Well, i took the plunge and purchased the Banks transcommand for my 96 f250 crewcab today. We just took delivery of a 7200lb fifth wheel and i figured it would be a good time to get it before i started the heavy pulling.

After calling around and checking prices, turns out my ford dealer had it cheaper than anywhere else, and offered to install it for only 36.00, so i jumped on it. I understand they are easy to install, but it would take me longer to get my tools assembled than the ford dealer to put it in.

Will let you others know what i think shortly. Hopefully it is worth the 250.00.

Any one else that has one, feel free to kick in any opionions

MC

 

Hi MC

I bought the Trans Command along with the Power Pack kit back in Jan this year. I am very pleased with it. I haul a car trailer around and it shifts great. That second guessing the E4OD would do is pretty much eliminated, especially when hauling. The TC increase's pump pressure by 20% I change my filter/fluid and drain the torque converter every year. There are cheaper systems out there (B&M and the like), but I settled on the banks unit. I don't regret it at all.

It took me 3 hours to install the TC with nothing more than a pair of wire strippers and a 13mm socket. Directions are well written and went on without a hitch.

I hope this helps.
Let me know how you like it.

Xaviar
96 F-250HD 4x4 460/E4OD 4.10
Banks Power Pack, Banks Trans Command
MSD 8227 Coil, MSD 32199 8.5 Wires, MSD 6A

 

Xavier,

I'm glad you responded to mc. You are the first person I thought of when when I read his post. Should we sell him on the Power Pack now?

mc,

When are you planning your first trip with the fifth wheel? And, where are you planning to pull it to? It's a touch early up here in Canada to be planning our first trip of the year... I've noticed a lot of RVs already on the road, but, we don't usually get ours out until May.

Perry

 

Hey Perry,

How ya doing? I think the Power Pack system would be a good investment for him. Especially pulling a 5th wheel. I know it's expensive but for me it was worth the money. He didn't mention if he had a diesel or gas though? Either way he should look into it. BTW, have you started building that Stroked 460.....?......lol Talk with ya later.

MC, what engine do you have in your truck and how many miles on it? If you haven't changed your trans fluid yet I would strongly suggest it. Don't forget draining the torque converter too. What kind of maintenence record does the truck have?

Xaviar
96 F-250HD 4x4 460/E4OD 4.10
Banks Power Pack, Banks Trans Command
MSD 8227 Coil, MSD 32199 8.5 Wires, MSD 6A

 

xavier and perry,

I do have the 460. You and i are actually close in models.

I have 1996 f250 HD crew cab, 4x4, e40d, 3.55's, K&N filter and a 2" body lift(which gave my fifth wheel installer the shakes!)plus the trans command.

I have looked at the Banks Power pack. It does sound good, just not sure if is 2100.00 good (quoted by ford, installed). Actually i am sure it is or Banks wouldnt still be in business. I will maybe look next year at that.

As far as maintence records, i dont really know as i bought it last november with 53,000 miles on it. I did talk to the 2nd owner who worked at a Les Schwab (tire&brake company) who said he babied it(and added the lift and custom wheels), but never did find the original owner(somewhere in Canada). I do know at one time there was a fifth wheel mounted in the bed, so i am guessing some sort of towing was done.

I just got done doing the 60,000 mile tune up, with just transmission change due. Even as big as the 460 is, it sure is nice to have all that extra room around it to actually work on the thing!

I am thinking about taking it to a quick lube place and have them do the trans filter and hook me up to the super sucker machine and replace all the trans fluid. That way regardless of what the previous owners did, i will have 18 new quarts of fluid.

Now, about the trans command. You can really tell when pulling, it just sorta "drops in gear" quick and positive. And when manuvering forward and reverse trying to level, it shifts back and forth much quicker. Compared to eevrything else the 300.00 is worth it, especially if it saves the transmission.

I did tow the fifth wheel for its first trip and it went pretty smooth. We bought a 31 foot prowler that weighs 7200 dry and probably close to 9000, when filled up. It was our shake down trip so we only went 30 miles from home, but 10 of those miles where on hilly washboard roads and took more than an hour in 4 low, so it really wasnt an all out test for the trans command, but after getting there and back, none of the fifth wheel companents had come loose, and all worked.

Thanks for the replies, now another question, do you really notice any gas mileage increase with the Banks power pack, or just more power and the same MPG. I could maybe sell it to the wife if i can get better MPG! Plus we had a 20 MPH head wind holding me back on the return trip and maintaining 60 kept the tranmission jumping to keep at 60, so more power may be another selling point.

thanks again
MC

 

MC,With all the upgrades, I've have noticed a 1 to 2 mpg increase. Not alot to right about but I will take the extra 60 to 65 miles per fill up. The main benefit has been the difference in performance. I can roast the tires with little effort. So, keeping my foot out of it was a problem for about a month. After I realized a more sensible way of driving would be better, I noticed the increase in some mileage.

Considering you're pulling a 7200 plus trailer it might benefit you more to look into alternative exhaust systems (headers) for the added Torque/HP they provide. Banks does offer just the primary kit, headers only for about 800.00 or so. I did called JBA before buying the banks kit and their header package was 800 bucks too. If I remember, it was a bolt on deal too. After looking at my options, I decided on the Banks kit. I'm very happy with it.

Have you checked other companies besides Banks? Any improvements in exhaust flow will aid in performance. From what I have gathered the stock muffler on our truck is a big restrictor. More baffles than you can shake a stick at. That's what the tech guy at Bank's memtioned, (after I installed my kit and gave him a progress report on the difference). You might start there? Spend a couple hunderd and install a K&N filter Dynoflow turbo 2.5 by 2.5. or (your choice), get rid of the duel outlet tail pipe and put on a 3"er and see what happens. If all goes well, you can add headers of your choice later. Summit had their brand, Banks then JBA. The summit truck header was around 500 bucks but it would have required a complete duel job with duel cats etc....... So, the price went up depending on what I wanted after that.

Trying to sell a complete Bank's kit to the wife might not go right now? Unless she just memtioned about that new kitchen she's been dreaming about?......lol

You mentioned that the Ford dealership would install the Banks kit. Maybe you can talk to someone in the shop who has it on their truck. Thats what I did here. The dealership I frequent here has 2 employees with the banks system on their trucks. So I got a chance to talk and test their trucks out before I bought.

I hope this info helps? Good luck.

Xaviar
96 F-250HD 4x4 460/E4OD 4.10
Banks Power Pack, Banks Trans Command
MSD 8227 Coil, MSD 32199 8.5 Wires, MSD 6A

 

mc,

I didn't seem to notice much of a milage increase with gasoline, but, I also run my truck ('95 F250 XLT 4X4 S/C 460 ZF) on propane. I did notice some improvement in fuel economy with propane. I'm still doing some economy checks with my truck as I've recently installed a Fuel Atomizer 2000... and promised to post results on the site here. That will have to wait... I've just shut the system off and am rechecking the baseline now.

Power... well that is another story. I love my Banks Power Pack. It has made a world of difference. As I wrote to you in another thread, I am able to pull my fifth wheel up most grades in fifth gear (O/D) as long as I keep the road speed up and the RPMs above 1800. My fifth wheel weighs in at 9000 lbs and stands nearly 12 feet high. Prior to the Banks, I had to shift back to fourth for most hills, and even then it seemed sluggish. Even ran in fourth if there was much of a head wind.

Milage increase while pulling the trailer was quite noticable... I would get about 430 - 450 kilometers to a tank of propane, before the Power Pack, after I've been getting a consistent 540 km/tank. This year, I'm going to see what happens on gasoline as the price of propane is up, but, I don't have a baseline to work with pulling the trailer on gas... I'll also be trying to dial in the Fuel Atomizer 2000 for a towing situation.

I know this is not how you meant it, but, the Banks Power Pack sounds great, not good! It is not loud and annoying like some systems, but, people do know when I'm around. It gives a deep throaty rumble that really brings the kid out in me... though that alone has the potential to destroy fuel economy... LOL!!!

I installed the system myself. It was straight forward and everything fit like a glove. The biggest problem I had was extracting a broken manifold bolt. That alone took 8 hours, and some rather helpful but colourful language... LOL! One thing to consider is that if you have any broken manifold bolts a shop will charge you shop rate to extract them. If it takes them 2, 4, 6 or 8 hours, it can get very expensive, not to mention gaskets and such if they have to remove the head(s), you do the math. If you don't have any broken ones now, I would consider changing at least the rear ones now before they are broken. They will break, they always break, and with the trailer on they'll break sooner... consider replacing them with grade 8 bolts or something stronger. The stock manifolds warp, breaking the mounting bolts. The Banks Torque Tubes will eliminate the breaking problem, as any header would likely do.

I hope this helps you. Good luck, mc.

Perry