Hey guys, my future brother in-law purchased a 99' 7.3L a while back for a farm truck and to haul his cattle. He put the Bullydog programmer on it and now he is afraid he may be needing a new tranny soon. I told him I'd check around and see what he could do to beef up his tranny before he has to replace it.

Any help and suggestions are appreciated!


Thanks,
01_White_Light

 

Really depends on the type of failure.

What are the current symptoms?

 

Now where did I put my crystal ball..................You might want to put some info in your post next time, such as symptoms and if its an auto or manual.


I will assume that its an auto. The Bullydog isn't really all that great of a programmer so its not like its putting alot of extra power through the truck. Though thats beside the point. He needs a valve body to help mechanically increase line pressure instead of electronically. I have a FTVB in mine and its ok, but I'm not 100% satisfied with it. Others love them though. I would suggest that he get a BTS valve body as its the same cost as the FTVB, but its much more adaptable. He also has to have a trans temp gauge. Thats a must if you tow at all. Past that he's looking at coolers if the temps are getting hot, or a torque converter. If you hear a marbles in a can sound when its at idle it has the weak TC in it that Ford had a TSB on. Might not be a bad idea to change it out, but a good quality TC is big money. I would not go with anything from a local shop or from a dealer. He's better off getting a Suncoast, Precision Industries, etc. They will run around $1000-1400, but they will last.


I also hope he has a full set of gauges on that too. Any time you add fuel your EGTs go up. Plus throw a trailer behind it and they can go through the roof. Mine in stock form can easily see 1100* preturbo pulling a 6k load through the mountains. Flat ground is 700-800*. If I start bumping the program up I end up having to back out of the throttle due to high temps. If he has the chip in there and no gauges he's playing Russian Roulette with his engine.

 

Sorry guys, it is an auto. As far as I know he has no guages, but the only symptoms as of right now is that ever since he put the programmer on there it has been shifting quiet harder and it gets worse if he backs out of the throttle right between shifts. I told him to do the FTVB, becuase it would pro-long the life of the tranny. I also told him that there was nothing wrong with his tranmission, but he needs to do something now to prolong the life he he wanted to keep it that way.

 

What he is seeing is common with sub par programmers. Thats the reason that he needs to either take out the programmer or turn off the transmission controls if it will let him. He needs a valve body, and honestly the FTVB is good for Lightnings, but for diesels the BTS one is the way to go. Better get on him about gauges, unless he wants to shell out the cash for a new engine.