Am going to be needing a new tranny mine has started to shutter when going into 2nd under med/heavy accelleration, I have religiously changed the fluid and filter more than what the factory recommends at that! It has been fighting the good fight for 160 K. Who makes a great aftermarket tranny I want a STRONG tranny, in your opinion would you rebuild or replace? Model year 1997 4x4

 

I don't know anything about aftermarket transmissions but I've sure seen lots of rebuilts that weren't much good.
My opinion is that the Ford rebuilts, from the dealer, are good. They have any upgrades that Ford did to later models done to them. They probably do cost more than others though.

 

Although it seems like it would make sense for you to rebuild your transmission, I don't think anybody does that anymore. Years back you could buy kits, but even then it was very complex, exacting, and time consuming. Maybe you could find a rebuild kit and pull it off, but I think the odds are long against it.

I would suggest that you find the two or three places in your area who do the most of this kind of work on your particular vehicle. Get prices on putting in a rebuilt tranny, and don't put much stock in any promise to just fix yours, because that almost never happens.