Who's done the valvebody upgrade?

Thinking about doing this and watched the IPT video but after a week, I might just forget how to put it all back together. LOL

Any of you that have done it, did you go IPT or Level10? What did you like and dislike?

 

... perhaps a link to the video would be a good idea.

 

I got it done by a guy who did Supra upgrades (similar trans). Wouldn't recommend him. Results were good, but he shipped it back in a trash bag and the trans fluid soaked into the VB gasket and it tore a few places. Had to get it towed to a trans shop to replace the gasket. He didn't GAF.

Pulling the VB wasn't hard, just messy. Be prepared to have trans fluid drip into your eyes, nose, ears, mouth...

Level 10 seems like a great place but IPT, hands down, has the best reputation. I think the guy's name is Dave. Call the IPT number and you can talk with him and customize your VB tune based on how much power you are making and what kind of drivability you prefer.

 

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-EDIT-

It's @Moose1988

He has the IPT valve body upgrade; look for his build thread for videos.

 

I saw he was trying to sell it and saw a post about "wanting to return it back to a cushy DD" or something like that. Thats why I was wondering if the hard shifts between 1st and 2nd became too annoying? Like StAndrew says, IPT can taylor the shifts but if its not firm then any use doing it at all? Not really a racer but figured the the extra power of the SC will help tow and wanting my trans to last

 

Call IPT. I'm not sure if they can tune each gear. I've loved how it shifts after the upgrade. Very fast and crisp. I guess its up to the driver's preference, but yeah, shifts can be hard.

The only thing that I dislike is upon initial startup, while the engine is cold, shifts into 1st or reverse approach violent.

 

That does not sound appealing whatsoever.

 

Mash it in?

 

Its not bad but the whole truck lurches quite a bit. Again, only when cold and high idling.

 

Its a common thing on most older autos. The almost instant trans engagement you get form the VB upgrade just makes it worse. Modern vehicles actually retard timing, among other things, when shifting from P to D/R to minimize the engine power and subsequent lurch as the vehicle goes into gear.

 

After thinking about it, after I bought my 2014, I noticed that the initial transmission shifts into drive or reverse when everything was cold. It's either gone away or I've become used to it. Then again, I drive it almost exclusively on the weekends.

 

We were doing mods like this to GM Turbo-Hydros of the '67 up vintage, specifically GTOs, back when they were new.

All were daily drivers with a drag race focus. Heavy stop and go traffic wasn't particularly pleasant, but the performance aspect of the shifts was a lot of fun. And worthwhile in competition.

Not sure I'd expect it to help with towing, or with trans longevity. Maybe, but not sure why..........

 

A lot of folks today are self-installing Transgo kits into their 4L60-E transmissions, or taking the cheap-o route and cranking up the line pressure.

Good catch, I didn't know he was pursuing that. Going to reread his thread and update my notes sometime this weekend.

 

I was wondering how changing the shifting characteristics will help prolong the tranny life myself. IPT mentions something about the sloppy shifting causing excessive wear on the clutches? Took 3 years of auto class in HS but we mainly focused on engine diagnostics BC our instructor had a hard on for winning this diagnostic competition every year. So that kinda tells you how much I know about transmissions. LOL

 

Excessive slipping from low pressure shift. Kind if like riding the clutch too much for you manual drivers. By increasing shift pressure, the clutches will engage much more quickly and reduce slipping.

@RedLantern has an acceleration vid in his build with his turbo and stock trans. You can hear his trans slipping hard and gear shifts taking a few seconds to hook up.

 

^^nice explanation St^^

 

Subbed for level ten information... N/A with a 4th to 5th slip.... Bad.

 

Def go with John at IPT if u do this and stay far away from level10. Theres alot of horror stories with level10 on supra forums and iirc on xru and custom tacos.

 

They recommend level 10 on XRU for a DIY install... What's the other one, and is it do it yourself?