Truck with 114k miles, worth upgrading valve body etc?

[JesseM]

Here's my situation, I just bought this truck about a month ago, and it just turned 114k miles, and I intend on doing the usual mods, Intake, Exhaust, chip, etc. I use it mostly for DD, but will tow my Mustang and Jeep Grand Cherokee from time to time. The truck has also been a light duty plow truck for about 5 years, and will continue to be one.

So my question is, is it worth putting a valve body and an aftermarket pan in the truck now, or just leave well enough alone and wait until the tranny pukes to upgrade things? I intend on doin a larger cooler regardless, thats easy enough and can only help.

Also fluid changes, the previous owner cant tell me when the last fluid change was, obviously Id like to change it for piece of mind, should I put Amsoil or Valvoline High Mileage, or something of equal in it or just regular ole Mercon?

On a side note, he did install an Amsoil dual filter set up and ran Amsoil 5-30 in it and I gotta tell ya, its the smoothest, quietest 7.3 Ive ever heard..

Thanks for the help guys!!

[choupique108]

no need for the larger pan.

I would do a BTS valve body and a 6.0 cooler and if you have the cash, a PI converter from BTS as well.

[JesseM]

TTT..

Anybody else want to give their opinion?
Anybody have any experience doin mods BEFORE their tranny let go?

Thanks guys - Jesse

[wingnut]

put my valve body in at just over 130k miles; did a full flush and added an external filter kit at the same time...i also stuck with regular Mercon (not the Mercon V)

[JesseM]

How long ago was that? How many miles?
Was the valvebody worth it? What brand did you use?

[wingnut]

dammit...my brain was going faster than my fingers would type

put it all in at 110k and have driven 30k since

i went ford tech valve body, but there are some fine options out there such as BTS!

[JesseM]

Thanks again for the help!

Im thinkin about this John Wood valvebody from Rifraff..

Riffraff Diesel: John Wood 4R100 Valve Body


Opinions??

Hey Wingnut, sharp truck by the way. Im not really a fan of grey or silver, but the two tone is sharp! What size tires you runnin? Any lift?

[SJB]

Subscribed to this one. I would like to know on the valve body as well.....

[wingnut]

john wood is yet another great option, one of the pioneers (as i understand it) in tweaking the valve bodies in these trucks

thank you on the truck, yup...lifted and 315/75/16 terra grapplers

[FordNutz]

These valve bodies have TransGo shift kits installed. Nothing magical that most would have you believe. You can buy a shift kit and DIY. Super easy. The Tugger kit is a little more complex. Drill to big of holes and it will leave your teeth somewhere on your rear bumper. I have seen several transmission with well over a 100k on them looking good inside if they have been serviced on a regular basis. So upgrades are OK to a degree.

The 6 litre cooler is one of the best options but the 45k LB tru cool is great too. The 99 doesn't have cooler lines running through the bottom of the radiator. Very important to get a better cooling system. The bigger pan is a waste of money. You would never need the extra fluid. The tranny can't pull enough fluid out of the pan RPM wise to need the extra capacity. The filter doesn't reach the bottom anyway so whats the point?