tranny slippage....?

[ak_petey]

I think my 03 dodge's tranny is slipping. it sticks in 1st gear for a while before it shifts, or it has little power to move forward and lots of engine rpms!

or sometimes it works fine. me thinks its going south. .. or could it be the torque converter?

[88XJ]

Did you check the fluid level / smell / color. If it has a bad burnt smell or a real dark color then you might have some problems or it might just need to be serviced. Not sure on that particular transmission but you might have bands that can be tightened to compensate for wear. A lot of newer transmissions have diagnostics like engines that a tranny shop can trouble shoot.

[ak_petey]

fluid level is normal, seems to be a little dark. smells kinda funny too.
thinking about a:
rebuild kit,porks torques converter and shift kit , vs a georend converter and valve body plus rebuild kit.
possibly a new fly wheel too since mine has 90,000 miles on it.

I will be towing a large trailer with my buggy on it, I dont think I will need a billet input and output shaft will I?

[88XJ]

If you call Prok's, ask porky about my torque converter for me 5.3-turbo 350. I belive he still has it for my VW.

[ak_petey]

looking for one for my 2003 cummins. would that work?

[88XJ]

No, I but if you are calling him can you give him a friendly reminder for me about my torque converter?

[ak_petey]

'touche'

[akram]

Personally I'd go with a suncoast rebuild kit. And a suncoast valve body shift kit. As for the TC check with porky's and see if he is making billet triple disc TC's. And you don't have a flywheel with an auto there buddy. You have a flex plate but the only wear on that is the starter turning it. I wouldn't waste money on a new one.

[ak_petey]

not a heavy duty one? hmm sounds contrary from what I been told.
I am only towing and Daily driving with it anyway. hmm

[akram]

Heavy duty what? Flex plate? No way. If you are bein told that some is blowing smoke up your you know what.

[ak_petey]

well they say "reinforced"[COLOR="Silver"]

---------- Post added at 10:40 pm ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 pm ----------

[/COLOR]what is porky's number?
I talked to zach at Z-Trans (used to work at born again) and he said that porky (hehehe cant keep a straight face saying or typing that name) just was not sold on the triple disc converter and had something called the ZILLA. I need a number to call and get the info on it. its the upgraded version of the TC that porky does.. It is only 650 ish i think.

I know I know I am going to get "you get what you pay for" but Im willing to gamble and see what this TC can do for me. Zach seemed pretty certain on the TC as he has put many of them in 48 RE transmissions. He said Porky mentioned that the triple discs TC crack in time/use. Ill have to call and ask him to explain. Im sure ill put plenty of hard miles on it and get a good warranty run on this. I will be able to tell soon if it is going to do what its supposed to or not supposed to. Im not worried about saying this isnt going to cut it and look for another TC if I notice slipping.

Mel, can I ride along or drive your dodge down the road to see what the triple disc feels like sometime?

[88XJ]

Pork's Torques & Tranny Parts (907) 373-4401

[akram]

here is the deal on the cracking. Porky isn't making billet ones. He is still using old ones and rebuilding them. That means where they bolt up to the flexplate is welded on and will eventually fail if used hard no matter if it's a single disc or triple disc. A billett one is machined and is one piece. I haven't seen one crack yet. He can't convince me that some "zilla" tc will be better than a triple disc billet one. And I have a hard time believing that this one guy here in AK seems to know something every other company and racer doesn't. You can gamble if you want but I just wouldn't. If it were to fail it will cause some serious issues not just replace it. And honestly it will more than likely last past the warranty. As I doubt he matches warranties that some of the other companies do.

[ak_petey]

yeah the lifetime warranty is kinda hard to beat, I talked to the builder and he said the tabs inside break off the triple discs.
they said they had triple disc TCs from suncoast, TCRS, ATS diesel, and Georend sitting in their shop with broken tabs. I guess they got their warranty but the TC still got thrashed. Porky's TCs havent seen one zilla come back since he has been making them (3 years now)

I do not know much about TCs, but I was told there is a bullet cover, heavy duty single disc, brazed up the turbine, switched out the stater .. there might have been more done to it but i couldnt remember all of it by the time I wrote it down.