Bombs for buddy.

[greaseburner]

Hi everyone! I come to you in seek of recommendations for my buddies 2000 F-350 dually Automatic. Hes looking to maximize towing capabilities and hopefully some economy will be a side effect. He tows a 36 ft. Toyhauler weighing in at around 12,800 dry and probably 15,000 total. I had him install a set of guages last week. Where does he go from here.....I know nothing about the Powerstroke. Im a Cummins guy. You all come highly recommended from the cummins board. Any help would be appreciated much. Thanks all!

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by greaseburner

Hi everyone! I come to you in seek of recommendations for my buddies 2000 F-350 dually Automatic. Hes looking to maximize towing capabilities and hopefully some economy will be a side effect. He tows a 36 ft. Toyhauler weighing in at around 12,800 dry and probably 15,000 total. I had him install a set of guages last week. Where does he go from here.....I know nothing about the Powerstroke. Im a Cummins guy. You all come highly recommended from the cummins board. Any help would be appreciated much. Thanks all!

4 inch turbo back would be a great place for his next mod.....from there, maybe a big honkin air filter or an intake......and if he isnt looking for all out hot rodding, just fuel economy and towing power, maybe a superchips programmer and set her on tow haul........come on guys.....i know someone else has an opinion on this

[greaseburner]

Tranny mods? How much will the auto handle?

[mschn99]

the trannies hold up fairly well with regular maintanence, better than the last trannie dodge used, but still not as well as most would like, especially when towing. the weak link is the torque converter. if he has the cash to do it, i would reccomend a high quality aftermarket torque converter and maybe a shift kit....there are tons of these out there and hopefully someone else will chime in with some first hand knoledge of the one they use......Marc

[mschn99]

also, if he really wants to go big....of course BTS and a few others make aftermarket trannies that are supposed to be the cats meow.....but as long as the trans in his truck has been well maintained and not abused.....this may be something a little over the top.........Marc

[f450-freak]

ok ..lets see if i can help by him not making the same mistakes i did. first and formost get a big honkin tranny cooler. towing a toy hauler will make that tranny cry. a 4" turbo back exhaust is #2 on the list, #3 is a fresh air intake of good quality. as for more towing power well thats a really good question. with any chip or program he will need a set of gauges to keep an eye on things. i have tried a banks big hoss set at level 3 and have found it to work the best so far for towing. i tried a dp and another not so well known one and have had not so good results with them IE: egt spikes and not being able to balance power with turbo spool and egt. my toy hauler is around 14- 15000 lbs also and in the hills of upstate new york it has gotten a good work out. on trips on flat high ways all tuners and chips work great but when u get in the mountains thats another story. i hope it helps u with ur chioces and just know that what i have may not work as well with truck because all truck set ups arent alike. best of luck. any info u need please write me and we can chat.

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by f450-freak

ok ..lets see if i can help by him not making the same mistakes i did. first and formost get a big honkin tranny cooler.

Yet more great advise....i forgot that one...good call man

[f450-freak]

tranny fixer uppers. well a tranny in these trucks are pretty bad but a good tranny company like bts or suncoast or any of the others can make u a goos box and keep u on the road and out of the shop. a multi disk billet converter is very much a have to have in this tranny. a trans command can put a band aid on it for a while but a fresh unit is usually needed. keeping the fluid at 179 degrees is key to life in these. i use a fan cooled tranny cooler and it has worked awesome .

[f450-freak]

Originally Posted by mschn99

Yet more great advise....i forgot that one...good call man

thanks for the thumbs up ... i needed that .

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by f450-freak

tranny fixer uppers. well a tranny in these trucks are pretty bad but a good tranny company like bts or suncoast or any of the others can make u a goos box and keep u on the road and out of the shop. a multi disk billet converter is very much a have to have in this tranny. a trans command can put a band aid on it for a while but a fresh unit is usually needed. keeping the fluid at 179 degrees is key to life in these. i use a fan cooled tranny cooler and it has worked awesome .

i would agree and disagree with you in the same comment here....but i do not beleave a full aftermarket tranny is needed as long as your trans is in good shape....no matter what the milage.....the torque converter is the biggest thing and a shift kit will prevent future damage with the aftermarket converter.....but also, without disassembly....its tough to tell internal condition.......and any trans that has fluid appearing or smelling burnt....or has towed heavey and has gotten hot or has had lack of maintanence is subject to question...but the 4R100 is not as bad of a trans as people give it credit for being.....if you take the converter out of the mix......but cooling is the #1 thing.....i would want to NEVER see temps over 200 and would like to keep them 150-180 depending on terrain and ambiant temp...also, i would agree that the trans command module is a band aid...it may prolong symptoms and slightly extend trans life....but it doesnt prevent anything.........Marc