Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) transmission geting rebuilt!

[WDimig]

hey all - just wanted to post on my new name, ( im the son of Jdimig used his name all the time) and say hi. truck is in the shop getting a transmission rebuild done and im sooo excited. having all new clutch packs installed, new heavy duty band struts, having the vb modified for firmer, shifts, rasing the shift points a bit, having a suncoast triple disc converter installed, and a billet input shaft and drum assembly. 370's go in as soo as truck is back ,and i begin to save up for one of those new htb2 turbos! happy bombing everyone!

wes

 

[ProMac1K]

Let me know what you think of the Suncoast TC!



Keep us informed!

 

[WDimig]

will do tmass - i hope to have the truck back by this weekend

will post what i like/and dislike

 

[ProMac1K]

Sounds good!



I see either a Suncoast or DTT TC/VB in my trucks future.

 

[DMorrill]

consider the Dunrite TC, i just put one in, i did the dunrite shift kit in also. huge difference. will hole up to 450 hp.

 

[ProMac1K]

Thanks for posting.



Looking for something to support 500+hp, also a turbo setup but i'm doing research on that.

 

[velsberry]

hey all - just wanted to post on my new name, ( im the son of Jdimig used his name all the time) and say hi. truck is in the shop getting a transmission rebuild done and im sooo excited. having all new clutch packs installed, new heavy duty band struts, having the vb modified for firmer, shifts, rasing the shift points a bit, having a suncoast triple disc converter installed, and a billet input shaft and drum assembly. 370's go in as soo as truck is back ,and i begin to save up for one of those new htb2 turbos! happy bombing everyone!

wes

I'm also planning to do the Suncoast rebuild but without the input shaft. I assume you did the extreme duty kit; are you going to install the Tork Loc Controller too? I'll be interested in how you like your transmission after the rebuild.

 

[WDimig]

i am having the transmission rebuilt by a guy named Ron Mitchell, who owns a transmission company called, trans tech. they are located in Gaithersburg MD, and ron does everything from diagnosis, to full race tranmissions. he has been building race transmissions for a over 20 years, and he knows his stuff. i went to him and told him i want a transmission that can hold over 500hp reliably, and he sad he would install a suncoast triple disc, billet inputshaft and drum, mess with the valve body to make shifts firmer, and allow the transmission to rev. a bit more inbetween shifts. he is going to replace all major clutch packs with kevlar clutches, and add extra clutches to each area. install heavy duty band struts, install a maual valve in the vb to allow the transmission to oil in park. replace all servos ans accumulators with updated parts. he hopes to do all this in about 3-4 days and i should have the truck back by this friday. pm me if yall have any questions. thanks!



wes

 

[ProMac1K]

Sounds like that guy knows what he's doing. It's unordinary for a normal trans shop to know of that much upgrades and up-to-date items. Lucky you! If you don't mind, some of the prices might come in handy for other users that read this or search the archives.



Good Luck,



Trever

 

[jcarey]

Wes, first off... welcome. Second... you're making me drool. I've been considering a Suncoast TC/VB. It's great to know there's a good trans shop here in MD. Oo. Looking forward to your update.



Jim

 

[WDimig]

im going to get a final estimate from him tonight, but as of right now with everything im getting done, $4,400 aprox. in and out the door

 

[ProMac1K]

Wow! A little out of my price range...



Thanks for giving us the estimate though. That billet shaft is probably a good part of the cost.

 

[WDimig]

update

tmaas - yea a bit pricy but that is a final cost, all parts for transmission, labor, and misc. costs. you would pay about the same price for the same transmission from any other company, but then you have to install the transmission in your truck= more $$$. i for one think it will be well worth it. i spoke with don this evening, he has the converter ans shaft on order, and should receive them tomorow, has the trannyout of the truck and had tore into it a litte bit. im soooooo excited. cant wait to test it ou this weekend.



wes

 

[WDimig]

update

well everything is back in the truck, and looks good. he is having some difficulty witht the shift linkage, and getting it adjusted right, and should have that resolved tomorow, and i should have the truck back tomorow just in time for the NE fall brawl. he noted that he had never seen a converter that was in as bad a shape as mine was. the front cover was severely balloned, and slight discolor of the metal indicates a good amount of heat was felt by that converter. oh well i guess one too many boost launches and over 300hp on the stock transmission will do it! ill post driving results tomorow!

 

[ProMac1K]

Sweeeeeeet!



Let us know how it goes!

 

[KennyM]

Wes,



Good to see you getting that trans in. You'll be shocked :--) on your first WOT run.

 

[WDimig]

got her back!

well i finally have the truck back and here are my thoughts. wow! i got in started her up and a slight amountof throttle and the truck acted like it wanted to lurch forward! happy with that. shifts very nicely at moderate throttle. but at full throttle, it's not shifting right, 2-3 shift is wayy to soon, ans doesent allow the engine to build as much rpm as i would like it to before it shifts, soo ill discuss that with the guy tomorow. the suncoast converter is awsome. when i hit lockup at 2300 rpm, it barked the turbo :--) !!!!!!! i was amazed of how hard lockup comes on. the guy said to take it easy on the transmission for about 200miles to let all the new clutches wear in. oh well ill have to be nice. over all im very happy, few minor details need to be adressed, but the overall expreience was well worth it. ill post back in a couple of days once i get some miles logged.

 

[WDimig]

update-wow!!!!!!

omg! this transmission rocks everyone. i took my fuel plate out today and i am having soo much fun Oo. . the suncoast converter definately holds all the power i can give it. i was having some slight shifting problems, so i unhooked my batteries, re hooked them and slowly pressed the accelerator pedal to the floor, and bumped my idle up a bit, and needless to say the shifting problems are gone! i highly reccomend the suncoast converter, very tight, acceleration out of the hole is amazing, and lockup comes on very strong, almost too strong, for it is barking my turbo every time i give it a chance to! ive got about 100 miles on the transmission, and its only getting better with time! i am one satisfied customer!

 

[ProMac1K]

I just might be in for one of those when I have my trans worked on. Just don't know about driving all over the place to go to a DTT installer. Granted, I would like to go with DTT, or at least try a DTT-equipped trans. We'll see when the time comes. Thanks for keeping us updated on this!

 

[ProMac1K]

DOH!!!! :{



I think I jinxed myself by saying what I said in my last reply.



My trans left me stranded in town today. I was after a belt for the spreader in the grain bin, all was going fine. I took a right to go onto US Hwy 14, all is well. I see a cop coming up behind me so I take it easy and stay at about 50 mph. Cop shutes by, I proceed to speed up to 60 mph. I started noticing a lack of power. The wind was fairly strong outside but not too strong. Ok, accelerator goes down engine revs up but speed does not increase. I'm beginning to wonder about this. At this time I still figure it's the strong winds but I was beginning to get tense and nervous. Find out trans isn't in lockup mode and I was going 50-60. Pushed OD button, nothing changed, pushed it again nothing changed. I'm coming into town and slow her down to 30, try maintaining speed and I was struggling to with the engine well above 2000 rpm. Coasted into a camper dealer and park it, trans temp isn't even registering. Get out and check the fluid, with the truck in park and engine off, shows overfull like it should, color is reddish brown but not burnt or hot. Started the truck up again, put it in drive and it drives for 15 ft, then engine free revs again. Shut truck off, wait five minutes, start truck up again and it is driveable for another 15 ft. Did the same thing over again once while I was waiting for a ride back home.



Ended up going down to Chrysler where they basically quized me until they found something that I did wrong. I told them I used Dextron III with a good name-brand friction modifier at the last fluid change since a parts store told me that I could use Dextron III with no problems, and I couldn't find ATF 3 anywhere locally. I've ran that for probably 4000 miles with no problems or symptoms, not even a shudder or vibration. They put the scanner on it and found a code that said "High Clutch Volume Index" which they thought to be something wrong with the clutches and definately an internal problem. Of course they keep on blaming the problem on the fluid, which I can understand why, but they won't go into further detail.



They gave me prices for rebuilt transmissions. One from Chrysler was $1900 with a 3 yr/36k mile parts and labor warranty. Also there was one from Auto Service Center (ASC) for $1829 with a 2 year warranty and $1695 with a 1 year warranty. They figured the labor would be around $500 and thought that I wouldn't be able to get out the door with any less than $2700 minimum.

Thought about it for a few minutes and called them back. Gave them my credit card number for the bill of putting the scanner on it and told them to park it out back for me to come and tow it home. :-laf



I can't justify paying for a whole stock rebuilt trans when who knows what is wrong, and i'd be getting a plain-jane rebuilt trans. I want to know what happened inside of there. Transmission companies, be expecting a call from me! If nothing else, i'll rebuild it myself but i'll have no part at getting a full rebuilt trans from Chrysler.