What to do?!

[notlimah]

So as some of you may know, I was looking for a new truck, well that fell through so for now, I'm sticking with the ol faithful 2wd!

Anyways, I'm creeping closer to 180k and was just wondering. What should I be looking to upgrade/replace/service all those sorts of things. My sig is up to date with what I have currently. I'd like to upgrade to a fuel boss just for peace of mind but other then that, what should I be looking to do to maintain reliability? Thanks in advance!

[Me78569]

If it aint broke don't fix it.

 

 

Honestly if you truck is in good shape and reliable I would just fix any clunks and so froth.  I wouldn't go out looking for things to do due to mileage.  If it needs a coolant flush, do it, if it needs an oil change do it, but don't go looking for things to replace at a given mileage.  Your pocket book will hate you for it.  A lot of the drive-line is good to 200,000 and beyond.

 

Just keep and eye on things, check your steering, wheel bearings and u joints every couple months.  Take note of anything new happening when you drive / brake etc.  

[notlimah]

Yea stuff up front like bearings, steering and u joints were the first things I was thinking of going through. I don't think my steering is to bad, never experienced death wobble or anything. What all typically gets replaced or worn up front? I'm all stock so I'm sure it could use a freshing up! 

 

What at do you think about throwin an EZ on there with my current setup?

[Mopar1973Man]

Like myself... I did my first brake job at 180k miles. My front ball joints and track bar were replaced at 185k miles. I'm still running OE tie rod ends and steering box. The front end wear is typically enhanced with leveling kits, lift kits and oversized tires. Then you'll see more and more wear issues in the front axle and steering.

[notlimah]

That's good to hear Mike. Brakes were replaced probably 5k ago, but I'd have to check reciepts to be exact. I guess I'll just go until something starts to change, then address from there. Mike I know your an edge comp guy but for someone like me with a stock trans and not looking to mod further like injectors and such, is the edge EZ fairly "safe" if you can even use that term when it comes to modding?

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm not found of the Edge EZ for the reason the module is under the hood and its known to leak water into the module and rot the circuit board out creating all kinds of weird issues. At least with a Edge comp the module is in the cab. The Edge juice which is even more expensive has much better designed module case and doesn't leak. It's also mounted under the hood.

[notlimah]

I'm definitely not opposed to the comp, I'm just afraid of doing damage to my stock trans or stock VP with the comp. That's why the EZ seems appealing since nothing is tapped to the VP and it just controls timing, right? Are the lower modes on the comp comparable to the higher modes on the EZ?

Are the water leaks a cause of just heat cycles? I can't imagine water making its way to it from the road or the hood. 

[Mopar1973Man]

Edge EZ is a 65HP box. Not really adjustable 60, 63 or 65 HP. It a fuel and timing box without defuel modes.

Edge Comp is a 40-120 HP box with defuel modes to lighten the launching. So you could run 1x3 which is 40 HP max extra fuel and defuels 67% of stock fuel till 10 PSI and then released. This is a feature the EZ doesn't have at all. If you leave the Edge Comp untapped its defaults to 40 HP level.

So edge Comp is still safer for the transmission than the Edge EZ.

MAIN

1. 40 HP
2. 60 HP
3. 80 HP
4. 100 HP
5. 120 HP

SUBLEVEL

1. 33% of stock fuel till 20 PSI of boost
2. 50% of stock fuel till 15 PSI of boost
3. 67% of sotck fuel till 10 PSI of boost
4. Some extra fuel at low boost
5. Full fuel at 0 PSI of boost

 

Edited November 17, 2015 by Mopar1973Man

[CTcummins24V]

If you are going to get another 24v in the future, edge comp all the way. But, you'd have to upgrade your driveline too. Automatic or manual? A box/programmer really wakes up the truck and makes it much better for any type of driving. 

[Mopar1973Man]

The only thing I changed was my clutch no my NV4500. Nothing else was changed on the truck.

[notlimah]

36 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Edge EZ is a 65HP box. Not really adjustable 60, 63 or 65 HP. It a fuel and timing box without defuel modes.

Edge Comp is a 40-120 HP box with defuel modes to lighten the launching. So you could run 1x3 which is 40 HP max extra fuel and defuels 67% of stock fuel till 10 PSI and then released. This is a feature the EZ doesn't have at all. If you leave the Edge Comp untapped its defaults to 40 HP level.

So edge Comp is still safer for the transmission than the Edge EZ.

MAIN

1. 40 HP
2. 60 HP
3. 80 HP
4. 100 HP
5. 120 HP

SUBLEVEL

1. 33% of stock fuel till 20 PSI of boost
2. 50% of stock fuel till 15 PSI of boost
3. 67% of sotck fuel till 10 PSI of boost
4. Some extra fuel at low boost
5. Full fuel at 0 PSI of boost

 

So Mike when it says 33/50/67% of stock fuel til whatever psi, what is that saying? 

6 minutes ago, CTcummins24V said:

If you are going to get another 24v in the future, edge comp all the way. But, you'd have to upgrade your driveline too. Automatic or manual? A box/programmer really wakes up the truck and makes it much better for any type of driving. 

Another 24v is going to happen at some point in the future, just not sure how soon, and I'd rather not make it sooner because i cooked my working one! Haha 

It's an auto so even more reason to be careful with a box on it. Honestly I just want a little more pep for daily driving, but with the ability to get more if/when I upgrade fuel system and trans. I drive the thing like a grandpa anyways so really just some extra help when merging and stuff would be awesome!

[Mopar1973Man]

Exactly what it says.

Like sublevel 3 you only get a MAX throttle of 67% of stock fuel rate till 10 PSI then the Edge Comp kicks in and pours the coals to the engine. So you can customize your fuel map a bit with a Edge Comp or Edge Juice. But Edge EZ there is none. Like my normal setting is 5x3 which is 120 HP maximum fuel with 67% maximum throttle till 10 PSI and then pour the coal to it.

This is all the adjustment you get on EZ. (60, 63 and 65 HP) Slide the jump on and that's it.

[CSM]

I've run Juice With Attitude, Smarty, a couple Edge comps, and now have a TST Comp / Smarty stack.  The smarty/comp is my favorite.

The Comp is a good box.  Very user friendly and capable of small power increases all the way to large increases.  

One word of caution on the automatic though... The stock automatics are good transmissions.  However, they need treated gently when they are stock.  Most guys can get good life at a higher level of performance by upgrading the valve body and changing the torque converter.  There are a couple other mods, some solenoids and a governor arm that are good to do as well.  However the big ones are the converter and valve body.  The valve body should increase the line pressure to the bands and keep them from slipping.  Slipping and the heat from the slipping is one of the big Automatic killers.  The other issue is the stock converter has a single lock up clutch, whereas most aftermarket have 3 or more.  The stock one can slip with the power of a chip, overheat, and send friction material through the trans just like the bands overheating. 

My point is, that you can do just fine with a comp.  And a comp is better than an EZ.  But, you need to be careful, especially when accelerating off the line or towing heavy, to be nice to the transmission. 

Edited November 17, 2015 by CSM

[notlimah]

15 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Exactly what it says.

Like sublevel 3 you only get a MAX throttle of 67% of stock fuel rate till 10 PSI then the Edge Comp kicks in and pours the coals to the engine. So you can customize your fuel map a bit with a Edge Comp or Edge Juice. But Edge EZ there is none. Like my normal setting is 5x3 which is 120 HP maximum fuel with 67% maximum throttle till 10 PSI and then pour the coal to it.

This is all the adjustment you get on EZ. (60, 63 and 65 HP) Slide the jump on and that's it.

Ah ok, that clears it up! I wasn't sure which way the power scale slid.

So I could even run it at 1x1 and get the 40hp with very minimal extra fuel? How much stress would running 1x3 add on the VP44?

10 minutes ago, CSM said:

I've run Juice With Attitude, Smarty, a couple comps, and now have a TST Comp / Smarty stack.  The smarty/comp is my favorite.

The Comp is a good box.  Very user friendly and capable of small power increases all the way to large increases.  

One word of caution on the automatic though... The stock automatics are good transmissions.  However, they need treated gently when they are stock.  Most guys can get good life at a higher level of performance by upgrading the valve body and changing the torque converter.  There are a couple other mods, some solenoids and a governor arm that are good to do as well.  However the big ones are the converter and valve body.  The valve body should increase the line pressure to the bands and keep them from slipping.  Slipping and the heat from the slipping is one of the big Automatic killers.  The other issue is the stock converter has a single lock up clutch, whereas most aftermarket have 3 or more.  The stock one can slip with the power of a chip, overheat, and send friction material through the trans just like the bands overheating. 

My point is, that you can do just fine with a comp.  And a comp is better than an EZ.  But, you need to be careful, especially when accelerating off the line or towing heavy, to be nice to the transmission. 

What's the benefit of running the comp and smarty stacked? Like I said earlier, I really do drive it like a grandpa, I constantly feel like people are mad because i accelerate so slow haha It would just be nice to be able to stomp on it a bit and really get her up and going every once in a while.

Any recommendations on a nice upgraded valve body and TC?

[Me78569]

I personally don't like the idea of stacking the smarty with and egde comp. Seem strange to disable the timing of the smarty ( what is it really good at) and allow the edge to do it.

 

If you still have a stock 47re don't add power.  You need at LEAST a TC and VB before you add power.  The stock trans is good for stock power, that's it.    Put your money into trans mods.  The TC and VB felt more noticeable than my 100 hp injectors.  Power to the ground is where it counts.

 

[CSM]

38 minutes ago, notlimah said:

What's the benefit of running the comp and smarty stacked? Like I said earlier, I really do drive it like a grandpa, I constantly feel like people are mad because i accelerate so slow haha It would just be nice to be able to stomp on it a bit and really get her up and going every once in a while.

Any recommendations on a nice upgraded valve body and TC?

In a stack, one box/programmer does fuel and one does timing and/or more fuel.  I like how the smarty does its fueling off the line (very agressive) and its timing.  However, the smarty doesn't put out enough fuel on the top end, which is where the TST comes in.  Based on your driving style, a stack isn't required.  Plus, the smarty is a good code reader.  

I like the smarty, and alone it can be programmed to have an easier or harsher off the line torque like the edge comp, but it won't put out near as much power as an edge comp. Alone, the edge comp is a more versatile unit.  

As for valve body and converter... There are a lot of opinions and I am not knowledgeable on the options.  BD, SunCoast, Goerend, TransGO, Revmax, ATS etc.  I got tired of reading about them all and just spent way too much at ATS!  But, my trans was destroyed anyway at that point by the previous owner  and I have had no issues with the trans.  Picking valve bodies and converters might be a separate thread!  haha!  The only company that I have heard of with zero complaints is Goerend.  

Another thing I would recommend, regardless of what you decide for a chip.  I have an Aluminum deep ATS trans pan.  Keep the mag-hytec or ATS ones on your wish list on the Cumminsforum classifieds or on a black friday sale.  They really help to keep the overall temperatures down and make the trans much easier to service.  

Edited November 17, 2015 by CSM

[Me78569]

CSM, 

 

Thought you were talking about the edge comp, not tst comp.

 

The TST comp is great to stack with the Smarty, the edge comp and smarty has been known to lose power on the dyno compared to just hte edge.

[CSM]

4 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

CSM, 

 

Thought you were talking about the edge comp, not tst comp.

 

The TST comp is great to stack with the Smarty, the edge comp and smarty has been known to lose power on the dyno compared to just hte edge.

 

Edited for clairification.  I've had both.  I have a Smarty/TST Comp now.  Alone, smarty is my favorite (with my setup and very low stall converter!) but the smarty / TST stack is holy.  

[notlimah]

As much as I just wanna slap the comp on, I hate the idea of upgrading only to brake something else. I guess I'll have to look into at least a valve body and TC.

How does these look

Valve Body Is this a DIY install or take to a shop install?

TC is this the 'lowest' upgrade to the TC there is?

[Me78569]

What are your HP goals?  

 

As for the VB, I would say if you can replace injectors you can do a valve body, However it all depends on how worn out your current VB is.  A worn VB cannot really be saved by the average joe.