Anyone Know of Aftermarket Flywheels Available for 2005 QCs w/Auto?

[oldguysrt10]

I'd like to upgrade over the OEM when I replace the failure.

Thanks,
oldguy

 

[Ram From Hell]

Uh, flex plate?:dontknow:

 

[ZCx]

seems like Fidanza has flex plates

 

[FATJACK]

Check with TCI Transmissions in Memphis, Tn. they will have it.

 

[oldguysrt10]

Check with TCI Transmissions in Memphis, Tn. they will have it.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried them though and they don't have it. They suggested Reactor Products in California. Having looked at their website I'm not hopeful but will call them anyway.

oldguu

 

[oldguysrt10]

My transmission guy rescheduled other work and pulled my transmission today. The flywheel had failed. I bought my '05 truck new off the lot the day after Thanksgiving '06, have serviced it to the extreme, and have not abused it. It has 41k miles on it. I'm old enough (52) to have enough experience to know the list of things I don't know is endless, and the things I do know are by comparison almost nothing, but I do know the flywheel in my quad cab is a piece of crap. It's a thin piece of stamped metal with a cast teeth ring spot welded around the outside, with openings in it I assume for weight reduction. The failures were at the webs created by the openings. There is no possible way it can be balanced properly (no indication of any attempt). Until someone develops a durable aftermarket upgrade, or Dodge chooses to accept the fact they released an inferior product and make an upgrade, replacing the flywheel will now be included in my annual transmission service. For other QC guys out there, I really believe yours is also destined to fail. The problem with waiting until it fails to replace it is the potential unrepairable damage it could do to the back of your block and oil pan. Mine is damaged (scored the castings) but not to a point of structural failure requiring replacement. It could have easily been that bad though.

My transmission guy, local Dodge dealership owner and service manager, and I (quite a few years in mechanical design support for high pressure rotating equipment) all believe the failure is cyclic fatigue from flexing at the obvious weak point. Premature/unexpected failure is inevitable. How long it lasts is dependent on luck of the draw pertinent to quality of the flywheel you happen to get combined with driving habits, amount of power, and miles driven.

Side note..............on a separate thread months back I mentioned 5 (I think is what I said) flywheel failures on 2 trucks local like mine that are used by law enforcement. I was wrong. The guy at my transmission shop checked his records today in addition to those done by the dealership (They work closely together). The 2 trucks have had 7 failed flywheels replaced.

Best to all,
oldguy

 

[The Itch]

I just read your email then found this thread... Dayum! Do you think it will be ready for your trip?:dontknow:

Your truck is obviously making additional power over stock. I was curious if the other 2 you mentioned were forced, spraying or stock. I have the torque management disabled and a 93 octane tune and thought (since I was being super conservative) I would be safe against twisting my drive train out of whack... In fact I think I'm going out and crawl under it right now...

If you do find an acceptable aftermarket, post it for the rest of us QC guys.

 

[Silverback]

Sounds to me that something else is causing the problem.

 

[oldguysrt10]

I just read your email then found this thread... Dayum! Do you think it will be ready for your trip?:dontknow:

Your truck is obviously making additional power over stock. I was curious if the other 2 you mentioned were forced, spraying or stock. I have the torque management disabled and a 93 octane tune and thought (since I was being super conservative) I would be safe against twisting my drive train out of whack... In fact I think I'm going out and crawl under it right now...

If you do find an acceptable aftermarket, post it for the rest of us QC guys.

The other 2 that had the 7 failures have aftermarket tunes with torque management disabled (per my dealership could be a contributor but not considred the cause), and cold air intakes as their only upgrades.

I've got just over 10,000 miles on mine since installing the Roe. No doubt the additional power could be a problem but I've not been to the track since installing it (no sticky surface for good traction), and until last Friday was rolling on stock Pirellis down to the wear bars and as a result was spinning tires instead of transferring much stress to the drivetrain.

I don't know if my truck will be repaired in time for the trip to Florida but if not I'll rent a mini-van (please don't laugh folks) so I can bring your rims, drag radials, and lug nuts.

I don't know that you'd be able to see anything indicating near-term probable failure by removing the inspection plate. If you develop what sounds like an exhaust leak that isn't (slight ticking under acceleration when under load) that transitions into also sounding as though a power steering pump or alternator bearing is going out but only makes the noise when driving, and finally a drivetrain vibartion, failure is imminent. First sympton to failure on mine was about 30 miles.

oldguy

 

[oldguysrt10]

Sounds to me that something else is causing the problem.

It's always easier to discredit the ideas of others than to have one of your own. Does your believing it's something else have a basis in experience, education, or just gut reaction resulting in a non-value adding post? I'm truly interested in any logical suggestion I could perhaps apply that would eliminate the risk.

My posting the probable cause as cyclic fatigue on an inherently weak location of a poor engineering solution was primarily from the input of automotive engineers that were involved in the failures of the other 7 I mentioned.

Best to all,
oldguy

 

[The Itch]

I don't know if my truck will be repaired in time for the trip to Florida but if not I'll rent a mini-van (please don't laugh folks) so I can bring your rims, drag radials, and lug nuts.

If you develop what sounds like an exhaust leak that isn't (slight ticking under acceleration when under load) that transitions into also sounding as though a power steering pump or alternator bearing is going out but only makes the noise when driving, and finally a drivetrain vibartion, failure is imminent. First sympton to failure on mine was about 30 miles.

oldguy

Wife has a Kia Sedona... :dontknow:

You do know, every time I hear a "TIC" now I'm going to have to pull over and check it out ...

 

[oldguysrt10]

Wife has a Kia Sedona... :dontknow:

You do know, every time I hear a "TIC" now I'm going to have to pull over and check it out ...

Sorry....really. I'll keep you posted on anything I find as an upgrade or definitive cause.

I don't really think short-term high stress/high power situations are much of a contributor. There are just too many people on the forum using the same stock flywheel that have more punch than my truck. Minor variables like alignment, where individual pieces are in the tolerance range, etc. could be contributors if/when there's a failure but I'm still inclined to believe cyclic fatigue from flexing under load is the problem. The aftermarket torque converter I'm having installed has more surface area for contact with the flywheel than the stock one and as a result should provide additional support strength. The down-side though is it will apply more short-term stress at lock-up. Right now I only know the problem, speculate on the cause, and have no idea on a fix except for a temporary band-aid.

Best to all,
oldguy

 

[includemeout]

Sorry....really. I'll keep you posted on anything I find as an upgrade or definitive cause.

I don't really think short-term high stress/high power situations are much of a contributor. There are just too many people on the forum using the same stock flywheel that have more punch than my truck. Minor variables like alignment, where individual pieces are in the tolerance range, etc. could be contributors if/when there's a failure but I'm still inclined to believe cyclic fatigue from flexing under load is the problem. The aftermarket torque converter I'm having installed has more surface area for contact with the flywheel than the stock one and as a result should provide additional support strength. The down-side though is it will apply more short-term stress at lock-up. Right now I only know the problem, speculate on the cause, and have no idea on a fix except for a temporary band-aid.

Best to all,
oldguy

May want to have it Shot Peened and/or Stress relieved as it may have built in stress points from the stamping and welding
not counting micro fractures from the stamping method

 

[ZCx]

have ya'll checked the damper.

rubber in good shape. any signs of wobble or slippage?????

& the QC cabs were the first Viper with an auto. thats sort of interestin:dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

 

[The Itch]

Sorry....really.
oldguy

Me too... Having a Kia is emberassing...

 

[oldguysrt10]

have ya'll checked the damper.

rubber in good shape. any signs of wobble or slippage?????

& the QC cabs were the first Viper with an auto. thats sort of interestin:dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

There's no sign of wobble or slippage on the dampner. I've got the Roe with the dampner pinned, and have checked it for any slippage or wobble after having had some of the components off to drill the front of the crank. I'd talked with Sean Roe some time in the past about an aftermarket higher quality dampner and he didn't think it would be additive. We exchanged a couple of emails on a different subject earlier today but I intend to ask again. If there's some indication I could minimize vribration and/or harmonics by installing an aftermarket dampner I will.

Thanks for the suggestion.

oldguy

 

[Silverback]

It's always easier to discredit the ideas of others than to have one of your own. Does your believing it's something else have a basis in experience, education, or just gut reaction resulting in a non-value adding post? I'm truly interested in any logical suggestion I could perhaps apply that would eliminate the risk.

My posting the probable cause as cyclic fatigue on an inherently weak location of a poor engineering solution was primarily from the input of automotive engineers that were involved in the failures of the other 7 I mentioned.

Best to all,
oldguy

Yeah, you're right. It was a non-value added post. After all, I don't know shit about anything.

Here's another non-value added post for you. Go F*ck yourself.:bootyshake: :bootyshake: :bootyshake: :bootyshake: :bootyshake:

 

[Silverback]

Okay, I'm done doing the important stuff, so I will explain it to you.

What I was trying to convey to you was the fact that the flex plate is not the problem. It's what is failing as the result of another issue.

I don't know why I'm telling you since you were kind of an ass, but I guess I have a soft spot for those who suffer from ignorance.

Anyway, the problem is probably with the torque converter. The outer steel stamping is weak. You have the 3 attach point from the converter to the flex plate. These are just standoffs that are welded to the converter shell. Since the converter shell flexes it causes the flex plate to suffer from a fatgiue failure.

This has been a problem with the Cummins diesel rigs for years. They generally go to a machined billit converter shell and it cures the problem.

Hope you're f*cking happy now.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

I stay happy

uh to butt in.......I can get a ATI dampner if ya need it, it does help over the oem unit

ok bye now

carry on pappa monkey:marchmellow:

 

[oldguysrt10]

Okay, I'm done doing the important stuff, so I will explain it to you.

What I was trying to convey to you was the fact that the flex plate is not the problem. It's what is failing as the result of another issue.

I don't know why I'm telling you since you were kind of an ass, but I guess I have a soft spot for those who suffer from ignorance.

Anyway, the problem is probably with the torque converter. The outer steel stamping is weak. You have the 3 attach point from the converter to the flex plate. These are just standoffs that are welded to the converter shell. Since the converter shell flexes it causes the flex plate to suffer from a fatgiue failure.

This has been a problem with the Cummins diesel rigs for years. They generally go to a machined billit converter shell and it cures the problem.

Hope you're f*cking happy now.

I appreciate your posting with the effort of being helpful. The previous wasn't.

I'm going with an aftermarket converter (costing me $1200 for just the converter) that addresses what you described. One of the other 2 SRT10 QCs with the problem I have did the same. It's had another flywheel failure subsequent to the aftermarket converter installation.

Your postings have no impact on my happiness.

Also, knowing the difference between ignorance and stupidity and assuming you do also, I have no problem with the tag. The list of things I don't know is really long. I'm comfortable admitting it. Being old and recognzing such sure relieves a burden.

oldguy