Let me ask you this. Why are you locking out overdrive at 40 mph? Are you running oversize tires? I don't have access to your transmission strategy, but I have access to the shift schedules on my 2003 Expedition. With light throttle, the truck shouldn't unlock unless it was under 28 mph. I can't say the strategies are the same, but I doubt they're considerably different.

 

Hey Windsor.

I'm not sure what a transmission strategy is. I'm running stock size tires and wheels. At 40mph and no strain on the engine the TC is locked up but if apply even a small amount of throtle it pops out of lock. I want to be able to apply moderately heavy throtle before the transmission releases the lockup. In otherwords the engine will "lug" a bit before slipping out of lockup. I don't have a pcm programer installed yet.

Ford One

 

That can be accomplished by the tuner. I turned OD off in my truck yesterday to see how much throttle it took to unlock the converter. It wasn't that much. However, I was only turning 1,600 rpm at 40 in 3rd gear. I don't think I would want the converter locking up at that low an rpm, but if you do, it can be done. The unlock strategy is based on speed and throttle input.

 

And, I was seeing a similar behavior in the 40-75 mph range. The truck would generally shift into 4th above 40 and the TC would lock shortly after that, but, any kind of what I considered to be a light load, would cause the TC to unlock. This was worse of course near 40 and 75, since the rpms were low near 40 and wind resistance was high at 75. It was not so noticeable in the 55-60 mph range.

Bill Cohron has said many people want the transmission to work that way, since it provides more power. So, I suspect this is a "design feature" adopted by Ford. I just found that constant unlocking under light load to be irritating.

And, Ford One, to your questions from the earlier post. I can't comment on the separator plate or valve body mod since I've not tried either. But, the PCM controls both part throttle shifting and TC lock/unlock based on speed and engine load (actually throttle position I think but that equates to load). So, the PCM can be "told" to use a different schedule, and a programmer can do that.

I'm biased toward the Gryphon because of the extra gauges it gives me and because I have nothing but total respect for Bill Cohron at PHP. However, the X3, tuned by Troyer or VMP is clearly a quality product also. You do not have to leave the Gryphon connected to the vehicle once you load the tune. It can be taken out and left locked up at home, just like you might do with the X3. Of course if you don't leave the Gryphon on your dash, you are not using the gauges and you probably would save money by going the X3 route.

As I said in an earlier post, I'm not sure if the X3 allows YOU to make adjustments to part throttle shift and TC lock/unlock. Looking in the manual, I can find no mention of it, but, the X3 gives you some other adjustment options that the Gryphon doesn't, so, choose your poison. Still, the tuner can certainly set these things to your liking (although it may take a few tries to get it right).

- Jack

 

Thanks Guys for all your help. I'm going to check out the XCal and the gryphon

Ford One

 

the gryphon and the SCT livewire can be compared but the Xcal3 is just a handheld and that's why many don't like it, they want the extra guages the other 2 offer