My truck is a daily driver as it transports me to school and work, i also tow a 10000lbs toyhauler on the weekends. The drive back home is roughly 280 miles from school so im trying to keep the mileage up and the towing capabilities as well. With that said im looking to get some more get up for the daily commute and street battle. 1 ton dodge, early 04 model, straight exhaust, CAI, and a triple dog is all the truck has on it. Already cracked one over drive case, but the trans guy says he built it up, so it should be good for more. Any advice as to what i could do now without losing my work/daily driver capabilities in this truck? thanks for your help

 

Well keep the " street battles " from happening .
There are a number of safe mods , lots of reading here , to judge from , need to just read a lot , then make up your own mind [ because many are just opinions ] .
I like the older mach. injection trucks , so less info on yours , one of the issues with modding is , if something fails , can you find a replacement quick enough [ with find a source & shipping ] also when I mod I try to , make any changes reversible , as to not get suck .
Many yrs have know weak torque converters & or trans. , but finding a good builder / service .
You can easily spend $3,000-4,000 for a good trans .
My choice , when I can afford it .

http://www.goerend.com/

 

thanks for the help, the transmission should be ok for more more, just wonfering what i can do to add a little power and still keep the truck towable

 

I do not see a let of gauges in your signature , that would be the 1st that most would suggest for several reasons , to get familiar with how the truck should be , spec.s - like fuel pressure - exhaust temp. - trans. temp. .
Then as you start adding power you can use that info to have control of the extra , to help from doing damage .

 

so would would those three guages be the best combo? and what what be the ideal opperating range for these?

 

Those 3 would be the most common with the truck in your sig. , any gauge you put in , should run in the middle of normal operating range , the fuel should go 30lbs. [ I do not see your trucks numbers vary regular so my numbers are approximate ] with running between 6-7 lbs. & 12-15 lbs , trans. temp. , this will vary for conditions , should run between 100*F & under 250-short hard pulls [ lower is better ] , so the gauge may go to 400 , exhaust temp is an other depending on conditions , but 1,250*F is what you want to stay away from - extreme , short towing periods , and can very depending on how you mod [ add fuel / pull ] generally , I see , non towing , about 10 less than speedo , if I am going 70 mph , exhaust will be about 600*F , but with going up hill / pulling this will increase maybe 200-500*F , the harder it is being worked the higher , so when working hard watch the exhaust temp. & back off if it starts getting close to 1,200* .
I for got the boost for turbo , this is an other big variable , how you mod , and the high #s require big mods , average normal boost can be 3-5 lbs to around 18-24lbs , some guys doing mods are going close & over 50lbs , but this can require engine mods , like changing the head bolts to studs , fire rings cut into the gasket surface , and then other things to keep the high compression from blowing out the head gasket .
But all of this requires hanging out here / els where , doing a lot of reading & sourcing parts so you can mod with the least amount of issues .
Check on the home page here for the site store , there are some good deals on some of these parts .