Howdy guys,

My buddy has an 01 STX with 4.6L 3.55LS...and recently programmed his PCM with the Hypertech chip. I dont know how many of you guys have tried this but after it was all said and done, he noticed a cloud of smoke coming out of his backend. After inspection, he realized he blew the rear tranny seal, and now leaks fluid even when stopped and off. Was this caused by excessive fluid pressure, or installation at the factory? Has anyone had any problems with this happening whether running a Hypertech, Diablo Chip, or Superchip? I am getting ready to Xcal2 and I dont want my tranny going out on my '04. I have roamed the boards for a while and I havent heard anything like this so any input or similar experience would be appreciated...

My next question is regarding the 87 and 92 tune from Xcal. I am going to go on vacation in October (Mexico) and hopefully by then I will have my Xcal2. Does anyone know what tune to use when in Mexico or what octane level they use down there? I know that Mexico isnt known for their good gas so any help here would also be appreciated.

Thanks guys

 

There have been guys to have jacked up their tranny when they set the shifts to hard with the programmers. Is your friends tranny stock? It says that the programmers are only to be used on stock trannys. Main thing is dont set the shifts to hard, that's where the problems come in.

 

I don't agree that it's safer but it is definately a better tune than the Hypertech can offer. It all comes down to how the vehicle is driven, maintained, serviced. I bet the 01 STX was driven hard before and after the Hypertech install.

 

Thanks guys for your input.

I will let him know of this. As of right now, he's gonna have the tranny rear-end rebuilt and possibly add a shift kit while its down. He has been known to do spirited driving from time to time (Chevy hunting ) but nothing that I would consider excessive. He realizes that its a tank and not a sports car. I was just wondering if anyone on the board has had this happen with the Xcal or even Hypertech. Catch you guys on the street...

 

Hi lepwew1,

I would not say that the Hypertech unit caused that - nor do I agree that the Hypertech is a "dangerous" device and the XCal 2 is "safer," either - that is nonsense. It's a matter of **who does the tuning and what their actual knowledge level is on each specific vehicle platform** - not what hardware was used to deliver the tuning.

Though I'd never recommend a Hypertech product, they do not generally have a reputation for causing transmission failures in these vehicles, and I doubt that really had anything to do with his problem.

More likely was that it was simply time for it to let go - another factor is that if the top speed limiter was raised and your friend took advantage of that, some of these trucks can certainly use a better driveshaft balance than what comes from the factory when running triple-digit speeds. Another factor is that some of these trucks had some bad tailstock assemblies years ago, and other issues with their automatic transmissions from time to time - though most of that was taken care of by the 2001 model year.

There's just no telling what actually caused that to happen - but I doubt it was using the Hypertech device alone.

With regard to what gas is used in Mexico, usually you will find 85 octane in most places - though you can find premium gas in some laces too, what you can generally count on finding in their "regular" gas is about 85 octane in many areas of Mexico. We can easily set you up with tuning for your 2004 truck that will be compatible to run on the fuels down there in Mexico - and will deliver much better results than any other tuning device for these vehicles, as we've specialized in tuning these F-150's for 14 years now - but then you've been here for a while now, so you probably already know all that.

Sorry to hear what happened to your friend - I hope his repairs/upgrades go well - let us know if we can help, & good luck!