OK a few guys here recomended a local tranny guy to me for my 98.5 4x4. I called him up and this dude really sounded like he knew what he was talking about...Torque converter designs and spcs, valve body modifications, extra clutches I mean he was spitting it out...so I am like ok this is gonna be pricey but he is local so what do I have to loose....I tell him I want to pull the tranny myself, he is cool with it...well the price.....$1100 with the heavy TC (single disc) with 900rpm stall and a 2 year warranty PNL even though I am pulling it?? The guy has been here for 23 years and had 4 diesels in his garage when I went there. He said it is almost all he does now and they are bullet proof, thats why he offers the 2 year warranty.

I think I am crazy to pass this up...or is it too good to be true??

 

$1100 seems kinda low. You sure he didn't say that the price was for just the converter?

 

900 rpm stall??? Are you sure?

$1100 does seem a little low. I have at least $1600 in a TC and trans parts before I even pull one out.

What method is he using to get the extra clutches in there?

Justin

 

You need to get a better understanding about what he means by "heavy duty". I had a similar experience in Jan. this year with a HD rebuild and HD torque convertor , got left on the road while towing my travel trailer. The HD ,TC just couldn't take the load , I had a triple disc installed and so far no problems.
I'm a believer in "you get what you pay for". Good luck.

 

For $1,100 bones, sounds like a new form of osmosis.

Not trying to rain on your parade Big D. just be carefull. Smells kind of fishy. If he was at $1,100 bones for just the price of converter and R&R that would be about right.

 

I hope it is not like one guy told me. He said he was going to get the tranny from his 2500 "rebuilt into a heavy duty one ton tranny". I tried to explain it to him, but no way did he believe me.

 

if you pull the trans yourself remember to FLUSH the cooler and the lines befor you install the new trans, you would hate to pump bad or contaminated fluid into a new TC and trans.

 

evrybody thinks if it costs more,its better,,,,then we shouldve all bought duramaxes,they cost more,must be better.....adding frictions is nothing new,evrybodys been doing it for years,gapless rings,been around forever...billet servos,everybody sells them........none of these things are new ,and have never cost what the big names on here charge...........bama

 

I'm going through something right now with mine. The trans is fine, but the torque converter is not tight enough, I mean it's worse than stock and the guy claims 1200 rpm stall, 900 rpm that sounds like BS.

They are looking at it now and if I don't get satisfaction I'll tell him to keep his junk converter and I'll get one that'll do the job.

I would not even hook it to a trailer and try to pull with it, it just didn't feel right out of lockup.

Mike

 

I believe you're correct to some degree. One thing that never goes down is labor costs. If you know of a place to get well made, inexpensive tranny parts and can do your own tranny build, that is the way to go. If you are not comfortable, the average rebuild time for just a rebuild from what I've heard is around 7 hours. I don't know what most tranny guys charge, but I suspect it's around $50-70 hr. So, roughly 500 labor plus parts. So, say you can get a good single disk converter for 500-700, you still have to buy the rebuild kit. Maybe, that cost $250. Then you have the servos, acculator, drum, apply piston, apply lever, valve body or shift kit. I think there is some additional cost with regards to the overdrive unit too.

I'm just throwing out what I've learned from my own research. My guess, if you can find a good tranny builder with the knowledge and correct parts you can get a good rebuildt tranny and tighter T/C for about 2 to $2500. How much HP it will hold is up for debate.

 

well after talking to the guy and sharing my concerns he has convinced me to let him give it a shot. I pulled the tranny (piece of cake btw) and took it up there. He had the converter and master rebuild kit all there. The converter had a billet SS frt cover and from what he says has 40% more surface are. It also does have a 900 flash stall...we'll see what the ol cummins makes her stall at though hehe. He has told me that these converters make the rpm drops much more noticable when shifting...which to me means they are holding better. It looks almost identical to the tci that we put in my dads 97 which has been great.

I have told him that if the tranny does go up during the first 6 mos I want a refund...other then that I will allow him to repair under warranty and he is fine with that.

Oh well...I should have it back this week so I will update on how it feels later

keep your fingers crossed!

 

By "SS" do you mean stainless steel?

That would be the first "SS" converter I have ever heard of.

 

I'm interested too know how you make out with it.

I had a local guy do mine too and I already had to tell him the torque converter isn't right. I can feel the trans shift, but there is not noticable change in engine rpm. He says is fine, I told him its not. He said he'll stand behind it, we'll see how it holds up when I start pulling my gooseneck around with 10,000 pounds of tractors on it.

I can see this torque converter not holding up with WOT lockups.

 

it is just billet steel, thats my typo



it sounds like your converter is bad for sure. thats almost a tell tale sign..if you cant see a noticable drop in rpm when shifting, but you see a huge rpm drop when you lock up, the coverter is toast

 

1100$ is the price of a solid TC in a box nothing more...the cummins cant have a 200$ TC behind it like a cheap little cavalier..if it was a neon or cavalier tranny rebuild then 1100$ for a full rebuild is almost steep keep us posted im curious on the results especially the 900rpm stall