Never mind.... I'm dense.

 

What makes you say that?

 

I mis-read your post and asked you a dumb question, so I removed it. LOL...

 

If you ever have a dumb question, you can always PM me. I won't tell anyone. I've misread posts before, too. There's alot to absorb on this forum.

 

Well I think I am just going to order the tugger kit and be done with it. I want to be able to do the most mods while I am at it so I will just spend the few extra dollars and have the most that I can put into it. Now we just need some warm weather so I can do it. Man I wish that shop was done. Been working on it but still have a long ways to go...even going to have a lift when we get done

 

Just ordered the tugger HD2,last week,(WERE'S THAT BROWN TRUCK AT)so I will be watching this thread and will be PM you guys with questions.

I am thinking that puliing the trans. and doing the pump mods.would be a good idea because I only have 95k on my truck.and mybe this will help it last a long time and work the way I want it to.

 

It wasn't that. I asked a question that about something that you already answered in the post. It was a long day in class yesterday.......

 

I know this thread is alittle old but I wanted to bring it back up.

I am slow to learn like other people and have some questions of my own, and its easer for me to understand asking in my own words.

The transgo tugger, is that almost the same at the BTS VB just cheaper and you more less have to do the work yourself, as fair as drilling the plate?

The BTS VB, is that a complete kit just bolt right in and go, or is it more complex then that?

Mine trans shifts hard does that mean I have a shift kit already or is that just the superchip messing things up. I am trying to learn and read up more on the tranny now since I know more then what I did on the 7.3. not trying to beat a dead horse just trying to learn a thing or two.

 

Jeremy,
The BTS VB is just that. A mod'ed accumulator VB with a TransGo plate drilled by Brian based on what you tell him you want. It costs over $300, but you get $100 back when you send in your old VB. There are two TransGo kits that are very similar: the Tugger for ~$100, and the HD2 for ~$70. There are a couple extra mods you get with the Tugger than you don't get with the HD2, but in the end, they're very similar. My logic was to go in and do all I could while I was in there, and it was only a $30 difference. There are quite a few extra mods that you don't get with just the VB, but by far, that part makes the biggest difference.

The TransGo plate is quite simple. There are three holes that must be drilled to a range of sizes based on whether the tranny is bolted up to a V6, V8, or V10/PSD. The larger the holes, the firmer the shifts. I went on the large side, and am quite happy with how it turned out. If you have decent mechanical skills, you can do this. I simply took my time, and did one piston bore at a time on the VB. I also mod'ed my main VB accordingly. There are basically three phases of the mod: The accumulator VB, the Main VB, and the solenoid pack. There are a couple things to do once you get all of those out of the bottom of the tranny (check *****, poppet, etc.), but those three are the main things. There are mods to the pump you can do as well, but TG says you don't need to do those unless you have the tranny out. Hope that helps!! If you haven't seen it, here's a link to the TG Tugger directions I scanned in:
TransGo pictures from friends & fun photos on webshots

 

Thanks Joe. So you only have to drill the 3 holes out nothing more? Just visual inspection then?

 

The full tugger kit includes a variety of parts, to install everything that comes with it you have to remove and disassemble the transmission.

If you are only interested in the valve body mods, you can do as little as changing some valve springs in the accumulator and installing the calibration plate, up to and including removing and modifying the main valve body and calibration plate and checking/changing check *****.

 

On the plate, yes. As far as other drilling, it depends on which version of valve body(ies) you have. I have the 2nd type Main VB, and had to drill a hole in it. I also had no slot in my Accumulator VB and had to drill it. So there are a couple other holes to drill, but it's really easy. Just make sure you de-bur the holes on the inside of the bores so the pistons don't get stuck on them. I used 600 grit wet-sandpaper to smooth them out after scraping the burs off. Can't think of anymore tricks, other than make sure you pull the electrical connector off the solenoid pack from the TOP SIDE of the tranny. It's held in by that connector when you pull the bolts out, and the directions don't tell you that. I pryed on mine a little, and chickened out when it felt stuck, but Mike broke the clip off his. He got it off though...

 

If you tell Brian what you are doing and what it is going into, he will drill it to your needs. I did one of those before and we kept going larger and larger till it became obnoxious. Of course, you can drill it bigger but you CANNOT drill a hole too large and then try drill it into a smaller size. Believe me, if I could, I would have.

This is where it can get tricky as pointed out to me by someone on another board. IF the bore is at spec, life is good. If it is out of spec as can happen with an older trans, again, you cannot make the hole smaller.

For that little bit of a difference, I would rather not waste my time trying to hope I don't make the hole too big and that the bore is not too wore out. If we are talking about a $500+ difference, I might be more willing to take the risk.

In my case, I bought the VB and good thing I did. The trans broke a month later because of the diode. I had to haul my RV back from where it was to home which was over 100 miles. We took the pan out and saw the debris there. Personally, I wouldn't have given you a nickle for that VB. I got full credit from BTS. Sight unseen and in spite of the fact that the VB was sitting in burnt fluid and with crap running around. That and the fact that Brian talked me thru removing the shifter column when the wire broke makes me realize they have EXCELLENT customer service, BAR NONE. I'm very happy with that company. Does it show?

 

Why would my tranny feel like it shifts hard and fast now? Could that be because the superchip is changing things? Kind feels like I will twist the drive shaft off at times.

 

Not sure what you are talking about.

What do you mean by "now"? Right after the superchips? All of a sudden way after the superchips?