It finally happened!

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It finally happened! - 8/1/2007 8:10:21 AM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline Welp, my worst fears about my Durango has occurred.  This morning as I was pulling into the parking garage, I put the D in reverse and what happens?  No reverse.  I was able to swing around in drive and was able to get out of the garage and luckily the dodge dealer was only a mile down the road.  Limped it to dealer and when they dropped the pan, parts fell out.  So my tranny is TOAST.  As my D is still in near mint shape, I hate to give this boy up as the cost from dealer will run me $4600 for reman tranny replacement and an additional $800 for 4core radiator (max cooling package that came with R/T). Talking with wifey, we decide to keep this D a little longer so I have a valid excuse to do some serious upgrading now regarding the tranny.  I do not want to simply put in another tranny without any mods as I know the trannys for 1st gen sux! As for you guys that already went thru this pain that I am starting out on, I like some recommendations on where to find a better tranny, one that is beefed up.  If you have part numbers and such for a tranny and the high performance upgrade parts, please submit them to me so I can get some prices.  I have a mechanic that can install the tranny but does not work on the tranny itself.   Does Mopar have a high performance tranny already built up where all I have to do is install it? Please let me know asap as I am now without transportation and need this resolved ASAP.  Man, 2007 is such a pain on finances!  Wifey getting new car, baby on the way, and now my D is down!  What a life! _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake Post #: 1

RE: It finally happened! - 8/1/2007 9:16:10 AM    Mean Green Posts: 3189 Joined: 6/22/2006 From: Reno, NV Status: offline  Sorry to hear that Ken. Dan at thefastman does trannys doesn't he? I would go with him if you're looking at that amount of $$$ already. Heck if you live close enough to SLC go through hydra's guy. Also I am sure you could get a cheaper 4 core if you go aftermarket. If you just have Dodge do the tranny then go with a larger TC, valve body, and a shift kit at the least. That should give it a better chance this time around. _____________________________ 2000 Durango 5.9L SLT+ Flowmaster 40 "Custom" Ram Air 31" BFG AT T/A KO's Bilstein Shocks Hidden Hitch Sirius Satelite Radio E-fan conversion Smittybilt brushguard SSU's (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 2

RE: It finally happened! - 8/1/2007 9:47:03 AM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline Unfortunately I live in the Dallas Fort Worth metro area.  I'll check with fastman to see if he has any prebuilt custom trannies.  The only good thing if I have to fork out the bucks thru the dealer, is they will warranty it for 3/36 .  I will have to check at other places to see what warranties they offer. _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake (in reply to Mean Green) Post #: 3

RE: It finally happened! - 8/1/2007 10:12:27 AM    Mean Green Posts: 3189 Joined: 6/22/2006 From: Reno, NV Status: offline Youu COULD get that through AAMCO (I don't trust their work though) for a lot cheaper. I think about an extra $200 so about $2000 and then the price difference between the TC and whatever the shift kit and valve body are. Good luck with this and I hope you find a good shop for cheaper than that. You should be able to get a killer build for that kind of $$$. Oh and another thought comes to mind. NV4500 and some fabrication. Make it a stick and give me lots of info and pics because if/when this goes again I'm gonna do it. _____________________________ 2000 Durango 5.9L SLT+ Flowmaster 40 "Custom" Ram Air 31" BFG AT T/A KO's Bilstein Shocks Hidden Hitch Sirius Satelite Radio E-fan conversion Smittybilt brushguard SSU's (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 4

RE: It finally happened! - 8/1/2007 11:43:10 AM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline Welp Mean, I called fastman and will stick to his products.  He charges $1700 for a rebult 46re + $700 for core deposit + Shipping.  I estimate with $200 possible s/h, about $2600 initial cost and my personal mechanic will charge me $600 to do the swapout so total cost is $3200 and if my core is in good shape, I'll get back my $700 and then total cost will be $2500.   Much cheaper than the $4600 from dealer.  I can care less about the 3/36 as I know it'll probaby break down after the 3/36 is over.  But I trust Fastman as he got a good rep on this forum and other dodge forum and this tranny will be custom built, beefed up and bullet proof!  I even bought a 52mm throttle body from him for an extra $225 so I got most of my mods done on my wish list!   Now for the cold air intake and exhaust mods are the last two on my minor mod list and if my D last for a couple more years, my last upgrade will be adding a supercharger. Now waiting for dealer to refill the fluid on my tranny so I can drive it out and hopefully it will make it to my mechanic's shop so we can get this swapout underway ASAP! I thank you to everyone for their input on this. _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake (in reply to Mean Green) Post #: 5

RE: It finally happened! - 8/2/2007 1:34:49 AM    Mean Green Posts: 3189 Joined: 6/22/2006 From: Reno, NV Status: offline Not too shabby. I wish I would have known about him before I got my initial rebuild. So his reman includes the larger TC, valve body, and shift kit??? _____________________________ 2000 Durango 5.9L SLT+ Flowmaster 40 "Custom" Ram Air 31" BFG AT T/A KO's Bilstein Shocks Hidden Hitch Sirius Satelite Radio E-fan conversion Smittybilt brushguard SSU's (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 6

RE: It finally happened! - 8/2/2007 6:57:26 AM    hydrashocker Posts: 1790 Joined: 6/12/2005 Status: offline Get the trany from Dan@thefastman. Have him do a modified valve body for sure including a shift kit. TRUST ME! Next make sure you get a new Torque Convertor oversized. They should defanetly hook you up. Get it out of the dealer because they will not do any of this type of work. Also get the cooling system forward and reverse cleaned or replace the radiator and trany cooler. Don't forget that part. _____________________________ 1998 Durango, 5.9L Built Motor Bored 20 Over, P&P Heads, K&N Ram Air CAI, MSD Ignition, 52MM Fastman TB, Built T-Case, Custom Built Trans, Air Bags, Magna Flow 3" Cat Back Exhaust On and On! (in reply to Mean Green) Post #: 7

RE: It finally happened! - 8/2/2007 10:07:38 AM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline I'll ask him about it.  Not sure if some of what you mention is already in his tranny build. thanks Hydra! _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake (in reply to hydrashocker) Post #: 8

RE: It finally happened! - 8/4/2007 5:57:54 AM    IndyDurango Posts: 762 Joined: 6/24/2006 Status: offline +3 on the Fastmans trannys. I just wasn't here to post the info quick enough. Spend the days until the tranny arrives polishing and shining up the truck, then when it get here... you are back on the road looking good and moving fast. IndyD _____________________________ - Truck of the Month: 07/07 Dakota-Durango.com; 12/06 DodgeForum.com; 1/06 DurangoClub.com - Durangoer of the Year: 2006 DurangoClub.com - Three Time TotM Nominee: DTW.com (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 9

RE: It finally happened! - 8/4/2007 10:55:26 AM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline Pretty much my truck is sitting in the shop garage at my buddie's place awaiting for the tranny to arrive.  Dan said the person that is building the trannies is a little slow this summer so I may not get my tranny for about 7-10 business days.  This being said, my wife had no choice but to move up the schedule to buy a new car so she got one and I ended up driving it until my D is fixed!  I wanted to drive our old car, but wifey wants to wait until the tags come in and I finish accessorizing the car with tint, vent visors, etc.  What a wife! _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake (in reply to IndyDurango) Post #: 10

RE: It finally happened! - 8/22/2007 7:46:55 AM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline Oh God, finally Fastman got my replacement tranny shipped out the door last night!  I cannot wait to get it installed!  After driving my wife's Jetta, I am ready to get back and drive my D!  Will also have my 52mm throttle body also!  Cannot wait to see how my D will drive with a heavy duty performance built tranny and throttle body!  I'll try to send some pics of the install process if possible. Anyone that plans to buy a tranny thru fastman, I recommend you to exercise alot of patience.  At their $1700 price, it was worth the wait.  But at times, the long waits is worth the rewards! _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 11

RE: It finally happened! - 8/22/2007 10:10:05 AM    Mean Green Posts: 3189 Joined: 6/22/2006 From: Reno, NV Status: offline That's really not a bad price at all as long as you can wait for it, Hell mine was $1800 for a rebuild and they screwed it up royally and it doesn't have any performance to it. Does that price include the core charge??? _____________________________ 2000 Durango 5.9L SLT+ Flowmaster 40 "Custom" Ram Air 31" BFG AT T/A KO's Bilstein Shocks Hidden Hitch Sirius Satelite Radio E-fan conversion Smittybilt brushguard SSU's (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 12

RE: It finally happened! - 8/22/2007 11:08:48 AM    Lil Red Mopar   Posts: 73 Joined: 5/29/2007 From: Las Vegas, NV Status: offline Ken, sorry to hear about the trans failure, but it's good to hear it's working out better now. You got a 46RE from the fastman right??? Outta curiousity, what tourqe converter did they reccomend for street/strip use? Anyways sounds like a good deal from the fastman $1700 + core and you got a better than oem unit. Sounds like a good upgrade to do even if the stock unit is o.k. Well Ken I'm look'n forward to some WOT pics post install. _____________________________ '01 Durango Slt 5.9L 2WD NO Tow PKG AEM Brute Force cold air intake Cherry Bomb Glass Pack MSD 6A ignition/MSD Blaster 2 Coil/8.5mm MSD wires (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 13

RE: It finally happened! - 8/22/2007 9:27:47 PM    Kensai Posts: 1669 Joined: 12/30/2003 From: United States Status: offline Goto Fastman's website at http://www.thefastman.com under the full tranny build and you will see kinda the specs they do on their rebuilds.  The torque converter I got is better than OEM but not setup for racing tho.  I got the street/strip converter rated up to 650 HP.  Stall speed is pretty much near OEM settings.   I just like a buillet proof build on the tranny similar to Hydra and still make the D a everyday smooth drivable vehicle.  If this build is similar to their 518 tranny build, it is suppose to be rated to handle up to 700HP.  So all in all, I spent about $2300 for this tranny.  $1700+$350+275 which is tranny+torqueconverter+s/h  buddy will make the swap for me for a couple hundred and I am set.  Also waiting to get my throttle body swapped out for the bigger 52mm so the 5.9 can breathe! < Message edited by Kensai -- 8/22/2007 9:38:04 PM > _____________________________ Black 2000 Durango 5.9 R/T Fastman 52mm ThrottleBody Fastman custom built Tranny Castrol Full Syntec OEM K&N Air filter Monroe Reflexes BFG Comp T/A''s Champion IR Truck Plugs 180 Stat Hypertech III (87 oct) Custom Made Ram Air Intake (in reply to Lil Red Mopar) Post #: 14

RE: It finally happened! - 8/22/2007 9:58:41 PM    Lil Red Mopar   Posts: 73 Joined: 5/29/2007 From: Las Vegas, NV Status: offline Ken, added thefastman to my favorites under autoparts. That setup is killer, definately should'nt have any problems racing, towing, or WOT'n the crap out of it, and the best part is the price, and ya you gotta be conservative with the tourqe converter because the last thing a daily driver needs is one that makes every light a hole-shot. Mine's so far so good at 57k, but I'm thinking of a swap mabe next summer because I eventually want to get her upto around 400-500 hp. Can't help it the first car I drove was my dad's '68 Coronet 500 convertable, 383 Magnum bigblock Carter 4 barrell 323 Shuregrip rear end, 11.8's @ 119MPH on the quarter mile, also a daily driver. I've been a Mopar fan eversince. _____________________________ '01 Durango Slt 5.9L 2WD NO Tow PKG AEM Brute Force cold air intake Cherry Bomb Glass Pack MSD 6A ignition/MSD Blaster 2 Coil/8.5mm MSD wires (in reply to Kensai) Post #: 15

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