nothing but good things about the TruCool Max. Is yours installed as a replacement, or in series with your stock cooler?

-Kevin

[garyfink]

make sure you get a good tc. I had a local company build mine and they took me thru the shop and showed me everything they do and the benefits. Improved oiling torrington bearings etc. really to help with heat. The tech told me all ford tenasmissions have problems with heat and if you do alot of heavy towing they advise doubling up on the factory cooler. Great bunch of guys (Landis Torque Converters Leola PA)

[ZombieSoldier]

maybe too late already but 6.0 trans cooler, john woods tuned valve body, upgraded torque converter.

[rammertide07]

I was at my Ford mechanics home shop last Chirstmas. He had a 32 row cooler he just handed to me and told me Merry Christmas (LOVE THAT GUY:thumbs up yellow:). He's a talker for sure, but will help you out in any situation you have.

My rebuild seems fairly cheap from what i have read other people being charged. Mine was rebuilt with a BD torque converter and shift kit for $2100. I think once I get that cooler installed, I'll be set.

[DocBar]

Stay away from ATS. I just had one crap out on me that was "rated" at 750 hp and 1,500 ft-lbs fo torque. I t lasted 103,000 miles. Less than 20,000 of those miles were over 500 hp. I now have a BTS.

[EasyRhin0]

If you have not already got a cooler you should look at Rock Auto for the 6.0 cooler. TruCool was the hot setup until the 6.0 coolers came down in price. They are around $275 and are huge and bolt right up to the 7.3 location of the one you are replacing. I have heard it is easier to install from the bottom, but have not done it.

[rammertide07]

If you have not already got a cooler you should look at Rock Auto for the 6.0 cooler. TruCool was the hot setup until the 6.0 coolers came down in price. They are around $275 and are huge and bolt right up to the 7.3 location of the one you are replacing. I have heard it is easier to install from the bottom, but have not done it.

Diesel Site no longer sales the TruCool cool system. But someone on here did find this (http://www.transmissioncoolers.us/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=T&Category_Code=trucool-MAX-cooler). Looks the same.

I'll be adding the 6.0 big cooler to my truck at the end of the month when I go home. I got a ranch hand bumper, and my dad has a forklift I can use to take it off. Installation kit from Pure Diesel Power is already at his office waiting on me:cheesy smile:

[Highbeam]

So about the OP, is shudder on takeoff a sign of a bad converter? or of a bad first gear clutch?

Pretty sure I'm still with the OEM trans at 167000.

[rammertide07]

I heard brake-torquing is a way to diagnose if its the torque converter. But transmissions are like quantum physics to me

[Ridgerunner]

Be sure you're not confusing driveshaft bind with a transmission slip. Having lift kit and/or loose carrier bearing will cause bad vibration that gets worse under load and clears up faster you go.

[ChrisCNC]

I agree, Ridgerunner. Just had the exact thing you've described, 1st gear towing up a steep incline (23% according to google earth) was unuseable. Took it in and they found the driveline was twisted over 2 degrees, plus the carrier bearing was mis-aligned due to my 5" FabTech lift. Got the driveline fixed and balanced, and the carrier bearing aligned and the takeoff vibrations almost completely went away. They still exist but are barely noticeable, my tranny guy said I really need to get a torsion bar to prevent the rear-axle/differential from torqueing under load and he thought that would remove the rest of the vibration.