I have been talking to my tranny guy today and got some prices re up grading my tranny. T/C is a triple plate 4R100 consisting of all Allison parts, $1,500.00. I'm told that I can do anything I want to as far as horsepower upgrading.

Reprogramming kit (Shift kit) $122.00, roughly another $40.00 in other parts, (oil, filter, seals, gaskets etc) & $850.00 in labor.
Total $2,500.00

I can go with a middle of the road T/C, triple plate but with a billet (?) for $825.00 for a total of $1,800.00

I'm thinking that for the additional cost of $700.00 it would be cheaper in the long run to go ahead with the Allison T/C.

This whole thing started with a oil & filter change and talk of the shift kit.
I'm not having any problems as yet but as soon as I get my gauges in I'm going to mildly chip it for pulling my 5th Wheel. The tranny has 89K and i do not know it's history.

What are your thoughts? I know that some of you have the skills to do this yourself but I don't, plus I don't have the time or equipt.

Roger

 

thats a hard call to make, especially pulling a trailer.
my honest opinion. if the fluid aint burnt and its not slipping i would spend the money on something else or put it under the pillow for the rainy day.
if you want a shift kit i am 100% confident in mine, i dont know if anyone on here has tried it yet so i really have noway to back it up other than my truck has 227k on it and still kicking along with a couple of videos of how it shifts, the trans isnt origonal, it was in it when i bought it but i can tell you that when i got the truck it wasnt new and i've put almost another 100k on it and abuse it regulary.
if maintained the tranny is a good unit despite the bad rap people give it just because it doesnt have allison stamped on the case

 

Joe, I have no doubt that your shift kit would work well except I have no way of doing it. I can't really expect a tranny shop to allow me to hold up their shop while I screw around and modify the actuator. Plus, on top of that I am now asking them to allow me to place modified parts on top of their rebuild and if something should go wrong I have given them the perfect avenue to void any warranty.

Also, I don't know the history of my tranny for it's first 75K as I didn't own it then. Altho the fluid looks good and I'm not having any great problems at this moment I sure don't want to be out in the tullies of Chicken Leg Iowa with a broke tranny, then I'm really at the mercy of the mechanic that just happens to be available.

I do want to install a mild chip in the truck along with some of the other mods that have been discussed on this forum by you as well as others. Those along with the 5th wheel that I tow will be putting additional stress on the stock tranny.

I don't really know what/where the weak spots are in this Ford tranny. If I decide to go with the bigger T/C (the Allison) and the shift kit is there another area that would be concidered a weak area that would more than likely give me trouble down the road? Would it be cost effective to address that area now with the tranny out rather than later?

I'm not asking anyone to make this decision for me, what I am trying to do is gleen as much information both pro and con to assist me in making that decision.

Hey, I just got a pregnant idea Joe, want to come to the foothills of the Sierras and play tranny mechanic??

Hmmmm, just a thought.
Roger