slatemd

Hi Gang: Long time no post! Everything was working well until the trans soiled the bed on Mad Max the other day!

265 on the clock. Many 5.9 upgrades to include 2nd Gen oil pump, custom air intake ram, 2nd Gen turbo, KDP fix, 3 piece exhaust manifold, TPS delete, ERA 300 injectors, Rheostat controller for trans shift points, 4" straight pipe, Stock fuel pin tweaking, Monster air filter system, additional forced air induction to air filter, rebuilt rears and axles, rims, tires, stereo, pyro, boost, fuel pressure gauges, complete duel fuel set up, 3,000 lb air bags......The list goes on and on and on!

I have well over 25-K into this beast and I think I am at a cross road here boys!

I can drop 3-K to rebuild this auto with some up-grades, or double that figure by slapping in a 5-speed. I have always dreamed about Max being a 5-speed, but its a tad bit pricey.....................................

What am I to do here?

We all know that these trannys stink, but if I were to R&R this trans, what cost effective upgrades are out there for this unit that you like and why do you like them?

I built this truck for highway use pulling my trailers. I am not bashful with the big pedal on the right

Please tender your advice.

My wife wants me to sell Max because she's not a fan of it's tank-like ride. I told her not to make me choose. She backed off but I due need to exercise a little monetary discretion or I'm never going to hear the end of it!

Please help because The Mopar Nats in Carlisle is next month.............

dieselJon

When getting it rebuilt, a good torque converter and shift kit goes a long way. Also upgrade to a SFI or 2nd Gen flexplate.

I personally like Diesel Performance Converters. MY buddy has one in his 3rd Gen with a Firepunk built trans. Those 2 things woke up his truck. IT was like a sloppy wet noodle before. Now he has it tuned and bigger turbo.

RamGuy84

I would just build it .You don't have to have a 5 sp .Who want's to shift all the time ??? Not Me .Drop it in Gear and Fly . Lower Stall on Converter and you will be Fine .

j_martin

I pull a recreation double, about 11,000 lb, soon going to be more like 14,000 all the time. Original stock tranny lost the OD bearing, pretty much trashing it. Got it rebuilt with a Goerend low stall converter, Transgo shift kit, good frictions, and a few well known needed hard parts and new bearings for less than 3 grand. My son did the same. Both of us have since sheared the stock flex plates, so include an SFI flex plate in the upgrade. (You can get a new one for about $150)

My NATCO transmission shop says the A518 can tow all day long, if OD if desired with no problem. Just needs to be set up right and maintained. Also needs additional cooling if pulling hard for long periods of time.

Weak points are :
1. Radial bearing in tail shaft with considerable thrust load on it. Make sure it's good quality and in good shape.
2. Cooling. I have a fan cooled oil cooler mounted under the truck. Stock is hard to come by. There are decent after market versions. At full bore in a continuous climb, ie Homestake pass, trans oil temp stays below 175°
3. Engine cooling. Solved by Mishimoto aluminum radiator.

Oh, and when I need strong uphill acceleration, it'll outrun any 5 speed with an equivalent engine hands down. Full throttle no-spool down shifting is the key. I've broken the drivers loose with 3000 lbs bed and trailer load on warm asphalt by getting a little carried away pulling into traffic. (Talk about busy steering with 2 trailers in tow.) What folks don't understand is that the TQ "slippage" isn't all loss. A lot of it is torque multiplication. That's considerably less with a low stall converter, but it's still significant, and again "ratio" changing is dynamic and under full load as needed.

patdaly

I would build it and turn it into a lockup TC at the same time.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...-cheap-318014/

slatemd

TC lock up? Sounds interesting. Now I need to research that (thanks a lot!)


I just wish I could bring Max to "The Man" who will do it right, pay my money, and drive off into the sunset.

That does not exist around this neck of the woods, fellas........

slatemd

Because I like pain?????????

I do own a first Gen after all

slatemd

Here's a new idea that was just thrown my way:

My friend who owns a towing company says to me that I would be better off buying a factory rebuild straight from "Mother!"

I could go through his shop for a better price on said unit (nice), but more importantly, the rebuilt unit will have all of the re-call upgrades in it and that it will have a warranty that any dealership across the country has to honor!

He also informed me that the nation wide transmission shops don't honor out of state work because it happened to him. He had a tranny done in New York, it blew up in Florida, and he had to pay to get it rebuilt again.....

Hmmmmmmmm, says I.

Now I'm going to find out how much that option would cost (from Mother as well as what the warranty is) and find someone who would do the swap and for how much.

I would do it myself but I have one working arm due recent major surgery. Basically, I'm am going to be a one winged bird for the summer!

Oh happy, happy, joy, joy!

Any thoughts?

oliver foster

Did you ask if installing an aftermarket low stall Torque converter with the Mopar warranty was allowed?

slatemd

Have not gotten that far yet, I'm on hold calling upstate as so I can get more info before my guy calls a local dealership.................If I tender my VIN then they will know that its the same guy my guy called about....

A little clandestine leg work....

Basically, I'm fishing for info right about now...............

oliver foster

Fish on!

slatemd

Well, after an exhausting day today I found out the Mother discontinued rebuilding the 518's. I contacted several Dodge dealerships.....No luck.

I even reached out to Jasper....Ditto!

I did find a guy with a really clean shop, one employee and three lifts. We talked about Max and he seemed very knowledgeable about the weak links of the 518, and the aftermarket upgrades that is a must. He asked me several key questions about my driving habits and any performance mods I made.

I liked him.


I will get Max to him by next week..........

Wish me luck

slatemd

Started looking at SFI Torque Convertors.....What am I looking for? I'm seeing them from $80.00 to $370.00????

Here's one add on eBay. What does this mean????

If you have any power adders or just want the best you have found it. Please note in the pictures that these are balanced so they run smooth, many are not so be careful, and they are 29.3 SFI Certified as seen in the photos as well which is a far improvement over the old 29.1 certified.

patdaly

You mean Torque Converter or Flex Plate?

SFI is certification for racing organizations, and like Mil-Spec just means a certain set of standards have been met.

New stock should hold for a long time, new billet would be better, both can get their guts ripped out by the Cummins.......

j_martin

SFI is rated to carry the TQ at extremely high speeds. 29.1 is 10,000 rpm. Don't know what 29.3 is.

They all are pretty beefy to meet that spec. They won't give you any trouble with mild to moderate turn up and road towing.

The stock flex plate, on the other hand, can be readily sheared with mild engine mods and a stiff torque converter. Been there, done that....twice.

I wouldn't pay over $140 for a new one, $100 for used if it's a fancy one.