John Rodriguez

Well, as most of you know, my tranny has been on it's way out for the last 14,000 miles and it's almost time to drop the works in it. I guess that combination of high HP, big tires, and some towing really makes it mad. Something about 37" MT tires, 460whp, and a 7,780lb truck just don't appeal to the stock torque converter for some reason

Anyhow, how many people have peiced together their own transmissions? I.e. TCS torque converter, DTT Valve Body, and an ATS input shaft type of deal? Was it worth it in the end, or do you wish you actually sat down and spent the money and had the tranny rebuilt right with servos, kickdown levers and stuff like that? I read somewhere that you can't really up the line pressure too much because you'll force the stock actuators out of their cup they squeeze so hard, has this actually ever happened to anyone? I'm pretty much looking at a TC/VB/Input Shaft and maybe MAYBE an intermediate shaft. If the output breaks that's a quick fix from what I understand, so I'm not that worried. Then there's the whole tight converter / single disk vs loose converter / multidisk vs high stall vs low stall, ARRGHH. And then, to top it all off, there are multiple transmission places that each have a different way of doing things, the big 3 vs all the little guys (MDW, Georend brothers, so on).

Basically I'm asking 2 questions:

Those that have pieced together your transmissions, do you regret doing so, and why?

Those that have gone with one of the smaller guys, what are your impressions and how is it working out for you?

Igor

I have the same question.

My truck has less then 10,000 miles on it now, and I just added the 37s and want to get a bomb box. But I was thinking of doing a tranny mod early on to help prolong the tranny life, but most imporantly to not have to deal with the stock converter.

What is the "minimal" amount of tranny mods one must do to start, and can build from there.

I was thinking the TC. And if so, what kind? same questions basically......

Do I have to do anything other then the TC to start.

Not meaning to highjack this post, but, complement it... same questions basically.

Thanks guys.

HOHN

Well, I'm a 6-speed guy, but I'd suggest Suncoast or DTT. To me, being proven on the racetrack/pulling track is about as proven as something can get.

I recall seeing somewhere the same things about upping line pressure too much, so I'd shy away from that.

Honestly, I haven't heard a whole lot from guys who are getting built 48re's. If it were a 47re, then I'd go DTT, no questions asked. But what about the 48re? Who'd building the strongest ones, and what are the main issues? We all know about the 47re's pressure leakage and the OD oiling problems-- does the 48re have these?

ATS seems to have more negative stuff posted about them on the internet, but my impression of the operation there was that it was first-rate and professional, so I don't know what to think. I also know a LOT of happy ATS owners, so that further complicates things.

So that's my order of preference: Suncoast, DTT, and ATS. The auto tranny market for these Dodges is a win-win deal for customers, as there are an increasing number of shops offering truly great transmissions for these trucks (Goerend, Dunrite, etc).

sorry I can't help.

bigman

Ats gets the nod here. Best mods i have made so far. Their triple lock tc is top shelf! Anyway you slice it, you will be much happier than with the crappy stocker. Mine feels soooo much better.

mxboy

I had all the same questions and at the end of the day chose DTT. I called all (3) companies mentioned above and after the phone call and explainations from DTT, I was pretty much sold. Not that the other companies don't build quality stuff but it just felt right after talking to DTT for 20-30 minutes. I couldn't be happier with my trans.

AKRAM has a "pieced" together tranny and gave me some good insight on why he went that direction. Maybe he will chime in soon, he did TONS of research before he made his choice and he is pushing his truck pretty dang hard

Curt

Nuttymopar

John, please don't tell me that other things then your TIRES are starting to smoke.

Keep up the videos please. Heck, maybe one more good one too watch the tranny go south

Just make sure your new tranny is in the back waiting to be installed.

No tranny upgrades yet for my 05 but I surely loved my DTT that was in my 92. But being a 47, it was a different beast.

lightening ram

i also built my tranny piece by piece first v/b then tcs torque i run my truck pretty hard and with the 1.81sec 60ft times i think id better let off off the line a bit before the output shaft leaves me

John Rodriguez

Haha, well with my new upcoming video, called "Waiting to Inhale..", we'll see if something goes BOOM, because if it was gonna go, it's definetly going to go with this video. Unfortunately, if it goes boom, I'd have to trailer it where ever it was gonna go to get the tranny done, but it hasn't let me down yet. In fact, in my earlier-versions of this truck, I'm at a carshow doing a burnout (burnout contest) and it goes into overdrive and sits there at 115mph at about 1,150 preturbo, just spinning them happy as can be. So I decide to show off a bit, let off the gas, then floor it again, and pull overdrive from 70 back to 115 2 or 3 times, and tranny temp never went over 200.

The video is here http://www.laredoperformance.com/vid...howburnout.mov

BTW, as some might remember, this was the video a thread was created for, but the video never materialized, I had finally gotten the tape from my friend, then I lost it amongst many others, and finally found it today.

BigBlue

My fourwheeler's done better than that. It's about time you start thinking about your poor tranny. I wanna see pics of the insides when you finally pull them out. I'll bet they're black and blue.

MDW

I promise to take pics of the inside of the trans.
I will blackmail him with them


Michael
http://www.hotroddiesels.com/

Big Bob

John,

Get ahold of AK Ram, (Brian), he has piece together his tranny with DTT, ATS and other parts. I think he now has over 500 HP with it.

He has specific reasons for the parts he put together. I'm sure he would be alot of help.

pcburnout

DTT all the way!
I did install myself not that hard for someone who know something about trannys and Bill at DTT was great to work with! If your tranny is going to be out you should do it all not piece it I myself went with there advice and got the TC/VB- input shaft - front billet servo and billet accumalator.
My tranny hooks up hard in all gears I love the way the tranny feels now!
She takes everything I throw at her!

Good luck on your quest!

sparky3008

You guys have website infor for DTT and ATS?

Fat Asp

I called up a reputable DTT dealer and tried to piece together a tranny and they said the DTT parts would not be warrantied when used with a different TC and VB. Now I think I am going to go all Suncoast, because I prefer there converter. Sparky if you go to links you can find both DTT & ATS. Goerend, Dunrite and NADP are other choices as well.

043500QC

I`ve rode in a truck with the Suncoast tranny, and I`ve rode in a truck with the DTT. These trucks were very comparable to each other mod-wise. Both were 47`s, but I couldn`t tell any diff between the 2, and the owners of each were very happy with what they had.