short of going with a john woods trans which sounds really great

what can i upgrade on my stock trans without spendings thousands of dollars, i will if i have to but if i don't have to i won't

the blue bus halls 9000lbs. 3 times a year, plows snow and come fall have 33" tires or 35" tires not shore yet on size

 

The only things I've done to mine so far has been moving the cooler up behind the grille so it gets some air flow and a factory tech VB. I can't seem to get it to run warm let alone hot. I also went to Royal Purple ATF. I'm happy with it and short of a high multiplier and slightly higher stall converter, I can't find anything else I want to do to it.

If you're holding gears and shifting decently, there is not much need in upgrading clutches or other internals until you notice a problem. What are you looking to accomplish?

 

well a more solid fell doring shifting gears and reliable i just wasen't shore if their were any issues with the stock trans that could need a little help

what is the factory tech vb is that something that can be done in my garage or not and the royal purple atf did u flush the trans with a pump or just drain it then add the rp atf also is that something i can do in the garage.

i don't want to sound like a newby but the trans is not something that i've worked on before the last one i worked on was a 1979 4spd.in a bronco, man i wish i still had the truck

 

Here is a link, I flushed mine when I went with Mobil full syn. ATF :

https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...nsmission.html

 

The valve body was a cinch, basically drain and unbolt the trans pan, remove the filter, and remove 12-16 little bolts. Remove the stock valve body, put the Factory tech in it's place, put the little bolts back in and torque them to a small torque spec and put the pan back on and refill. I did it in the driveway of my shop in under an hour.

It made my shifts much firmer, firmer than when I had my tuner setup for race shift pressures. The duration seems shorter as well. Before I put on new tires, it was pretty easy to chirp 1-2 shifts.

I flushed mine, but RP should mix pretty well with most all fluids.

 

I'm going to get my accumulator valves replaced this Thursday. Most, if not all tranny techs will tell you that the accumulator valves that came with the 4R100 were prone to wearing out and should be replaced with new Sonnex or Tugger valves and springs. From what I've read, it is a DIY job but for certain mods, I'd rather leave it to those that have done it before.

I've also heard a lot of comments on the stock torque converter being weak. With the cost of a new TC installed around $1000, I'll probably wait on that mod unless the tranny guy finds clutch material in my filter when he drop the pan.

 

Is that a ford TC? All of the ones I've looked at were in the $700-1100 range just for the converter. My primary choices are between the one Factory Tech uses and Precision's Stallion.

I don't think the TC is weak, just not a performance oriented model. The multiplier is not too bad, but these heavy trucks with higher rpm peaks could stand to wait a little longer before taking off. I won't pretend to know alot about them, but I think we want the multiplier to be in effect while we are making more power instead of going 1:1 when we are only making ~125-175hp. A multiplier of 1.5 at 150hp would put 225hp at the trans input is how I think it goes. So if we delay the stall from 1400rpm to say 1900, we could see a decent performance improvement at those rpms.

 

something else to add to the list is a "trans-bypass tube elimination" kit. i have that on my list as well. this eliminates the bypass tube which can burn a trans in just a few miles if it goes out. the by pass tube kit is for start up's, it bypasses the cooler till the trans temp reaches operating temps. if this fails it will not let fluid go threw the cooler.

i have the BD Diesel 4R100 by-pass elimination kit (on my F250).

i also have the BD Diesel Pres-Loc to help control converter lock up part # 1060380 on my F250.

on the shelf i have a TransGo tugger shift kit that i was waiting to put in my F250, but i think i will install that one in my Ex and look for the TransGo HD towing shift kit for the F250. i've heard that the tugger kit and the factory tech valve body are VERY similar in performance, but with the transgo kits you have a couple different setting you can choose from.

 

I've used the Ford Transmission Cure for my Excursion and my E350 dually bus. Eliminated the OD engagement slide that kills the E4OD and 4R100 transmissions. It's electronic, and it doesn't take long to install. You can remove it and put it in another vehicle if you sell one as I did when I went from the E350 to the Excursion.

 

wow it looks like i have some reseach to do
thanks guys keep them coming

 

John Wood has valve body accumulators too.

I have one on my 250 and Excursion. They shift smooth as butter, quick and to the point.

Stewart

 

I'd say get a BTS unit and don't look back. I did and don't have to look back. That or get a VB. I got a BTS VB and they gave me money towards a trans when the diode locked up in spite of the VB sitting in burnt, debris laden fluid for over 100 miles. If you mate an expensive TC to your old trans, it could become expensive when the trans breaks. You will have to pay for it to be cut apart, cleaned, welded back together and balanced.