Banks System install

What Should I do w/my Banks System

So, I bought my first Diesel. 04 6.0 lit w/30k original miles.

The guy who I bought the truck for installed the Banks 6 guns system w/the Banks Speed Loader. I've hear nothing good about the Banks system and dont want it to hurt my truck or ruin the 100k warrenty. So, can anyone tell me how to get remove the system and get the truck back to the factory settings.

Thanks,

Lee
 
When Was the '04 Originally purchased? Your 5yr/100K warranty may already be expired. As for removing it.. Turn the Setting back to stock and Follow the wiring to the Plugs and unplug it (Replug in any Factory plugs that may have been unplugged if they were plugged into the Banks setup)
 
Abrannan19 said:
yea..adjust the power up on the fly its a GREAT idea..LOL

no the SCT isn't as convenient but if you want good power and REAL transmission tuning gotta go SCT (custom tunes not canned tunes).

I agree with Imelmo..if you have a lil bit of money to spend go ahead and at a bare minimum block off the EGR cooler. And a EGR delete kit is highly recommend if you are planning on larger injectors.
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I agree with that the sct can make more peak power. But your average guy that just wants to pull his trailer to the lake and be able to maintain the speed limit. I would recommend the Banks for its reliability. If a guy wants a hot street truck that he occasionally takes to the track, I would recommend a sct unit with custom tunes on it. It all depends on what your uses for the truck are gonna be.
 
97singlecab said:
I've built alot of 6.0's. Both with banks packages and sct. They both work well. The sct will outrun a banks though. But you have to shut the truck off and wait ten minutes anytime you want to change anything on the sct. Not necessarily bad but kind of a pain. The banks you can just turn the switch. As far as other upgrades I would do the head studs if you can afford it, it is much better to fix it before it starts leaking. Your tranny is probably fine for now as long you have good fluid in it. Just my $.02
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Now why would a guy hafta wait 10 minutes to change a tune or the parameters after shutting the truck off? I've never heard of this and have never done this before and my truck has been running fine. I usually shut my truck off and would switch to a different tune and be up and running again 5 minutes later.
 
97singlecab said:
I agree with that the sct can make more peak power. But your average guy that just wants to pull his trailer to the lake and be able to maintain the speed limit. I would recommend the Banks for its reliability. If a guy wants a hot street truck that he occasionally takes to the track, I would recommend a sct unit with custom tunes on it. It all depends on what your uses for the truck are gonna be.
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not always does the SCT have to be WFO, they can have tunes as mild or as wild as you want, some people just don't understand that concept. It doesn't matter if he is only pulling his boat to the lake SCT is the absolute best thing on the market for a 6.0 hands down. And tune download/upload takes about 4 1/2 mins on the 03-04 and the 05^ take less then 2 mins..
 
Warrenty still good

Bobus said:
When Was the '04 Originally purchased? Your 5yr/100K warranty may already be expired. As for removing it.. Turn the Setting back to stock and Follow the wiring to the Plugs and unplug it (Replug in any Factory plugs that may have been unplugged if they were plugged into the Banks setup)
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100k warrenty still good but the 5year has expired. Mainly I want the 100k mile warrenty to be valid if something goes south on my engine; and with the Banks Ford my blame any problems on the Banks system. Also, I dont want to jack up my engine and from what I've heard the Banks systems is no good for the 6.0 lit.

Lee
http://www.rapture-air.com
 
Uninstalling the Banks System.

97singlecab said:
I agree with that the sct can make more peak power. But your average guy that just wants to pull his trailer to the lake and be able to maintain the speed limit. I would recommend the Banks for its reliability. If a guy wants a hot street truck that he occasionally takes to the track, I would recommend a sct unit with custom tunes on it. It all depends on what your uses for the truck are gonna be.
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I'm the average guy who pulls his boat and maybe a travel trailer when purchased years down the road. I want to keep my truck running for as long as I can and don't want a hot street truck.

Banks, good for the engine or bad? I talked to the local shop here in town who installed it for the prevous owner and will take it out for $85 bucks.

Banks Reliability?
The manual says if I put the 6 gun setting on #1 it will be back at factory settings; is this true? or just a nice thought?

Thanks,

Lee
http://www.rapture-air.com
 
Turning the Banks off?

97singlecab said:
The banks you can just turn the switch. As far as other upgrades I would do the head studs if you can afford it, it is much better to fix it before it starts leaking.
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Thaks for your 2 cents:) is it true I can turn the banks to #1 and be back at factory settings?

I'll be adding a water filter kit next week and maybe a EGR delete soon. But wont be able to afford the head studs anytime time soon. Any idea how much $$ to replace the head studs?

Cheers,

Lee
http://www.rapture-air.com
 
Many factors there. You can get ARP's for about 500.00, are you going to install them yourself, or have someone do it? Stud installs are about 2000.00 installed on average, but installing them on your own is a PITA if you don't have a lift to lift the cab.

Save your money on the Banks stuff, its very overpriced, and seriously under delivering. SCT all the way.
 
A head stud install is about $2600 including all parts and labor, depending on where you get it done. The dealers range from $2500-$3500.


A couple points to consider:

The SCT programs both the PCM(engine computer) and TCM(transmission computer). You'll notice smooth power, better shifts, and a healthy and long transmission life.

It takes 50 seconds to change a tune on an 05-07 Ford 6.0L with the SCT.


Without a custom tune, an EGR Delete will cause a Check Engine Light and your EGR valve will still be operational, like stock.
 
The Banks systems work as advertised, yes they are more expensive, yes their are more powerfull tuners out there, yes Banks promotes "smoke free" performance. However all thier stuff works as advertised (my truck makes 20 more hp than Banks advertised), it fits right out of the box, has very good product quality, comes with clear instruction manuals, and has a tech line with knowlegable people that actualy answer the phone. Sounds horrible doesn't it! As someone stated earlier most everybody here are not fans of Gale Banks. This site is basicly for guys who want big power well beyond that of some "bolt on" gadgets. For the guy who wants a little more power, millage, and built in safegaurds the Banks systems are ideal. Many dealerships will still warranty a truck with Banks systems in place, in fact the dealer I bought my truck from recomended I install a Banks system for more millage and power. That is the kind of reputation that Gale has built.
I am satisfied with my 6-gun, It works as advertised (actualy made more hp that advertised). When I bought the 6-gun I thought an extra 120hp would be "plenty". :umno:
I was wrong, now I am thinking an extra 300 to 400hp would be about right.

PS. Banks 6-gun for sale :hehe:
 
There are just as many trucks out there running the claimed......ADVERTISED, "safe power" from many other tuners. Why would you spend more money than you have to and get not near the ability to customize the truck to your driving habits? I cannot count the number of guys I have heard say, "I bought a Banks, and its just not enough.....I wish I would have listened to you guys first and not had to spend the money to actually get what I should have gotten in the first place. " You mention fitment? I have not heard of a single fitment issue on an SCT, or infact any other tuner/module?
 
Banks stuff does nothing to safe guard the transmission nor does it make/firm the shifts up better. I've heard many guys toast a tranny while running banks on a 6L. I had an edge juice w/attitude monitor and thought it was the best thing out there...boy was i wrong. the edge did nothing for the tranny and it toasted it. The SCT is the best thing out there for the 6L...whether you want 50 extra hp or another 200 hp. What the SCT does for the tranny...you'll never get from another programmer or modual such as banks.
 
I have a banks 6 gun, i've chosen to stack it with my superchip flashpaq because I didn't like the transmission shifting. My last truck was a 6sp 7.3L with the microtuner, afe airbox, banks hotside turbo housing and a banks compressor wheel on the cold side. I miss that truck, its performance and power but I don't miss it's six speed when I drive several thousand miles each month. I upgraded to an 07 with a 6.0L, tuned with the trusted superchip flashpaq and then decided to experiment with the banks tuner.

I didn't research online before making that decision, had I done so, I probably would have tried the SCT tuners. But it was too late and i invested enough already. The banks was neat with the several levels, but quickly I learned the best fuel mileage (which was my main goal second was stoplight to stoplight power) was on the highest setting. (the same is true with most tuners by the way, until you get into custom tuning that over fuel) So the shift on the fly thing never really means anything to me as i always drive in the highest setting, even when towing, I just watch the EGTs. I have also added the banks intercooler because i wished I had one on the 7.3L. Nothing proves to you better than experimenting, so my second truck got an intercooler. I did see noticable drops in EGT's and seat of the pants increases in the power curve.
Back to the banks and it's shifting.... After installing the banks I began noticing that when power accelerating, the shifting was not great, seemed to flair or hesitate between gears. I learned online that it was because banks "responds" rather than retunes the tranny. that lead me to try stacking. At first I tried stacking with the lowest setting of the Flashpaq and ran for a very long time with no issues at all. Then switched one day to the 80 HP level of the Flashpaq, still no issues. Then I went and upgraded my Flashpaq to the "redline" file and tinkered with the stacking with banks.

Soon after I developed the dreaded puking of coolant. I reacted by not returning to the lower level, but just putting fluid in and buying an EGR plug. Puking is still there, I know my decisions have lead me to needing at the least an EGR delete and possibly a head gasket job. That comes with my decisions.
I will tell you this... Had I researched before buying a tuner or stacking a tuner for the 6.0L, I probably would have gone straight to the SCT, but I have also seen or read alot of people pushing too hard with the custom tuning and ending up exactly where I am. My truck still runs strong, it just uses coolant and I expect that it will not leave me stranded. No urgency in the EGR delete yet. Partly because I was quoted about 1500-5000 by a shop that was certain to diagnose the problem as head gaskets. I don't fault them for the quote, but this truck will see another engine before I ever spend 5k on a head gasket job. And that's the plan. If the truck fails, I'll put another engine in it with and immediate EGR delete. No reason it won't last me several hundred thousand miles after that.

So there is no magic answer in my book. I could have accepted less power or not pushed the envelop too far and maybe never had the problems I have now or started off with an SCT and pushed it too far. It only takes one hard run on the engine to push too far.

Do what your pocket book will sustain. If you chose to go with an SCT don't push too far. If you chose the banks, find a way to protect your tranny. A 350$ MagHytec pan will drop your temps 25 degrees and that is HUGE.

Either way, remember the advice you receive sometimes is not the advice you are seeking.
 
Mrfun2flyi said:
100k warrenty still good but the 5year has expired. Mainly I want the 100k mile warrenty to be valid if something goes south on my engine; and with the Banks Ford my blame any problems on the Banks system. Also, I dont want to jack up my engine and from what I've heard the Banks systems is no good for the 6.0 lit.

Lee
http://www.rapture-air.com
Click to expand...

I thought that the 5yr/100k was only good for 5yrs from Original Purchase date or 100k miles or whichever comes first, Unless it had the extended 7yr/200k mile Warranty (Had this on my '06 6.0l)..
 
Well, I'm not looking to sup up my truck. I just want it to last a long time and be able to pull my boat and pull a travel trailer.
Currently I have the Banks 6 Gun and Speed loader installed. The Banks set up came with the truck.

I'm getting 14mpg in town and 16mpg on the highway.
I have a coolant filter kit on the way and I'm trying to decide if I want to keep the Banks system installed or remove it altogether to put the truck back to stock.

However, I would like to get better mpg:)

Lee
http://www.rapture-air.com
 
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