Has anyone heard of or experienced a problem or failure of their 4R100 after increasing their line pressure with a software change such as with an aftermarket chip or tuner? Are their differences in the E40D and the 4R100 that would make 1 more susceptible to problems than the other with increased line pressure?
In the "Transmission" section under the thread "Line pressure, how much is too much?" Factory Tech says the only safe way to increase line pressure is through a mechanical upgrade and not with a software change. He explains the problem created with a software upgrade will show up after approximately 1 year and not immediately.
I have a Banks Trans-Command on my 97 Expy, 5.4. The Banks unit increases line pressure from 1%-33% based on load which is measure by RPM, throttle position and speed of the vehicle. They use the stock solenoids to increase the line pressure.
Banks says the problem Factory Tech explains is not an issue with the way they increase the line pressure. The Trans-Command has been around for over 15 years and mine works exceptionally well....so far. Tranny temp is lower with the unit installed.
I can bypass my Trans-Command with a simple plug and I'm wondering if I should bypass it for daily use and only use it when towing my Jeep. Thanks for the help.

 

I don't know much about the Chip issue, But I would think if everyone with a chip or tuner was screwing up their tranny's, we would have heard about it by now.

 

I agree with the latter that if the chip really caused problems then there would be a lot more broken trannys.

Besides the 4R100 is a heavy duty transmission. I have heard that the desiel engines tend to wear them down faster as the high touque output really puts a strain on them, otherwise I have not heard this before.

 

Hi davet,

While I don't personally care for the Banks Trans-Command unit, it's not out of any concern for the longevity of the automatic transmission, and that Banks device does *not* have any general history of causing transmission failures in these FoMoCo's.

Neither I nor most manufacturers in this industry that I know personally agree with ANY blanket statement claiming transmission damage will result with an increase in line pressure, but ONLY if it is done electronically, that just falls in the face of logic to begin with.

We've been using the Superchips tuning (and have helped to develop many of these programs as well) for longer than anyone else in America as Superchips oldest WD, and not once has any of our vehicles or our customer's vehicles suffered transmission damage from the powertrain program changes. We're seen many 4R70W's, AODE's, 4R100's, 4R100-HD's etc in teardown as a performance company specializing in these vehicles for many years, and among our customer's vehicles whose histories we actually know, we don't see any incidence of increased wear in general from using our powertrain programs. In fact, what we generally see just the opposite, a reduction in slippage from the Superchips tuning & less wear on the friction materials as a result, & thus a longer service life from bands, clutches, steels, etc.

Excessive line pressure is excessive line pressure, and when we're talking about *excessive* line pressure, it doesn't matter if it is achieved with an electronic mod or with a mechanical valve body, if it's *excessive*, then you can certainly have a problem.

Now it is true that certain methods of raising line pressure via electronic means just simply aren't a good idea, such as the el-cheapo $40 B&M electronic shift improver & other similar devices. Many of them just splice into the PCM's wiring harness to hammer the shift solenoids harder, etc.

It's all a matter of exactly haw far you take line pressure (as opposed to fluid *volume*) and how you get there. There are some devices & methods that are perfectly safe & that Ford does themselves in these same transmissions in other applications, and then there are things you can do that could potentially damage the transmission, such as cranking up line pressure to extremely high levels electronically, or using the el-cheapo devices.

For example, if someone comes to us with their F-250 or F-350 w/PSD or a Lightning (vehicles with the HD version of the 4R100 specifically), or even a "regular" F-150 or Expedition with a 4R70W and says they want the tranny to shift hard & fast enough to "chirp" the tires on the WOT (wide-open throttle) 1-2 upshift, then we'll tell them that the safest & best way to do that is a combination of mechanical mods *AND* PCM program changes.

There is *far* more to shift feel & characteristics than just line pressure; that is only 1 of *many* different parameters that control actual shift feel. PCM program changes need to be made to restore the 50+ HP that is robbed by the delays, retards & leanout caused by Ford's "soft shift" implementation during a heavy-throttle shift, and then the transmission itself should be mechanically modified with a shift kit or with Greg's valve body, etc., to make it physically capable of flowing more fluid *volume*, so you don't end up trying to drain a swimming pool thru a straw, in effect, when making it shift hard & fast enough to "bark" the tires on the WOT 1-2, for example.

This is far too involved a topic to type out all this info here of course, but suffice it to say that there isn't any pattern of transmission damage occurring as a result of using either the Banks Trans-Command device or any of our powertrain programs. As you can see from the lowered operating temperature, you're getting less slippage, which means less heat is generated, thus the lower temperatures you're seeing. And that helps to *extend* the service life of the friction materials (bands, clutches, steels, etc.) as well as the seals, etc., inside that automatic transmission.

One thing to be careful of is cranking up line pressure to the point that even on light throttle, the upshift is "snappy," and anyone that wants their automatic transmission to shift that way needs to do both program changes and mechanical changes to effect this safely & reliably, for a "normal" transmission service life and best performance, too.

As long as you are happy with your Banks Trans-Command unit, and don't have it set up so that it shifts EXTREMELY HARD all the time, then there is generally no need to remove it, your transmission is going to live it's normal service life based on the quality of the parts Ford used inside, and how well it was actually built by Ford.

The reality is the actual quality of raw materials used inside these transmissions by Ford varies significantly (a bit less these days than 2 years ago, but still.....), as does the actual build quality, especially coming out of the Livonia transmission plant. Some are great & will last a lifetime, and a few will fail prematurely, that's pretty much the way it is with almost all automakers. Overall, the quality of Ford's automatics has improved and is generally better in the 1999 & up models, especially by the time we get to the 2000-2001 model years.

The 4R100's used in 1999 & up PSD's (Powerstroke diesels) & Lightnings is the heavy duty version of the 4R100, and can take a lot of abuse in general.

The bottom line is, as long as your transmission is basically healthy, that Banks Trans-Command is *not* going to shorten it's service life, and I really wouldn't worry about it.

Good luck & have fun,

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. It's too expensive of a repair (tranny) potentially for me not to ask for clarification. I appreciate it.