i read a while back, about a trans go shift kit on the ranger trannys..
will installing one of these kits extend the life of the transmission as well as give me more firm shifts. and when towing... will the shift kit have any ill affects on how the truck will drive with a trailer?

and do any of yal have the shift kit installed?
i think once my warrenty is up, ill install a shift kit and tranny cooler so i know it will last long

 

Soft shifts = slipping clutches = heat = shorter trans life life.

Reducing the time it takes for the shift to occur is a huge benefit. With the trans go kit you dont hafta change the shift feel. I did and loved it.


As far as the 07 I'm not sure if the transgo will fit. You may need to contact them and see.

 

ya, i figured that much, but if the trannys are the same in the new models then it should fit.

so your truck has firmer shifts now? does it throw ya in your seat when it shifts? i know my buddies old chevy with a race tranny with shift kit would slam ya into the seat it was so firm ha.

 

The towing/street aka stage 2, is a nice firm shift not uncomfortable. It will not chirp the tires. That maybe due my need of a rear gear after upgrading to the 265 rubber.


I highly suggest a custom torque converter from fuddle racing. I have a 800 over stock stall and its underful. It get the truck into the 3k range with out breaking a sweat. Making red light to red light race more fun.

 

you have any idea how much a custom torque converter is?
i dont think i want to mess with the tranny THAT much until warrenty is up haha

 

I have the stage 2 transgo, so far I like it. I still want to bump up line pressure, but tahts for when I get the tuner.

 

if you have plans to get a tuner, it will firm the shifts. its an added benefit for guys with auto trannies.

 

Given that you have an '07 I would suggest waiting until the warranty is up before doing anything to the tranmission. As long as you keep your use to what the manual states you should be fine keeping the tranmission stock.

That being said I had a transmission shop install a shift kit in my '03 back in june of '06 because I was going to be at the max gvwr for about 4 days of driving on a 2k mile trip. I didn't experience one issue and the constant fluid flow will help etend the life of the transmission.

 

It doesn't just change the firmness, it actually increases the holding pressure on the servos as well. I have one but I haven't installed it yet.

Ford has been putting their own version of that fix on transmissions as required for a while now. You might want to find out if you really need it or not. You might be better off with an SCT tuner and tweak your shift firmness yourself to your personal taste. That's what I do.

Still I'm going to put the kit in to get rid of the delayed engagement problem which I have a tiny bit -- though it's not obnoxious (yet).

 

I paid 250 shipped from fuddle racing.

http://www.fuddleracing.com/

 

anybody got a link for the Transgo kit?

with my XCalibrator 2, i have the firmness turned up all the way.....i like feeling like someone is kicking me in the butt when it shifts.......

 

Since I bought mine they have updated the description.


http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/me...roduct_Count=2

 

so that kit couldn't be installed in my driveway huh

 

I did it in the drive at 40 degrees and rain. It felt like my fingers were going to fall off.

 

how hard was it?

 

Its 20 some bolts and one wiring harness. Then you just pull some clips and replace some parts and put the clips back in. After all that new gaskets and some Pjelly. New filter/gasket and top it off.

Its a 2 man job, just for easy of install. As long as your careful its not hard. Just a little overwhelming the first time you stare into the bare case with no vavle body in it. A clean work area is also suggested.

If you want a more info I can send you pdf's on the R&R of the valve body if you don't have a ford manual. Also an inch pound torque wrench is mandatory.

 

yea if you could send me those instructions.....

 

The shift improver kit I got from Transgo was about $50.

 

you got a link to it John?

 

i think i need something with the larger tires.....

 

I got it from artransmission in CA. Write them at artrans1910@sbcglobal.net or call at 559-485-8476 and ask for Steve Knutsen. They were very helpful.

I bought a trans rebuild kit from them on eBay and noticed they had a lot of 4R55E, 5R55E, '44E stuff and asked him about one and he said he had one and charged me about $50 for it added to my order. (Just looked up my correspondence and it was $41)

 

man, for the transgo i just installed in a 5R55E it cost me 31 bucks shipped to me from www.700r4l60E.com then it was about 60 for the filter and pan gasket from Ford and the valve body seperator plate with new gaskets on it from ford. then it was about 7 quarts of good fluid at about 6 bucks a quart. So about 130ish for parts and then another 30 bucks for the inch/lb torque wrench and about 5 hours to install it. there is a couple real good writeups on explorerforums about the 5R55E and the A4LD and transgo makes a kit for either of these trannies depending on what you happen to have in the truck. It wasn't that difficult of a job, just very precise. reading as much as I could about it from those writeups helped a lot with my confidence about doing it.

 

Pm me your email and ills end you the attachments.

 

Just a word to the wise for some of you guys who like to feel a very firm shift. And especially to you guys who want that feel and have bigger than stock tires.

I've driven quite a number of V6 rangers and agree that some longevity can be gained from **somewhat** upping the line pressure.

You really ought to do this either through the tune **or** through a shift kit. Don't do both and have a light to moderate "bang" when it shifts. You'll kill the tranny that way.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
When you put a sudden load on the entire drivetrain it's a litteral "shock" that is distributed to everything.. not just your butt. A shock puts a FAR GREATER load on the parts than a smoothly applied pressure.
The engines crankshaft, rod bearings, wrist pins, pistons, timing chain, FEAD components (alt, ac, waterpump, ps pump), motormounts, tranny cross member mount, tranny guts, u-joints, drive shaft, ring and pinion, rear end bearings, axles, lugs/lug nuts, wheels and tires ALL take that sudden spike of load. The higher the loads.. the shorter the life of those parts. It's simple science. And keep in mind athough these parts might "work". They are seeing loads they were not designed for. Sooner rather than later they will fail or get closer to failure than they would have otherwise.

All I'm trying to say is that consider what you are doing and be willing to accept the outcome. If it's your goal to get high milage out of this.. then you may want to go conservative. If you don't care, are 16yrs old, and just got your license this morning.. or act like it. Just be willing to accept the shortened life and possible breakage. (especially if your jacked up and have a increased driveshaft angle)

Oh and it's not un common at all to develope a belt squeek on the 1-2shift after a shift improver is put in place. Don't sweat it if you do. Just live with it because it's actually saving your FEAD.

For what it's worth, I'll be getting a tune sometime and will improve my shift quickness.. just not too much.

Rich