E4OD valve body or shift kit?

D66stroke

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I just bought a 97 and the trans shifts really slow. The converter locks up nice. I was looking into the Dieselsite VB, as well as BTS and JW. The description that Dieselsite gives basically puts the idea in your head that it's best to buy their VB over doing a shift kit or modulator valve/sleeve. My question is, should I buy a VB already done or a shift kit and do it myself? On my last 97, I bought a VB from RacerX for the same reason and it made my trans shift even slower, there was nothing crisp or firm about it. So that experience makes me wanna buy a shift kit instead of $250 for a VB
 

D66stroke

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Also MTS diesel does complete VB's for around the same price as the others, as well as DIY "shift kits" using a .427" or .500" modulator sleeve and 3 new accumulator valves with shims for like $50.. Just wondering what the best bang for the buck is and what my best result may be. Gonna do a 6.0 or Tru-cool 40k gvw trans cooler at the same time
 

old man dave

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the difference between a shift kit and a BTS or JW is JW and BTS know how to set up the valve bodies for sure for your application since they only do diesel specific transmissions. They are also able to tell you how to refine the Valve body tuning if it isn't to your liking. Will the others support you after you buy?

The shift kits are somewhat generic in nature and the instructions are somewhat trial and error.

I bought a BTS transmission and after 50K hard miles it was no longer shifting as crisply as brand new. BTS told me what two holes to drill out in the separator plate and how much bigger. Back to brand new performance.

You get what you pay for IMO....
 
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D66stroke

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Yeah true. Anybody have any experience with the Gregg Evans VB (Dieselsite)?? If I bought a VB, I wanted to go through Dieselsite since I'll be ordering a trans cooler through them. But only if I hear good feedback on the Factory Tech VB
 

D66stroke

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So I ended up buying the Transgo Tugger kit. Could I get away with just installing the springs and .427 sleeve in the accumulator body, or is it best to do everything in the kit?
 

old man dave

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So I ended up buying the Transgo Tugger kit. Could I get away with just installing the springs and .427 sleeve in the accumulator body, or is it best to do everything in the kit?

With the TransGo Tugger kit you can do everything except drilling the enlarged oil passage without dropping the transmission. Its a co-ordinated kit. Don't neglect to do the chamfering and beveling since this prevents burrs from forming that will affect piston operation later on (keeps the pistons from sticking). Should have full blow-by-blow instructions in the kit.

Otherwise, you could have bought the much cheaper little kit for much less performance.

Don't forget where the little balls go (if any). I found what TransGo and BTS do for drill sizing holes was quite different.
 

D66stroke

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That's my biggest fear is losing the balls. I don't wanna pull the main VB and the balls fall out, then I'm screwed lol. What exactly is chamfering and beveling?
 

old man dave

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That's my biggest fear is losing the balls. I don't wanna pull the main VB and the balls fall out, then I'm screwed lol. What exactly is chamfering and beveling?

The shuttle valves need the leading edges beveled (gound with a angled edge instead of left with a sharp 90* edge). Left with a sharp edge, they gouge the aluminum bores forming a burr. The same thing with the bores the shuttle valves move in, they develop a burr than restricts the movement of the shuttle valve and worst case, hangs up the shuttle valve. Doing this will extend the life of the valve body.

This should be all covered in the instruction sheet that comes with the TransGo Tugger kit, at least mine did.
 
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