Jordan5687

Right now I have a rebuilt auto trany, haven't hauled much with it till recently. Pulled a load of 29k# and tore some stuff up on the inside. Taking it in to the shop tomorrow, still under waranty. I guess from what my mech. said, the autos aren't great because of the temps they reach and pressures they get to. They break gaskets and seals pretty good especially under that amount of load. Would it be worth spending that money ever year or so and rebuilding the trany or maybe consider a trany swap from and auto to a standard??? What would it cost if I were to do that and would it really solve my problems with hauling those big loads. This truck spends nearly all it's time hauling big loads like that, especially this year with the supply of hay I've got??? Or would it be better to get a used mini semi to just haul the loads?? I really need some help with this. If anyone knows anyone that has done a trany swap like this before and costs, I'd appreciate it!! Or just a whole new truck with a standard in it???

Any and all input guys! Thanks so much!!!

Bonshawman

Haven't done the tranny swap, but that seems to be a lot of weight for a 1 ton except on occasional use.

I have a medium duty and it handles those weights far better.

Jordan5687

Yeah, I've just seen a lot of trucks like mine hauling the same and more very consistently and not being in the shop a lot. Everyone else I know of hasn't put on a lot of mods and they all have standards. If I need to get a bigger class of a truck I'd like to not spend a lot on it and insurance cause that's all it'll be doing is hauling hay. I don't really need a semi for it either. Any suggestions???

Thanks!

killed300ex

I just did the swap myself. (auto to 5spd) I bought everything needed new steering colum, pedals, engine wiring out of a 5 spd truck, front driveshaft, EVERYTHING. The guy went the other way and I bought all his old stuff. It came with a southbend dual disk 3600 upgraded 1 3/8s input shaft only thing it needs to have done is 5th gear. Dropped 3500 for all that stuff then another 500 in misc parts, rear driveshaft, transfer case input shaft, and some other odds and ends. In the end its really the same price of having an auto rebuilt once but it should last much longer. I havent towed with it yet but I am sure it will be night and day better. If you want more info on the swap let me know and I will give you all the tips and tricks on it.
Evan

ptgarcia

Why not rebuild the auto with upgraded parts? You can get a stronger torque converter, billet or laminated flex plate, valve body, billet shafts, bands and other misc parts for about $5000. I'd call the guys that do performance trannies and see what they think before swapping to a manual.

RAMRODD

Your auto will never hold up pulling any serious weight, Just the way it is.

My dad had a 99 superduty with the 7.3L and I think it had 5 auto trannys replaced in under 80,000 miles and it was stock up till the last tranny.
I have had to replace only 1 manual trannsmission (my foot slipped of the clutch when I was loaded and it cracked the tranny case and spun a bearing)

I have been their with the need to haul hay, I would spend the money and trade up to a Dodge with a manual instead of buying a used 2 ton truck that has a million miles.

Jordan5687

Ok guys, thanks for the tips.

I did have the tranny rebuilt with everything bigger and spent that much but still didn't hold. I get to see what all the damage is tomorrow.

Evan, that's not too bad of a price for that swap, if I go that way I'll let you know and I might need some help locating all that stuff at a good price. But yours is a 94 and I've got an 01, is that gonna require different stuff for the electronics on mine? I've heard some say it's really expensive on mine, then others that say it's not that bad??

Thanks guys!

PaulDaisy

I thought I have seen on this forum somewhere that for nearly the same price ($6,000 if I remember correctly) one can have an Allison tranny put in? That should hold to some towing...
-P

Jordan5687

Yeah, I have seen that somewhere too. I just need to see if I should consider some sort of trany swap, or keep getting my auto re-tunned or just get a little bigger class truck. My gross weight is between 36-37k# and I'm not sure what I should do. I don't want to keep putting money where it's not doing any good, and I haul this weight a few times a week....every week. So I'm really putting it hard on the trany.

I did have one input, someone said to look into a class 5-6 International with a dt466, between the years of 92-95, they also have p-pumps on them. What do you guys think?? Anyone know of them or about how much they run? Where to look into buying one?? Thanks!!

Box5

I did the 5spd swap, and it really only took a weekend to do, and about 2k in parts. I bought a stock clutch though, u'd need a nice clutch.

Bonshawman

Jordan5687- I can certainly see the concern in spending $$$.

My 1995 FL70 has a 8.3 Cummins and a 6spd. It has a 23,000# rear and a 12,000# front for a GVW or 35,000#. My 3500 has a GVW of 12,200#, with 9,350# rear axle rating and a 5,200# front axle rating.... HUGE difference.

The truck was used, in excellent condition, all decked out w/tool boxes, headache rack, 150 gal fuel capacity, of course air, and double bunk sleeper.
Paid around 30K for it, with 15K on a rebuilt engine.

One tons just see a bit undersized, to my thinking, on what you are doing 2-3 times weekly. You are probably, what, 5 tons over the recommended towing capacity ? Sure, lots of guys do it, and maybe they don't have equipment problems, but that seems to be really pushing the envelope.

There are cheaper 92-95 vintage class 6 & 7 trucks all over the place - Truck Trader, EBAY, you name it - with a better set up for what you're doing and possibly for under 10K purchase price.....stack that up against your swap out costs and continued maintenance expenses.

My insurance is reasonable, repairs can be a bit costly, but th FL has over TWICE the GVW of the Dodge....the rear is has 13,650 additional rating over the Dodge (over twice as much), and the front axle is rated just 200# under the entire Dodge GVW !

You're not hauling a horse trailer to a show weighing 7,000# every weekend - you're hauling heavy, and the transmission might just be the first in a long list of items crying for attention.

I'd rather, within reason, have more truck than I need that less truck. If you could get into a decent medium duty more set up for your hauling at the similar price for a one ton (and again, twice the truck capacity wise), why not go for it ? For occasional use (2-3 times annually), no problem nursing what you've got, but 2-3 times a week ?

I love my Dodge 3500, and I respect what it can do, even with my mods. But it just is NOT the same truck, nor should I expect it to be, as the FL70.

HOHN

Get the right tool for the job-- get a bigger truck or make more trips.

Jordan5687

Can't make more trips with fuel the way it's heading right now.

Steve -

I really appreciate your input in this matter. I have been thinking and looking along those lines in the truck trader today. And have seen a few things that caught my attention....
I've been looking into the Internationals as someone had reccomended with a dt466 trany....I've seen then with an M-11 Cummins, and maybe one or two other types of engines. Would you know what would be best for what I'm hauling??? I've also seen them advertised anywhere from 180 or so to 390 hp. My truck stock was like 200---something hp. Wont that feel the same and lug pretty bad like mine used to before the mods?? Or is this type of truck totally different?? I have no idea when it comes to bigger trucks like this what a good hp range is for hauling 30k# I'm just looking for a single axle day cab. The internationals that I've seen are 8100's and some others. Do you know of any others I could look at that are gonna hold up for a long time and about what miles are good for the years??? I've seen some 93-94, that had 200-400k miles on them. How is that? I'd appreciate the help with this if anyone knows about these. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot. Try to keep it around $10k. Thanks guys!!!!

AggieJustin

The biggest difference with the bigger trucks is the transmission and gearing. You may be running an engine with similar HP rating to your truck, but with lower axle gearing and more gears in the tranny, it's easier to get rolling and stay rolling.

Jordan5687

Ok, I see. I wasn't sure really how that was. So it might be better to find one instead of like 6-7 gears it might have 9 or 10??

Does anyone know about that M-11 Cummins though??? I've seen most of the Internationals with those. One with a C-12 Cat, and one with International power, it says...one with ISM Cummins.

Anyone know of any others that might be good to look at as well??? And how about CDL's for those? Yes, no?? Gonna get a farm tag on it, cause what I'll be hauling with it, I've heard that might help. Insurance??