I am going to buy a Transmission Cooler and Stage II Transgo Performance Reprogramming Kit.

My question is, what makes a T.C better than any of the others? Is it size (bigger = better)? Would a tubular style be more effecient than the tall and flat? Price wise they range from 29.99 - 97.99 at AutoZone, so money factor isn't that big of a deal, but with that said 30 is better than 100 if the difference is preference.

Any input is appreciated.

 

Why would you want the Transgo 2 shift kit in your truck? I have the Transgo 1 kit in mine and am very happy with it. The 2 is meant more for a street strip vehicle and the 1 is meant more for power and towing. Other than that they are very similar. I find the 2s shifts to be much harsher for a daily driver than I am comfortable with.

With coolers, bigger does not equal better. It will depend on your weather and operating conditions. If you put too much cooler in place the trans may never warm up enough to operate efficiently in very cold weather. There is a reason the factory did not go for a stand alone cooler instead of the radiator cooler.

 

I agree with SEAL to a point, you do need it to get up to operating temp in order for it to shift properly, however, as you know, too much heat is the enemy and will cause premature failure. If you are going with a shift kit and plan on anything other than standard street driving, I would lean towards a smaller trans cooler. Long distance towing will require an aux trans cooler.

 

I see you are from California. Southern CA and Northern CA are extremely different weatherwise and should be a consideration. I live in South Texas and we have mild winters and very hot summers. Since you PM'd me yesterday, I found the brand of cooler I used which is Torqflo. They carry it at AutoZone. Hope this helps.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...questid=356468

TransGo TF-1 is the model you should get for the shift kit.

Here's a good read on Torqueflites and there's a section on shift kits as well.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/transmis...-tom-hand.html

 

I live in Central Ca, where we get all seasons. Currently we are experiencing 106* heat, and in the winter it gets down to the 30-50* for the majority of the time. After reading that article posted by SEAL (thank you) I think that i am still going to order the TF-2. It says that the shifts will be more firm (compared to the TF-1), but that it is still very "streetable and reliable". Im okay with pronounced shifts 1-2 and 2-3, and it will beef up the functionality, while doing away with the 2-3 overlap. Has anyone ever actually used the TF-2?

 

I would advise against the "2" kit. A buddy of mine put one in his '77 360 power wagon and liked it for about a week. Then he got tired of feeling like he was slamming through the gears. Im thinking the "1" kit is going to be more like a crisp shift rather than the "I hate being comfortable so I tuned my truck to accomodate those needs" feeling that the "2" kit will offer.

 

I have seen the "2" kit used in 3 different applications by friends and everyone of them replaced it with the "1" kit after a few months. Transgo doesn't tell you that in most applications the "2" kit needs further adjustments to the tranny to make it shift properly. These adjustments are beyond the knowledge level of most shade tree mechanics. If you choose to go with the "2" kit I hope you enjoy it. Good luck.

 

X2

You've got to remember that you are building a truck. If you are looking for race car performance, then you are starting with the wrong platform. D250 is a heavy truck with a small motor. My shifts are crisp and firm with the stage 1 kit.