Does any one have experience with this application? My '93 Flareside 300I6 2WD is performing well but there's som towing in its future and I think it would be wide to firm up its shifting characteristics. I'd appreciate any comments pro or con.

Regards,
Bob P.

 

Bob,
I'm going to install a B&M shift kit in my '92 Flareside E4OD this week. I also tow a Jeep a few times a year. I'll let you know how it turns out. My trans is pretty sluggish now. From past experience with other types of transmisions I know the valve body kits work.

 

I have heard good reviews about the B&M,and some middle of the road oppinions. I would highly recomend the Banks Trans Commander. I also tow a Jeep behind my 91 F250 running 36" tires, and I race it in mudd boggs running 38.5" and larger tires. The Banks unit creates much crisper shifts which reduces torque converter slippage(the Grim Reaper of E4ODs). Cost is about $250.
Jeff

 

 

I finished up the shift kit installation today. It works great! The B&M kit gives two options, RV/heavy duty, or Street/Strip, with the second being the firmest. I chose RV/heavy duty for my '92 flareside 351 E4OD 4.56 33" tires. It now has very firm shifts throughout the entire throtle range, and will even break the tires loose going into second with minimal effort. Actually I was surprised how much difference it made, I can't imagine what the street/strip version would be like.
You can expect to spend a few hours to do the job, and you need a new filter and about 8 quarts of ATF. I also added a drain plug to the trans pan. Besides changing a few springs and enlarging some holes, you need to splice a module(47 ohm resistor) into the wiring harness. I let the trans fluid drain overnight, don't bother, You'll get soaked with oil as soon as you unbolt the valve body anyway. Lowering the separator plate without loosing the check ***** was scary(one is spring loaded), but not as hard as it sounds. B&M recomends Mercon or their own Trick-Shift fluid($6/qt.) for better performance. I used Type-F fluid which meets the same specifications as Trick-Shift at only $1.13/qt.
I hope this info helps.

 

Thanks, Rockcrawl. Where did you splice the electronic device? The instructions indicate two possibilities - one under the hood and one under the truck.

Regards,
Bob P.

 

I tapped into the harness under the hood. Mine has the ECM mounted below and to the right of the power brake booster. There are three connectors there, it is the one on the far right as you look at the firewall. I had to disconnect the harness from the ECM (10mm socket) and pull it up to where I could work on it. The wire taps that B&M supplies worked very well, but they are not at all weatherproof. I chose to tap in there because I couldn't even see the connector on the trans. I believe the resistor increases the main pump pressure electronically. The B&M Shift kit was a great improvement for $30.

 

Thanks again, Rockcrawl!

 

rockcrawl,
Does your tranny make a buzzing sound when you have the switch turned on (I usually keep mine in the #1 position)? It seems to happen in both park and neutral, and doesn't seem to change with air temperature, engine temp, etc. As soon as I put it in gear or turn off the kit, it stops. I'm thinking that I might need some of that trickshift fluid.. maybe the Mercon is bubbling at the trans. fluid pump? The tranny's only about a year old and it didn't make the noise before I installed the B&M.

Thanks!
Chuck

 

cbremer, You must be using the B&M Shift-Plus electronic shift improver. I have the B&M valve body shift improver which is a different thing. I beleive the shift plus does the same thing as the small module that is included with the valve body kit, but yours has a switch to change the firmness. In my case the module is a 47 ohm resistor that is connected in parrallel with an existing circuit, which acts as a shunt on one of the solenoids inside the trans (I think), thus changing the pull of the solenoid, and the main pressure. Yours probably does the same thing, but with a switch to vary (or eliminate) the resistance in the circuit. I have thought about using the Shift-Plus in conjunction with the valve body kit to gain some adjustability, but I want to contact B&M first to make sure this is OK.

To answer your question, no, I don't have any buzzing sound. The buzzing could be the pump cavitating (sucking air) but I don't see why the Shift-Plus would cause that. Most likely you are hearing the main pressure solenoid chattering because of the higher pressure created by the Shift-Plus. When you put it in gear, the main pressure will drop because the pressure is needed elsewhere, which is why the buzzing goes away. If the pump were cavitating it would most likely get louder when you put it in gear (more demand from the pump).

I don't think changing to a different fluid will help. It's possible that the buzzing is just a side effect that you'll have to live with. I'm not sure. Sorry for the fairly long post. I hope this info helps. Anyone else using B&M Shift-Plus?

 

rockcrawl,
I do have the shift plus, I thought that, since you mentioned connecting into the ECM harness, you were talking about it, not the transpack or shift improver kit. It does a fairly good job, but, with the E4OD, which downshifts hard sometimes anyway, the shift plus makes it REALLY bad, but it doesn't happen too often. As far as I know, you can combine the transpack or shift improver kit with a shift plus. (Summit Racing, I think, has a set where you get the shift plus, a transpack and the B&N deep fluid pan, for about $350 for E4OD, AOD and C6 trannys) I'm thinking about getting the shift improver kit.. after all, for like $30, you can't go wrong.

Thanks again,
Chuck