Do those transmission companies (ATS, DTT, Goerends) do some magic in the tranny to make them bullet proof? or can I just order all the parts from G/B that they would put into one and just put them in? I am on the other side of the planet and freight for a whole trans would be a lot, would be a lot cheaper to just buy the parts to build one with.

Edit: mods, can you move this to the performance section?

 

Im sure you could talk to Dave, and he could get you everything you needed. The only bad thing is that your converter will probably be the only thing warrantied since you are building it...

Eric

 

Most of the problems you see posted on this forum concerning rebuilt auto transmissions are the result of DIY. Sure, if you are very good and very experienced you can do it right and not create a 28-post thread about what you threw in there and why it doesn't work right or shift right and how many times you had to R&R the tranny before it was good.

On the other hand the fully RE-ENGINEERED off-the-shelf replacement from one of the big three seldom gets a mention because they are trouble-free. You will pay more and the shipping and core return from Guam will be awful. You have to balance that with your local resources, expertise, and time available.

 

the way i figured it, i could rebuild it myself 4 or 5 times for what it would cost me to buy one turn key. plus i enjoy doing my own work. but i will buy a built valve body and i have already bought a triple disk converter. and will put in the extra clutch and drive place in the 3rd gear section. a lot of it depends how much hp you are going for on what needs to be done.

 

I think that Dave has some type of, how too recorded , seems that a fellow bought a overhaul kit and some other pieces, probably a converter and valve body. I believe that Dave sent a how too for him also. I could be wrong on that, if it is true that could be a way for you to do what wont. You will need a few pieces to do the build. I read a post on what was needed and how to build the pieces. If you wont I will try to find the link. Good luck Jim

 

When mass diesel did my DTT buildup, they had to take the trans down several times to diagnose internal leaks and some weirdness with the governor. This stuff is not easy to do even with the right tools and a lift. Best to bite the bullet and have it sent as a whole.

 

if one is handy with wrenches it should be no problem. i built my first one in 1964. had never seen inside one. it worked flawlessly. very few special tools are needed. a press is almost necessary for the apply spring in the od unit. clearances in the od unit are critical. get the dealer shop manual and do a little research and one should be fine.

 

When I had troubles with my stock tranny, after some research, I called DTT. Bill was most helpful and did send me the specs where his tranny is different from the stocker- like clearances and endplay etc. I bought the master overhaul kit, the TC and the VB. Bill's take on the VB was that it's virtually impossible to get it really right without the VB teststand. (You would get some acceptable result with a lot of r+r ing the VB or the tranny + a lot of test drives and the wear and tear of a tranny shifting weird)
I don't have any experience with any other vendor than DTT, but the support I got there was extremely helpful and my tranny has more than 200 000 kms so I think I must have got it quite right....
The press for the OD unit is absolutely necessary!
The first thing to get would be the shop manual from DC to have a load of info about the rebuild.
HTH

AlpineRAM

 

Which rebuild manual should I get? I searched on google and there are a few companies that make repair/rebuild manuals, are they going to be the same or is there a specific one that I should get?

 

Buy the shop service manual from Dodge. You can buy it for $90 and get it on CD or in paperback. Bill notes on his website that it is written very well.

I'll tell you one thing after watching Bill & Darren build my trans, my first thoughts were wow I could do this. Then I thought about the special parts, tools, etc. and still thought maybe I could do this. But then when it comes down to diagnosing little problems here and there and I said no way. They built mine in a day and they had a problem on the road test. If I had built it I would have been screwing around with it for weeks trying to get the bugs worked out.

 

if I bought a full tranny, do they road test them somehow before shipping?

 

Here is a trick i used when i moved out and came here from England.
One of the neighbors was comming home to the states so i gave him all of my stuff in box's to ship with his house hold items.
Try to find someone moving to Guam and get them to ship in their household stuff. Might be worth a try and get Uncle Sam to flip the shipping bill.
PS i'm not English just grew up a NSA brat.

 

thats a great idea

 

What brand did you get? I dont know about the rest, but Goerend runs his on the dyno, and checks all pressures, shift points, etc before he sends them out. If there are any problems they would show up on the dyno.

Eric

 

I don't know what DTT does for testing if they ship a unit out. I do know they test the valve body and the transmission using a high dollar test machine, I watched them test mine.