Are there cost effective Allison 1000 Tranny upgrades

[homerent@telus.net]

I have an 03 Dmax LB7, 4" Magnaflow exhaust, AFE Stage 2 air filter, coupled with a Banks big head wastegate Actuator. Now that I have so much power the Edge attitude warns me of impending slip and or slip. I have only ever let it slip 1% or so briefly.

My question is there a cost effective upgrade for the 2003 allison to allow it to take more torque by increasing tranny pressure without tearing apart the tranny and doing a full blown upgrade to a suncoast. I cannot effectively use the power in anything higher than level three.

slip is almost non existent in tow haul pulling a 30 foot 9000 Lb fifth wheel unless I am pulling steep hills and pushing it hard. the Big head is set for max boost of about 23 psi.

[Mark Rinker]

In my opinion, after reaching a similar crossroads with my tow vehicles, my answer to your question is:

"No."

As a businessman, to me the term 'cost effective' indicates hard ($$$) return-on-investment. Based on that definition, I can see no ROI from the Suncoast upgrade. With over 500,000 miles on stock Allison 1000s, I have done nothing but change fluid regularly. Not one adjustment, not one failure. Why mess with a good thing, unless you intend to truck pull or race and need it to hang onto big HP numbers?

Here is one approach - not sure of the results:

http://www.bd-power.com/gmc/product.php?pn=BD%20Allison%20Valve%20Body&tt=gmc

Here is another:

http://www.alligatorperformance.com/index.cfm?Action=Products/View&ProductID=1546&CFID=3030381&CFTOKEN=45153526

[Robyn]

:D First off, A BIG WARM WELCOME TO TDP :D

Just some thoughts, I tend to get verbose so bear with me.

I have built many many auto trannies for cars and pickups over the years.
The factory trannies are middle of the road between bullet proof and trash.

Now that you have tasted the big power you want it, almost crave it.
(been there done that)

If you smoke the tranny its very spendy $$$$$$ :eek: :(
(Been there done that too)

I would consider cost effective in the idea that if you can prevent a catastrophic failure of the gear box you are way ahead of the game.
If you have a failure, its been my experience that it does not usually happen at home in the driveway. Nope its out on the superslab somewhere that is $$$$$ unfriendly and a long way from home.

Look at the big picture and decide, can I afford to run the big power and chance a failure and the resulting costs of a long distance tow and a shop bill thats going to rival the national debt.

Even the fairly large investments in upgrades can make for more piece of mind and even if you never use it to its full potential you have a much larger margin of safety.

Having had failures on the road with a big rig has taught me that one cant be too well prepared.

First off the pickups that are sold by the Big 3 have nowhere near the stamina to do the job they are sold to do.
The allison auto is certainly a real good step in the right direction but after tearing a few pickup drivetrains up over the years I have learned some valuable lessons.

Base your decision on what you are going to do with the truck.

If its a daily driver and once in a while tows the 18ft fish boat down to the pond your probably fine as is.
Now if you tow a massive 5th wheel across the continental divide or over the grapevine on a regular basis, I would say go for the best upgrades your bank account can stand.
You wont regret it at all.

Better converters, clutches, bands, shift kits, coolers ect, all good stuff.

A few thousand $$ spent will soon be forgotten but a trip gone south with a smoked tranny a long way from home will be remembered for a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time as well as the cost to get it fixed.

Doing upgrades on your time schedule in your shop/ fav maechanics shop is no big deal but doing it in a strange town far from home with someone you dont know can be a nasty experience as well as costly.

Just some food for thought. :)

Robyn

[Kennedy]

I replied to your question in teh Duramax Performance Shop thread about the Banks Big Head.

P.S. If you run with enough power to make it slip (level 4 or 5) you WILL hurt the transmission regardless of slip protection. The same is true for the Banks setup. The only TRUE way to protect the trans is by limiting the power to a level that can be safely handled.

[Turbo Al]

Cost effective HUM, O.K. I run a tow truck and suggest you phone a tow companies and ask them how much to pull your dead truck and trailer any distance you figure you may be from the nearest or best shop to do the repairs.

Examples:
50 mile tow diesel Pickup with 24 ft reg hitch trailer (not 5thwheel) approx $300 each for a total of $600 tow bill.
This is not an uncommon tow for us and we usally can spare one truck to do it so you sit by the roadside either with your truck or trailer untill I make the round trip to come back for you. On a long weekend, payday weekend or full moon expect a long wait. If you have any more people than I can legally carry add a taxi fair on to the bill as well.

100 mile tow $1,050

If you get lucky and we have one of the Flatdecks around that can handle both tows at once the price is the same but it is done in one trip.
Al

[More Power]

To my way of thinking, there are two logical choices...

1- Don't run more power than the stock trans can handle.

2- Install a built Allison that is designed to handle more than you think you'll need.

I've heard stories about owners who tried the cheap approach, and installed some of the good parts, only to wind up replacing it all with a performance-built Allison. In the end, they spent more and endured more downtime to get what they really needed because of the earlier upgrades.

Jim

[mxracer207]

ok i can see that no one has answered your question directly yet...

I have been doing research on this myself. Is there a cost effective way? NO. We would all like to spend ~$100 to $200 and have a tranny to hold back an additional 200HP. Its not going to happen.

We basically have 2 options:

1. Electronics that will apply more pressure to the clutches and stop them from slipping. This system is good to about 400-500 HP total for an allison transmission. Roughly $600

2. Heavy duty torque converter. Holds back about 600HP, roughly $650 to $700.

I am saving for a torque converter. The co-pilot computer sounds like a bandaid for the real issue on allison trannys.