midwestdually

what do you plan on doing for mods??if you plan on bombing it...what kinda ponies do you want to run??

midwestdually

i would say look around and compare in your area....what are the other options on the truck??i would say that it would be a good truck but dont know much other than it is an automatic tranny

cumminddg

I have a '93 2wd with the a518 and it has held up well (knock on wood) so far, it had the banks kit on it when i bought it, i tweeeeeeeeeeked the pump and added a BHAF and it is holding up, though i am looking buyin a suncoast built 46RH in the not too distant future as i plan on adding a set of POD's and maybe a piers cam and head on down the line. but for now the 518 is doing good. I would say get what you can find because around my neck of the woods first gens with under 200k that are reasonably clean are getting hard to find. i tow some with mine and have never had trouble, my dad had 2 with the A518 and both of them beld up well to. Just my $.02 worth.

Bushy

Generally the A518 is a good tranny. It is a 727 with an OD on it.<br>If you maintain it well, keep fresh fluid in it, and always use the correct gear/RPM, you'll get good service out of it.<br>They will take some moderate upgrades and still give you good service life.<br>If you tow a fair bit, or, tow at altitude you may want to have it gone thru front to back, have a tighter TC and properly set up valve body installed.<br>You would be shocked to feel the difference in terms of how much power the CTD is loosing as it goes thru that stock setup.<br>Our trucks are all fluid coupling, unless of course you do a transplant using a later model lockup TC system.<br>DTT can make that puppy haul apples. <br>It is the single best mod I have done to my truck since I bought it in late 93.<br><br>bob

DJ

I looked all over to find a five speed when I bought mine. Since then I have learned that the 5 speed can be just as expensive to repair as an auto and the clutch will cost 600 and up so I would say go with what you want to drive, I think they will hold up up about the same and cost about the same to maintain. You might get a slight improvement im MPG with the manual but not enough to make up for driving a stick if you want an auto.

dodgeman01

I have a 93 auto 2x5 regcab that has 175k on it. It still has the stock tranny and it has taken the pump being turned up all the waywith stock injectors for about 50k with no problems.<br>DM01

Bushy

This is really only my personal opinion here, but the A518 will hold onto the Cummins until you get up to around 225 RWHP of thereabouts....<br>What happens is as you uprated your engine the RPM's usually increase and torque at a given RPM follows.<br>You basically end up pushing your &quot;stall speed&quot; up in the TC.<br>What you've got is a motor pulling right &quot;thru&quot; the TC, very high temps, accelerated wear inside the trans, and ... well you can picture the rest.<br><br>If you can tweak it, service it, and moderate your HP upgrades until you can afford an aftermarket system you won't be sorry.<br>Our trucks do not use lockup convertors. They use fluid coupling only. With that in mind I am personally partial to the DTT system. You would be shocked at how much of your engine/HP upgrades are literally dissappearing between the flywheel and the rear wheels.<br>I kid you NOT!!!!<br><br>In my case I was able to rip off some rubber in OD for pete sake !!!<br>Having said all that, there are a number of aftermarket options. Do a bit of homework and go with what makes you happy. The only serious note to this is do not use cost as the ONLY factor. If it means saving a bit longer, do it..<br><br>bob.

Bushy

Lets assume that the tranny has been decently maintained and had regular service. <br>If that is the case then you could do some modest tweaking to the engine/pump etc. and be fairly certain the trans will handle it. As I mentioned, the A518 (727 w/OD) will handle in the area of 225 RWHP. That's not bad since the weak link is actually the OD unit.<br>You would want a full trans.service, have the idle and WOT line pressures tweaked a bit, band(s) adjusted as needed.<br>From there, your only concern is the average lifespan of the trans itself. Again, my personal opinion is these tranny's will usually run 250K beforfe failure becomes a concern.<br><br>I hope that is some help. BTW, take if for a drive. Does it upshift smoothly as well as downshift? Any sticking in gear when you stop, then bang down into low as you apply throttle?<br>These would be signs of maladjustment at best, at worst, a pending problem.<br><br>bob.