Has any one tried the Gale Bank's exhaust system and tran shifter
on their Expy? I have a '99 EB 5.4L 3.55 I'LL BE TOWING A BOAT
5500 LBS. UP HILL TO LAKE MEAD IN NV. FROM SO.CA ,SO I NEED MORE POWER. :

 

You can see in my sig what I've got and what I've done, and I tow a boat that can reach 7500#. Last week we did a trip up into the Ozarks (Lake Ouachita) and we were at about 7500# with a week's worth of "stuff" packed mostly in the boat and the last 75 miles or so with a full tank of fuel (65 gallons). Those steep narrow roads around the lake were a little struggle but she did great! Solid as a rock on the road and running 70-75 MPH where we could, with the AC running I returned home (after about 700 miles of towing) at 11 MPG on the nose.

 

Just for a little more input on towing, I have a 2000 Exp EB that I purchased 3 months ago. Last weekend I towed my 20' Dynasty Ski boat to Dauphin Island, AL from Blountsville, AL, a distance of 350 miles. The elevation drops from 900 ft at Blountsville to 0 at D.I. My boat weighs about 4500 lbs and I was carrying 6 people in the Exp, with the air on. I drove 65-70 on the way down and got 12 mpg. On the way back, I drove 75-80 going uphill and got about 10.5. I wasn't taking it easy either. The Exp tows great, but it does slow down quick when going up hills. I have to always stick my toe in a little harder when I go up a hill towing or not. I get 17-19 mpg when unloaded driving 50-70. I have seen as high as 21 at 50 mph on level ground at sea level. My Exp is identical to familyride's except it is 100% stock, has 3.31 gears and it is laser red. I like it and think the mileage is good considering the weight. I have a friend that has a 2002 Durango with the 4.7 that has never seen any better than 16.1 mpg.

 

Whoa! 21 mpg with a 5.4 litre in an Expy? Something definitely happening there. That's great if you really got it, but I suspect a less than full tank accounted for those kind of numbers.

 

Navi Man,
I got the 21 mpg driving back and forth from Mobile to Dauphin Island, AL. It's about 35 miles one way and perfectly straight and level. We were going about 50 mph and the area is at sea level. That is the only time it has got that good and as soon as I got back home, dropped the trailer, it dropped back to the normal 17.7-18.3 range that it gets driving to work.

 

Actually, sounds pretty realistic. He's getting 21mpg going 50 mph on level roads w/ 3.31 gears. I make a regular travel trip of 350 miles in my X. I have the 3.55 rear and the elevation changes very regularly (climbing pretty good hills) all while traveling 80mph and I usually average about 15 mpg. I have found that the milage on these trucks varies greatly with speed. So with all that said, f100dw traveling level roads at 50mph with the 3.31 rear 21 mpg seems very possible.

 

Hi Family Ride

Very nice boat you have there. What is the length of your boat ?
I am trying to convince my wife into buying a new boat.

 

It's 26' 4" LOA. It's a Sea Ray 240 Sundeck. Great boat but it is pretty big. It's our first and I'm sooo glad we got it because this thing has room for everything! It's a perfect match for the Expy. It's like an SUV on water! Too bad modding it isn't as cheap! I'm going to have the props tuned, labbed and cupped and that will run about $450 and I'm not sure if I'll get any top end out of it or not.

Sea Ray now has a 220 Sundeck for 2002 that is cool! They've improved a few things but this 220 is a great size. The 210 was good but the jump to the 240 is s pretty big one. If you want a great family boat that's got the "utility" but without the ugly deck boat looks and has performance, it's a great boat. I think we'll move to a 27'-28' cuddy or Express Cruiser next. Of course that's getting into like buying some people's house!

 

FR:

Great looking boat! Most important, how FAST does it go? What's the MPG when towing, and did you put in a trans temp gauge when you modded the AT?

Just got off a boat myself...Disney Magic, 7 days of no phones, no e-mails, and 6K lighter in the wallet. I bet the animals are lonesome around your house every weekend...............

 

Thanks.

So, how fast? It's not a "go fast" boat by any means. It's got a great ride, handles rough water wonderfully and is extremely DRY. It's only ben in 30 MPH gust and 4'-5' chops that I've had water actually blow over and hit me in the face. I've had it to a top end of 54 MPH. Usually it's 50-51 MPH and with a several people it'll still do 48 or so. That's all on GPS. I wish the speedo was right. I'd be doing 55-56 MPH

MPG when towing? We did a 700 mile round trip 2 weeks ago. Loaded for a week, running A/C and doing 60-75 MPH depending on secondary road or hwy, I rolled up to the house with 11 MPG. Without A/C and driving more lik 60 (which is where I like to tow) it'll do 12+.

Tran's temp gauge? No. I'd like to add REAL gauges but haven't seen a pod that would look right mounted in my Expy. Towed the whole way in OD and it stays in gear. Has never hunted at all no matter what speed or terrain.

And who said 7500# was too much for an Expy? (Ok, I wouldn't do it bone stock)

 

i had the full banks power pack on my suburban.
it made a world of difference on it.
i will probably do it again to my x, when it comes time for parts replacement due to age or wear.
G

 

Family Ride;

I have an Autometer 3 gauge pod on my A pillar. I had a friend who runs a body shop paint it to match the interior colour. It looks pretty good. The only problem is that the top gauge is a bit "in your face".

If you just want tranny temp, a single pod would look pretty nice and the gauge install is pretty easy.

I put boost, trans temp and fuel pressure gauges in but I will probably change out the fuel pressure for a real water temp gauge at some point.

Ian

Ps - to get back to the point - I think Banks is really well engineered but very expensive. Their customer service gets a big raspberry, too.