I'll be coming home from Iraq in a few months, and im gonna be getting a little bonus money. My wife is gonna let me spend it on whatever i want, so im thinking tranny upgrade. Ill have enough to get a new torque conv. Ill have to decide which one and maybe i can get a new valve body too. I could get the trans out of the truck myself. is putting in the T/C something i could do, or is that something best left to experts. what about the valve body? what is a valve body? is that just inside the pan and a bolt in type of thing? thanks in advance for the advice.

 

TC change out is not all that hard if you have the proper tools. I don't do because I don't have a garage or a tranny jack now with being on the road all the time. Valve plate pretty much a bolt in. Yes, just inside the pan. Search the threads on transmission upgrades and you will get a LOT of info.

 

If you can remove the tranny the converter change should be the easy part. As carl said do a couple of searches and you will find lots of info. From my searching the Goerand Brothers have about the best value for the type of upgrade you/we are looking at doing. They sell a single disk converter that he says is good up to 400 Hp and the price is right.. just my .002



PS Your service is much appreciated!!

 

The replacement is easy. As stated previously, you want a good place to work with a concrete floor, good tools, a couple drain pans, a transmission jack, a jack and some blocks for the engine, and lots of light.

The difficulty is after the conversion, getting the TPS and throttle valve cable properly adjusted. The valve body provider better be capable of answering your questions, as you will be on the phone several times working out the details. There are only a few places with the expertise on Dodge diesels than can answer those questions. Most transmission shops cannot even get the adjustments set if you have done any upgrades to your engine, so factor that in the equation.

 

im getting exited to do this. i never thought i would be able to afford to do the trans, but now i can and im getting pretty exited to get it done and find out what the trucks gonna feel with some new goodies. Ill do some searching, but is a triple lock oriented more towards very high power trucks? im not planning on changing up to very high numbers. about 250 hp would be nice.

 

I have been thinking about doing this to my truck, myself too. I think i could do it, and it would probably be a good project for this winter, but who knows. The triple disc converters, are just supposed to hold better/more horsepower, but if your just planning on going with about 250hp, then a single disk should be plenty enough. BUT, i know once you feel that extra power in action, youll want more just like the rest of us; but as long as you dont go extreme, youll be fine with a single disc i would imagine. Let us know how it goes.

Eric

 

ill for sure let the whole sight know once i get this stuff done. im gonna do a search on transmission removal and decide if i dare try it. course it will be winter when i get home and will be hard to wait for the snow to melt. may just be better of paying the pros to do it.

 

How do you like the prime loc? Did it help much? Thanks

Eric

 

it came with the truck, so i dont know if it was an improvement. the filter is easy to change, but it costs $20 for a little filter, so i dont like to change it frequently. so far, it has mostly got in the way to when i want to monkey around with stuff. i think its gonna make it a little easier to replace the rubber fuel lines that go back to the tank. I havent had any problems getting the truck started after a filter change. i just pump up the primer till its firm, then crank till it starts. It doesnt come with a way to drain water. there is a valve you can buy to do that but i havent got it. It kind of looks cool on the motor though and adds a bit of chrome. i think thats what i like best about it.

 

Tranny removal is really just removing bolts and unplugging wires. It's difficulty is way overrated IMO. Just take your time and you'll be fine. I did a tranny removal and install in a weekend, but I took my time. It was my first one, also.

On a side note, thanks for serving for us, we appreciate it!