$1000 flex plate

[royster]

... and it could have been worse!



driving around in the local big city the other day and i heard a "new" sound coming from my truck... kind of a faint howling mixed with a slight ticking or knocking. it seemed to come from around the transmission/engine oil pan area, neither location an ideal place to source foriegn sounds!



i decided to head to pdr to see what was going on... a 40 minute drive away from my location at the time. i was somewhat hesitant as the sound was getting a little stronger and the drive was all highway. well, 2 minutes before the highway on-ramp, the slight ticking/knocking goes full bore clanging!



next step was onto the back of a flatbed hauler and out to piers. of course, my auto club membership had expired! so, $100 to rejoin the auto club, $65 for the tow, $190 for the new, stronger (not stock) flex plate and the rest goes to labour and taxes! if i'd a kept driving, the broken flex plate could have ripped into my torque convertor or rear engine seal. i was fortunate to have a convenient place to pull over the instant the noise got nasty!



the lesson here? know that the stock flex plate is not up to the task once the bombing starts! if you have the transmission out anyway, do yourself a favour and replace the stock flex plate with a modified one. if i'd a known this when i had dtt build my auto last year i could have saved myself a ton of money and hassle.



be forewarned!



cheers,



roy

 

[LEggers]

Just did one of them myself but mine broke in my drive way... ...



PDR sent me out one overnight... .



$300. 00 to install it.

 

[Greenleaf]

I have already told my wife the truck isn't going anywhere untill I get my new plate mounted in the truck. I can't wait to try out that new turbo and modified injection pump!!



-S

 

[MMoyle]

Thanks RCutler! When ever I plan to rebuild or upgrade my trans, I will definitely replace the flexplate. Thanks for the post!

 

[LEggers]

Thanks RCutler! When ever I plan to rebuild or upgrade my trans, I will definitely replace the flexplate. Thanks for the post!

I may have a very low miles rebuilt transmission for sale in a couple months. . Its still in my truck but I plan to have a transmission built very soon.

The sale of my rebuilt unit will help pay for the new transmission.

The new unit is using a differant case so all I need is my transfercase, tail shaft the transmission will be for sale soon.

 

[paccool]

Mine looked like the picture that Lance posted. Drove it 120 miles home and it was really banging when I got there!



I replaced it with a second gen plate. Took the old one up to Piers during the fall 1st gen get together. Left it there as a sales tool for Piers

 

[csnider]

I have my transmission out this week to change out my torque converter( should be here today) and do some tweaking to my transmission. . I figured I'd get a heavier Flex plate while I was at it. . i just bought the upgraded Cummings plate. . Here's the biggest surprise. . The Local Dodge dealer(*******!) wanted $415. . The Cummins parts house charged me $97. . Big Difference!. . Well after seeing these pics , I'm really glad I bought the upgraded one. My old one looks fine though... ... Carry on.....

 

[LEggers]

My old one looks fine though... ... Carry on.....

Mine looked great also when I had the transmission rebuilt... ... 2 months later I killed it good... .



The SFI flex plate is worth every penny...

 

[DieselTweaker]

SFI flex plate is one of the mod's to follow along with a new, also watching fluidampr hoping for a damper for a 12v if I think about im going to call them and see what's up with that

 

[dan brooks]

I swapped in a later flexplate when I had the trans out, but to be perfectly honest I couldn't tell any difference between the two. I wish I would have measured the thickness to see if I wasted $100. Oh well, at least I know this one should be good for a long time... I hope.



When I did mine the only options were a later model OEM or a high cost aftermarket (and I mean high ). I'm glad to see more options available now.

 

[csnider]

Dan,

i thought the same thing. . I looked real hard and it does seem that the Cummins upgrade plate is a tiny bit thicker. . finished a bit different as well... ... ... .