RDupree said:
DK,i got a new starter off ebay really easily,seems like a common enough starter. and on the clutch,its a chevy clutch! which means you can call summit or whoever and get any kind of hi-performance clutch you want,for cheap! since the chevy adapters and flywheels are junk in your opinion i'll give you $50 for all of it! deal? haha!!check your facts!
Not trying to find fault with you bud, I have tried using the GM clutches for customers before, they didn't do so well. When I send a repowered truck out of my shop, I don't want to see it again unless it is for other upgrades. The dodge Clutches are what? 13" I believe? That a lot bigger than the 11" GM in the 4bt GM bellhousings I have found so far. Like I said, the GM parts are fine for a light duty truck like a 1/2 or 3/4 ton maybe, but most of us here know we are looking for more power that a light duty truck can produce, or we wouldn't be driving turned up diesel dodges or the likes. I am all for the GM auto's, the T-400 and its newer overdrive (4L80E I believe?) sibling have done much better than any dodge transmission until 2000 or so in my experience with repowers. The 727's we've put in a few trucks have come back to us within 6 months unlike the 400 autos we ordered custom built for the 4bt's and the 6bt's.
I am not into aftermarket parts as they usually require special order to get them, customers want a part they can pick up the same day, not a week or more when they need their trucks running mthe next morning. I try to make sure all driveline components of the repowers I do are available from NAPA, CAR QUEST, or a dealership for this reason. Dodge parts are the most readily available part you can find in this aspect, look at the # of cummins dodges on the road, lots of parts stores carry parts for them as they are in driveways of households throughout the nation.
I never said the GM adapter parts were junk, they have a perfectly good application in the vehicles they were designed for, which were bread trucks carrying little to no weight. That's a big difference from the typical Diesel pickup owner who expects to haul a trailer etc behind it. A jeep or Blazer is a great platform for the GM bellhousing sized flywheel. The torque of a cummins though, even a 4bt is beyond most 11" clutches. They will slip, that's a fact,under heavy loads when the turbo spools up.
On the side of a repower for fuel mileage, would you really want a 1 to 1 transmission in a vehicle like the GM manuals offer for use on the interstate? I wouldn't, an overdrive is a much desired choice for this, since the dodge NV-4500 trannies are available for about $2000. 00 (or less) on a crate, brand new with warranty? I see no reason to look any other way for a daily driver.
If you think this is not based on fact, what is your reasoning behind the GM parts? I've had a hard time finding the flywheels for the GM adapter on the cummins for less than the cost of a Dodge flywheel.
Ebay is not where I look for parts, it is not reliable, one week there are thousands available and the next, you can't find a single one. I have few customers who are willing to wait for an auction to end when they need their rig running again. Get the idea?
Don't take this as anything other than the experience we've had, Yours may be completely different. I've been repowering trucks now for nearly 12 years. My buddy who is doing Cummins repowers specifically has been doing them since 1987, (Mainly in GM platforms which he uses the dodge setups all the time now due to cost and the ease of customers to find parts when they are not near him.