Luke S

Well, finally got a B&W turnover ball in the Newly aquired 93' D250 with the A518 trans. This is the first 1st gen Dodge I have had with an auto trans. I have had a lot of 1st gens but they've all been manuals. I've had a lot of Dodge auto's but they have been late 2nd gens and 3rd gens. I pulled my 24' stock trailer that weighs about 6,500lbs empty with only one 1,200lb horse in it about 200 miles this past sunday. Here is a pic of the trailer, in this pic it is hooked to my other 1st gen that is a 5-speed.....

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...cat=500&page=1

You can see it is not that large of a trailer. On flat ground it was just ok. I ran the whole time with the OD locked out to help keep the tranny cool, which it must have because the auxillary cooler fan never did engauge. But in the hills it was not worth a hoot. The converter is waaaaayyyyyy too loose. I don't think I am going to use this thing for any serious pulling unless I get Dave Goerand to do the tranny for me. Luckily I have other trucks to pull with. I did find something neat the other day some of you guys might be interested in. I was looking through the our newest Mopar performance catalog and found this......

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...cat=500&page=1

Don't know how much extra capacity it is but it is substantial. It is alluminum, the bottom has fins, has a drainplug and a temp gauge port. Retails for $209, my dealer cost was around $170, good deal I thought. Looks cool too! I am gonna put it on the 93' along with a temp gauge so I can see what is going on in there.

I am really surprised Dodge put a tranny this loose in a HD diesel pick-up, somebody shoulda had the backside wipped for that.

charger 69

I know the torque converter made a real difference in mine when pulling my GN that is about the same weight as yours and with 4-5000 lb. load The problem I ran into is the engine overheating on hills so I was in second gear on the long hills flat footing it all the way.

Luke S

It was 90 plus degrees on sunday here and that 93' never even gets to the half way mark with the go pedal mashed and running in 3rd gear with the A/C on, and we were pulling some decent hills.

wreckere022002

mine is an auto and i have never had a problem with it i just cut the od back on about 45 or 50

DBF

Everything you say above is true. The sloppy torque converter protected the rest of the transmission.... and on it goes. The first thing I did was to put in a trans temp gage. Second was a stiff torque converter from DTT. What a difference!!

Then I could do the rest of the mods to the engine and not worry about the transmission (well, I *do* have to lay off the go-pedal on some long hills).

Regards, DBF

jrussell

Anyone priced the install of a DTT TC and VB at their local tranny shop? I'm wondering what it would cost, ballpark.

Luke S

Well I all ready have the factory auxillary cooler under the bed so that is good. I got the Mopar performance trans pan and I am going to intsall it with a temp gauge. I wonder if I could get by with a converter and valve body? I know it would make a huge difference in how it tows, but would it stress the rest of the trans too much? This truck has never towed a load in its life till last weekend, it didn't even have a hitch on it. So basically it has been used for going to the coffee shop for the last 130k, and it hasn't been touched. I am not going to turn up the power, I seem to be one of the few people who is satisfied with the ground shattering 160hp. I pulled 26,000lbs last weekend with my black 92' 350 5-speed, about 65 miles loaded at that weight and it did better than I expected, I can do anything I need to with stock power, and really, with some of the heavier stuff I pull it is probably better I haven't poored the coals to er or parts would be flyin most likely. If I could get by just adding a converter and valve body without grenading the rest of the trans I think I'd do it. But I don't know, I may just leave it alone and let my wife continue to use it for commuting, she loves that dam truck, I can't get her out of it!

DBF

The converter & vb would be all you need to get good towing of moderate loads. The 160hp engine (mine measured 134hp at the rear wheels with the sloppy stock converter) would feel more powerful and with less lag in getting it on. If I recall correctly, installation by my local (good) shop cost around $300.

The rest of the stock transmission shouldn't be affected by this installation, given you already have good cooling and will be able to look at heat by installing a temp gage. It's actually a pretty good transmission.

If you then find you want a little more power for pulling, it's easy enough to do a couple of simple mods to do that.

Regards, DBF

Luke S

DBF, those are some really neat pics in your gallery. That's a dream of mine your living, RV to Alaska and back in a first gen! How many miles are on your truck and what exactly have you done to it as far as mods go?

DBF

The mods (in brief form) are under my first reply in this thread (subsequent replies don't show the signature you create). I went at it this way:

1. Gages & 16cm2 turbo hot end, and mild pump tweaks.
2. Added Mopar Superduty cooler (no longer available, substitutes are) under the bed.
3. New A518 (no longer available)(rebuild would be ok), DTT torque converter, DTT valve body, installed at then-local Virginia shop.
4. Rebuilt VE pump by PDR & POD injectors, installed at PDR.

These were done over five years. #1 gave good response lightly loaded, towing still a dog with high trans temps. #2 helped the towing heat problem. #3 fixed the towing problems - went to Alaska twice like that. #4 gave more hp and performance I really didn't need but wanted. We went to Alaska again like that. Now at 308hp/668tq.

The trailer has a GVWR of 7500# and we load it to just under that.

Regards, DBF

Supernova

Mine was done by the PO but I have the receipt. Was done in 2005 and so price may change.

DTT 89% TC $750
DTT 80PSI VB $399
DTT Billet 3rd gear piston/Accum/Front Servo, anchor, strut, apply level $400

I'm not going to list labor as I think your mileage may vary and other work was done at the same time so I'm not 100 percent on the cost breakdown just for the DTT stuff. It shifts firm and smooth and you can tell there's very little loss of power as would be stock...very nice. The shop that did this is out of AZ and I spoke with him about a week back...VERY nice and knowledgable guy.

charger 69

DBF what is your opinion on the DTT valve body as I have been considering that upgrade?

DBF

It's held up very nicely for four years. I think (seat of the pants) I'm seeing a little quick-shift from 2 into 3 at half-throttle, so I'm soon going to run to a shop in TN that DTT recommends, just for a check-out/adjust session.

Regards, DBF