Has anyone used one of these? My tranny has 160K miles on it and I want it to last a good while longer.

Are there any other electronic products for the E4OD that work good? Thanks!

 

If you are talking about the cheap switch improver, that actually can damage your drivetrain from what I hear. The only good upgrade is the regular Transpak or something similar that deals with the valving and internal pressues.


Rich

 

I have one, been using it for 2 years now and have 185 000kms on the truck without problems. its neat but really I think shift kits belong in cars, truck is so heavy and it snaps so hard that I don't understand why you would need one in a truck. I got mine for free so what the hell and installed it. Like I said it works good, but I'm not drag racing a truck, might be good if I was off roading or some thing. Best thing to keep your transmission alive is big *** oil cooler.

 

Thanks for the info., atleast I won't be wasting $40 now.

 

If it causes the trans to shift harder, it can make it last longer to to less slippage.

However, this is harder on your drivetrain, specifically your driveshaft joints.

 

Not to mention it doesn't make for a nice ride when you have passangers. Best bet is the trans oil cooler.

 

Had one, learned more about what it does, removed it. The B&M is kinda like those doo dads that increase your fuel pressure by making your factory pump spin faster. The B&M installs in the circuit that controls your tranny fluid pump. Changes the operating speed of the pump thereby increasing pump output pressure. Does not send any commands to the tranny as far as load or speed. Switch on = higher pump pressure. The unit firms up the shift characteristics, but it does it all the time, unless you remember to switch it on and off.
If you want a quality product and are willing to shell out some $$$, Banks makes a product called the TransCommand for the E4OD. This unit is a more complicated install, but gets into brains of your tranny and provides program mods that are load sensitive and does a lot more than speed up the pump RPM. Four Wheeler Magazine did a whole write up on tranny improvements for a whole series of transmissions. For the E4OD, they were apparently very impressed with the TransCommand. I called Banks and they mailed me a bunch of information on the unit.
According to TCI, they are working on a unit for the E4OD to compete with the TransCommand, but the last time I checked their website it had not been released yet.
Although I agree with Wheel that a valve body mod kit is the best way to go on most trannys, the mechanical route often does not work out so well on today's "smart" transmissions. The mechanical side of the tranny gets modified but the computer does not know what is going on, often with unpredictable results.
I cannot speak with personal experience for the Banks unit...yet. The $$$$ thing has this one on the list, but it has not reached the top yet. Priorities don'tcha know. I would recommend against the B&M unit. Did not care one bit for the way my truck behaved with this unit installed.

 

I have also looked at the Banks unit but thought it was only for the newer 4R100s and didn't know if it was compatible (sp?) with mine. I'll have to check it out some more!

 

Ok, but is this all really needed in such a big truck? Wouldn't money spent else where be better? New heads? cam? On the girlfriend? hee hee

 

Ok. First, I installed the Electronic switch, and then removed it. It does NOT change the speed of the pump, as that is driven from the torque converter shaft. It changes the operating pressure via the solenoid used by the PCM. It just increases the pressure. The switch is simply a resistor and a normal switch.

Second, I wouldn't use it. I went for the full blown transpak by B&M, and it does the same pump pressure change, but also has internal modifications to also aid in using the increase pump pressure. My transmission does shift fast and sometime hard, but it's not too bad. When I hook up the horse trailer, it shifts very nicely. The fast shifts reduce clutch wear in the tranny because the amount of slippage is reduced. It does nothing for performance, such as racing or top speed, at least in the Broncos or Expeditions.

The transpack cost me about $60, and was quite easy to install when I did the filter/fluid change. Very well worth it to me. I now have 155k on my Bronco, and the tranny operates very smoothly and I have not had any problems.

 

I would love to put better heads and a cam in but the engine has 160K miles on it. Girlfriend? She has her own money No, actually I don't have a girlfriend, if I did I couldn't afford to drive the beast!

 

Not a tranny expert...just going by what info I got directly from B&M when I sent them an e-mail. Wiring diagrams for the E4OD supported what they told me sooo

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to bash you. I've talked to B&M before, and most of those guys are just sales people, and have no clue about the actual tranny operation. I have followed what all the electric circuits in the tranny do, so I know what is going on. I like to know how things work

 

I always thought it worked the solenoid! I must of got that info from B&M's web site or something.