FYI - Truck add ons

[RoadKing]

I hope this is a help to someone. I have a 2003 Chevy 2500HD 6.0L 4:10 w factory setup for plowing ( I don't have a plow on it ) and towing with 30k miles. It's been a great truck with no problems. The reason I drive a Chevy is I have a friend who is GM at a dealership and he takes good care of me. I was never a big fan of 4 wheel drive because I didn't have the need, now I do. I pull my L series Kubota as well as a 28' toyhauler/travel trailer.I frequent trailer forums and have gotten caught up in the more power controversy. According to posters on these sites, to pull the weight of my trailer with my bikes and tanks filled I'm way underpowered I need Deisel, Deisel, Deisel, well I'm within a year of being paid off, this is the most expensive vehicle I've ever owned and take care of it accordingly and don't have the money to trade up even if I wanted to. Last fall I towed to South Dakota with no problems. If I started a long incline at 70 mph I probably topped it at 55 mph I thought this normal when towing 5 1/2 tons uphill. I get the idea that some of these guys on the trailer sites think that if you can't start the hill 55 and top at 70 you're underpowered. I used to do all my own work in my old racing days but now I look under the hood and scratch my head.

My warranty just expired so I took the truck to my friend and mechanic of 30 yrs for brakes and told him my story. He has been racing all his life, still does, and happens to be a chevy nut. I asked him to do some research about what I could do for more hp & torque. Well I picked up my truck yesterday and can't believe what he accomplished. He put in this monster air intake, a Flowmaster muffler the size of a Toyota, a high performance throttlebody (?) and an interesting gadget called a Hypertech Power Programmer III (http://www.hypertech-inc.com/programmer.html. )
Total cost under $1400 parts and labor. This programmer thing is amazing it will do a bunch of different things with the push of a few buttons
Now beside the fact that it sounds great ( my wife says it's a guy thing) the increase in HP and Torque, read acceleration) takes me back to the days of my 66 Chevelle with the 427 RAT I used to race. I can't wait for spring to see what difference it makes with the trailer on board but my gut tells me it will do the job and more.

 

[Doc]

Good post Road King!
I'm looking at a 10,000 pound boat. Just towing it out of the water and up the ramp has me concerned.
I also used to have a 66 chevelle. Loved that car. It was a convertable w/283. Not so much power but what a cool car. Sure wish I had it back now.

 

[Melensdad]

Was the air intake one of the modular K&N units? Pictures please.

 

[RoadKing]

Good post Road King!

I also used to have a 66 chevelle. Loved that car. It was a convertable w/283. Not so much power but what a cool car. Sure wish I had it back now.

Mine was originally a 283 when I bought it. Then I went nuts. I tell people about being a car nut growing and they look at me like I have three heads. I guess to some folks it's just transportation. I'm glad I grew up when I did it was a great time. I graduated from high school in 1965 dad had just died so I went to work, 1st job was as a lot boy at a Chevy dealership. It was like dying and going to heaven 17 yrs old at the beginning of the musclecar era.

I had a second job at local garage just for the car. Had money for parts and a full garage with tools and lift at no charge. The highlight of that period was holding a class record at New England Dragway for 2weeks. The strip was new and the sport was young. Backyarders could still compete. I got to meet all the greats Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme at the time the were touring, racing each other at tracks around the country The Mongoose vs The Snake.
I remember once I blew a rear end, I had a spare but no help and Roland Leong " The Hawaiian" loaned me some tools and his mechanic helped me change it. It didn't last long in a few years you needed sponsor money and a crew to do anything. I guess I just hit it right.

ps: Bob S I'll get some pics later this week.

 

[Av8r3400]

Take care you don't burn up yor allison tranny. It is easy to do on a modified vehicle, if the tranny isn't up to the task (which they aren't stock).

Lots of power + Heavy loaded trailer = busted tranny = $$$$$$

 

[RoadKing]

Take care you don't burn up yor allison tranny. It is easy to do on a modified vehicle, if the tranny isn't up to the task (which they aren't stock).

Lots of power + Heavy loaded trailer = busted tranny = $$$$$$

I don't have an Allison trans. My truck has the standard 4 speed with Chevy's Tow-Haul switch which supposedly compensates for heavy tow loads. The tow package included a HD trans cooler and trans temp gauge to monitor. The new program also causes the trans to shift tighter thus holding a more consistent fluid pressure with less strain during the actual shift cycle. I guess that's the advantage of computer control, everything gets altered so it works together.

 

[HGM]

I don't have an Allison trans. My truck has the standard 4 speed with Chevy's Tow-Haul switch which supposedly compensates for heavy tow loads. The tow package included a HD trans cooler and trans temp gauge to monitor. The new program also causes the trans to shift tighter thus holding a more consistent fluid pressure with less strain during the actual shift cycle. I guess that's the advantage of computer control, everything gets altered so it works together.

Good luck with it... I know I wont be able to talk you out of the air filter, so please just make sure you keep up on the maintenance of it .. It is critical, especially on a diesel... I would also recomend(if he hasnt already installed one for you) a exhaust temp sensor(installed as close to the head as possible) to make sure you dont hurt the engine during long hard pulls, some guys even recomend a redundant temp gauge rather than the factory and a boost gauge would be nice.. They should have a set-up that installs on the A-pillar and looks pretty good.. The power from a diesel can be very impressive, bet you get a grin now

 

[Av8r3400]

(6.0 and L480E 4-speed is a gas motor combination not the Isuzumax diesel...)

Same thing stands with that tranny too, RoadKing. Just take it easy on her when you have a load on and the power turned up. These "boxes" are capable of making so much power you can easily tear up a tranny, rearend or twist off a driveshaft. The computor will alter internal pressures, but it can't increase sprag strength or clutch friction material heat tollerance or...

 

[cj7]

One of the most common failures of any Auto behind a Diesel with lots of power is torque converter failure...

you end up building too much pressure in side and the case of the convertor swells the tolerences change inside on the plate... causing too much slip and burning it up the converter and fluid

there are many aftermarket converters out there to choose from.

And as already mentioned the internals of the tranny are good but too much power can spell early failure.

 

[Av8r3400]

you end up building too much pressure in side and the case of the convertor swells the tolerences change inside on the plate... causing too much slip and burning it up the converter and fluid

Never heard of that one before. I know that often there is too much torque for the small lock-up clutch to handle causing slip and eventual failure along with the related fragments of clutch going through and ruining the rest of the tranny. Never heard of the swelling problem, though.

 

[HGM]

Never heard of that one before. I know that often there is too much torque for the small lock-up clutch to handle causing slip and eventual failure along with the related fragments of clutch going through and ruining the rest of the tranny. Never heard of the swelling problem, though.

I havent either, though I guess it could be possible .... What most people tend to forget is that the converter is nothing more than a hydraulic coupler(ie:clutch) that slips to provide power transfer and tq multiplication... It is designed to slip(until the clutch comes on).. More power=more slip=more heat=trans meltdown....

 

[humor_me]

Take care you don't burn up yor allison tranny. It is easy to do on a modified vehicle, if the tranny isn't up to the task (which they aren't stock).

Lots of power + Heavy loaded trailer = busted tranny = $$$$$$

Nice Rig, RK!

I think what Av8r3400 meant to say is

Allison(Lots of power + Heavy loaded trailer = busted tranny = $$$$$$)

 

[cj7]

I should correct myself. I know for a fact that this can happen with the older 4R100 4spd tranny in the Fords.

I do not browse the GM boards enough to have found a case like this...

Did not mean to give too general a statement or mis facts here.

However there upgraded convertors out there that you may want to look into or just not go too for up from stock settings.