Curious about Diablo shift valve.If this increases line pressure,is it constant whether at shift point,and cruise? Concerned
about seal pressure all the time as opposed to the Banks Trans command that increases line pressure only at shifting and returns to normal pressure at cruise.Somebody has got to be running one of these types.
I need some feedback before buying.What are you truck pullers using,manual tranny?
Thanks Gearloose

 

Oh yea...someone is running one. I bought a Transcommand because my truck shifted wierd with my bigger tires and a chip. Works AWESOME. It works so good my buddy went and bought one for his STOCK truck the next week. He now also has a chip, exhaust etc. It is well worth the $250. If you looking for it I have heard camping world is the cheapest, or you can try direct injection turbo out of Indiana.




2001 F-350 CC Lariat 4X4 LB PSD SRW, Heated leather, off road package, western snow plow, strobe lights in parking lights and backup lights, tinted windows, stull billet insert, pioneer cd player, rockford fosgate 700S amp rocking 3 JL Audio 10W0's behind back seat, husky liners front and back,Banks transcommand, Hypermax "hot rod" chip, Hypermax pryo/boost gauge and Hypermax 3.5 inch downpipe and 5 inch exhaust.

 

Hey Dave tell me more... What is shifting 'wierd'? I get this strange sensation after shifting into 3 like 1/2 second later it shifts into 4th. I have been debating valve vs. other solution like trans command.

 

Well my problem is that the stock tires are 265 and i put on 295 size tires. What happens is that the tires are bigger and changed the speed compared to the actually speedo in the truck. (Im really going about 5mph faster when it reads 50mph. The truck computer still thinks that the truck has 265 size tires on it and shifts when its supposed too, but for the tires that i have on the truck, its shifting at the wrong time. I thought the trans command would help. It did help. But i am sending my chip back to get a higher HP and also to correct for the bigger tires and to correct the speedo. Any other questions let me know and i hope i didnt confuse you.




2001 F-350 CC Lariat 4X4 LB PSD SRW, Heated leather, off road package, western snow plow, strobe lights in parking lights and backup lights, tinted windows, stull billet insert, pioneer cd player, rockford fosgate 700S amp rocking 3 JL Audio 10W0's behind back seat, husky liners front and back,Banks transcommand, Hypermax "hot rod" chip, Hypermax pryo/boost gauge and Hypermax 3.5 inch downpipe and 5 inch exhaust.

 

gearloose -- I ran with the Diablo Accumulator valve for a few years. There is also a valve made by Sonnax that is a lot cheaper that does the same thing. A side benefit to running an accumulator valve as opposed to an electronic mod is you can also replace the shift springs with a stiffer compression spring and get much quicker, firmer shifts as well as a good torque converter lock-up. The line pressure is variable with the accumulator valves because it will be dependant on the pump volume to increase the pressure.

Electronic modules (transcommand, autotrans, etc, and most programming in chips) increase the line pressure by diverting flow and concentrating more pressure in front of the accumulator valve. If you want to increase the pressure behind the valve, you increase the pressure in front of the valve. The reason I don’t like the electronic method is because I don’t like to see flow diverted from areas of the tranny.

The mechanical method replaces the stock (0.331") valve with a larger valve. The Sonnax valve is 0.427” (Diablo Valve is 0.437", but can also be ordered in an "extreme" 0.500") and allows more fluid into the same area behind it. When more fluid is allowed in the same area, a higher pressure is realized. But, no fluid flow has been diverted from other areas of the transmission.

Another difference between the Sonnax and the Diablo is the material they are made of. Sonnax uses a stainless sleeve and bore while Diablo uses an aluminum sleeve and stainless bore. Pressure on the valve is not linear; it comes at an angle, which tries to wedge the valve as it moves in the sleeve. Diablo chamfered the leading edge of the barrel (gave it a light angle) to prevent the barrel edge from digging a groove in the sleeve (which happened on early models). Some say this slight angle allows contaminants to wedge between the barrel and the sleeve making the valve stick - although I have never seen it happen, I guess it would be possible.

While installing a new accumulator valve, you also have the opportunity to change the shift springs to a higher compression rating. This will quicken the time spent between the gears. Some tranny kits (like the Trans-go) do not supply stiffer springs, but will include shims, which will effectively do the same thing as installing stiffer springs.

 

Dale thanks for the info.You say you "were"
running a Diablo.Not now? I rode in a Diablo valve equipped 4R100 with a
4in exhaust.and flipchip from Diablo.
Really hammers the shifts,he had went thru 2 trannys prior to the valve,and seems to like it very much.Had been using electric mod.
Owner said most people don't like the valve as opposed to a elec.kit(commander),
is the firmness of shifts "all" the time whether it be at partial throttle or to the "wood"!
Sounds as if you had to do it over again, you would run the valve as opposed to the electric.
Any other input would be great.Thanks again Kenny

 

>What is shifting 'wierd'? I get
>this strange sensation after shifting into 3 like 1/2 second
>later it shifts into 4th.

That's the torque converter clutch locking. Some time after this you feel one more shift, right?

 

I say "used to" because I now have a custom built tranny. If your friends truck has both the diablo accumulator valve and the chip, and he didn't get the chip with the trans line boost programming deleted, he is probably running a fairly high line pressure. I would imagine if you had one, or the other, you would do OK. My old tranny shifted quickly and firmly, but it wasn't overly harsh. I did have the trans line boost program deleted from the chip I was using. Two other chip companies do not include trans line boost with their chips.

If I had it to do over again I would go the valve/spring route. It is only about $35 to $40, installs pretty easy, and does very well.

 

>>What is shifting 'wierd'? I get
>>this strange sensation after shifting into 3 like 1/2 second
>>later it shifts into 4th.
>
>That's the torque converter clutch locking. Some time after
>this you feel one more shift, right?

Hey Mark thats it exactly. After reading some of the other posts am I correct in that this only happens in 3rd and 4th gear?

So if you go with the Valve, the quicker firmer shifts aren't harder on the tranny?

Thanks,
Brian

 

On most trucks the converter will lock during the 3-4 shift. It does vary with different calibration codes, so that is not an absolute.

I don't know if the harder shifts are better or worse for long life.

 

Firmer shifts are better on the tranny.
Smooth shifts have more overlap and heat.
Extremely firm shifts are still ok for the tranny
but the driveline shock is bad for u-joints etc.

Rand

Disclaimer: This is true to the best of my knowledge.

 

>I say "used to" because I now have a custom built tranny. If
>your friends truck has both the diablo accumulator valve and
>the chip, and he didn't get the chip with the trans line
>boost programming deleted, he is probably running a fairly
>high line pressure. I would imagine if you had one, or the
>other, you would do OK. My old tranny shifted quickly and
>firmly, but it wasn't overly harsh. I did have the trans
>line boost program deleted from the chip I was using. Two
> other chip companies do not include
>trans line boost with their chips.
>
>If I had it to do over again I would go the valve/spring
>route. It is only about $35 to $40, installs pretty easy,
>and does very well.

Any clue if the Superchips Microtuner has a trans boost program in it?

 

Yes, it has the boost program. For the Powerstroke you cannot adjust or modify it. You'd need a chip to that that.