Billet flex plate and input shaft?

[CTcummins24V]

Is anyone here running a triple disc torque converter with stock flex plate and stock input? My after market billet single disc torque converter is slipping and I'm upgrading to a triple disc, under warranty . Do I have to worry about snapping or warping under normal driving conditions and light towing? 

[mopartechnician]

Im pretty sure you have to run a billet input with a triple or it will void warranty and you can run a laminated or billet flex plate

I got a customer running a fully built goerend trans with billet input, billet flex plate, and triple disk. That trans is insane and way cheaper than a worthless ats

Edited June 7, 2014 by mopartechnician

[MnTom]

I am running a triple disk and a stock flex plate with a stock in put. I have over 100,000 miles on with out any problems and am at 365+ HP and 833 TQ and have been for a long time.

[mulcher812]

I  running a triple disk converter in my truck without a billet input shaft, but I'm on my second flywheel/flex plate. If I have to replace the flywheel/flex plate again it will be a billet unit. The extra $225 will be worth it.

[hex0rz]

I too 'am running a triple disk TC and stock input and stock flexplate. I maybe have around 15k on mine and no problems to speak of..

[War Eagle]

There will probably be as many opinions on this subject as there are people that respond!

 

I recently had my transmission gone through because I wanted to set it up for heavier towing than the stock tranny could handle reliably.  So that meant I wanted to beef up the tc, valve body, thrust bearings, various solenoids etc.  Since I was intending to add an e-brake I decided to put in a billet input shaft to help avoid any potential damage from the higher torque loads it would be seeing with the e-brake and heavy towing.  This was a personal choice and since I was already in the transmission it was much less expensive to do it then than to accidently break it sometime in the future (when I was working the truck hard) and then have to pull out the tranny and do it later. 

 

The same logic was used for the flex plate.  I know lots of people use the stock flex plate for heavy towing and do fine with it but when I looked at mine when the tranny was out there were definite wear showing up at the junction of where the input shaft works with the flex plate.  The issue was pretty simple again for me.  Cheaper and easier to do it when the tranny was out than to find I have to pull it again at some later date and do repairs.

 

Maybe I never would have had a problem with the stock flex plate and stock input shaft but that was just a risk I didn't want to take.  Tranny work is sooo expensive that I just don't want to go into it again.

 

That's my story! And I'm sticking to it.

[CTcummins24V]

Ya, it would be nice for peace of mind to upgrade, but I just had my rear-end rebuilt 2 months and this torque converter upgrade isn't free either. Looks like I'll be running by comp on a lower setting for a while  

[Mopar1973Man]

Funny how the automatic transmissions have to do so much beefing up for input shafts where manuals really don't require it and do quite well without upgraded input shafts.

[CTcummins24V]

The solution is just to get a stick shift. Even some of these super built trannies break. There definitely is a price difference in the used truck market for a manual dodge, and that's the only reason I got an automatic, 5/6 speeds were 2-3k more that autos, in my online searches. Something/s are more stout in the manuals. Shorter input shaft, less torque, less week points?

[rancherman]

Funny how the automatic transmissions have to do so much beefing up for input shafts where manuals really don't require it and do quite well without upgraded input shafts.

all I can come up with is  an automatic is  'power shifting'   every dang time....  hundreds if not thousands of times  a week...  even if the  tc isn't locked up,   it's got to be    more violent than  a manual...   

who takes their foot out of the  throttle to  upshift an automatic?  you guys are  'hitting' the  input  with  *insert your engine torque here*...... manual  is  normally   lower engine torque,  then  rolling  back into power.

[JOHNFAK]

Theres a hole thats drilled in the VB to control lockup engagement of the TC. Basically as long as you dont drill the hole out too large - you wont get too hard of a lockup to worry about breaking the flexplate of input.

I was at 450-500hp on stock input and flexplate with reasonable amount of abuse ..... nothing stupid but lots of WOT. Held fine.

[CTcummins24V]

cool, thank you gentlemen

[CTcummins24V]

Well, possible cracked flexplate with the new triple disc, I'll check tomorrow. I have a nice clicking sound coming from the inspection port, and I'm pretty sure it's NOT a bolt head. Who has the best after market flex plate? I see BD and DTT, some say designed for flex and other say billet and no bending. Any recommendations? 

[mulcher812]

If your going to do it. Do the BD and make sure it's the 29.3 race certified.

[CTcummins24V]

Might as well do the input shaft too right...or that's next to break!

[hex0rz]

You could do the input shaft and flexplate yourself if you have the time.

[MnTom]

Are you sure you don't just have loose nuts holding the converter to the flex plate? That would be the first thing to check.

[CTcummins24V]

I might have heard cracking too on the first 1st to 2nd shift. Hopefully I'll have time today to check, but I put blue loc-tite on those bolts.

[CTcummins24V]

Flexplate is destroyed! I'll post a pick later. Just ordered a BD unit, and hopefully billet input in a month or two...she's down for the count. Now I have some questions. I'm getting all new bolts for the flexplate to crank and flexplate to converter, can I use grade 8 bolts or do I need the special cummins/dodge/arp bolts?

[MnTom]

Your converter to flex plate should be studs on the converter and nuts against the flexplate. Make sure you check the studs closely for any wear or degadation. I wouldn't think you would need new bolts for the flexplate unless they came loose and have wear on them.