Dodge FWD transmissions and axels (actual info only please!)

[Ondonti]

I know a good amount about this, I know plenty of other people do as well and many know much much much more then me.

Please lets not talk about transmissions or axles from OTHER cars since that is useless information.

[m90daytona]

i dont have much info but this i know for a fact

the m/t axles from a daytona will interchange w/ the shadow/sundance.

the factory axles are diffrent than the ones you get from pep-boys/autozone. the factory axles that are on my daytona are hollow and may be stronger than the aftermarket ones. i know my friend had broken a couple aftermarket axles on his 5spd p-body so i left the stockers on mine. we will see how they hold.

[Ondonti]

I would like to mention that most axel breaks are not due to hp, but improper suspension, motor balance, weak engine mounts and a few other problems.

[Force Fed Mopar]

(Assuming we are talking 3.0 trannies only)

There are 2 different final drive ratios for the 5-spd, 3.50 and 3.77.

I have heard but am not positive that the auto and the 5-spd use different front mount brackets.

[jmitch]

how can you tell which final drive is which when the trans is out of the car?

[c2xejk]

There is a tag on the transmission that lists the final drive.

[Cromax]

Force Fed mopar you are incorect, the A604 and 5 speed share the exact same front bracket.. the 3 speed one however is different..

[Ondonti]

As far as strength of the trannies goes, there is a lot of speculation but you really dont see anyone breaking them from pure hp.

The newer generation transmissions are pretty stout. There are finally some TD guys in the 10's on manual transmissions so there is some abuse finally happening.
Im hoping some people here start breaking tranny parts (and if things hold together then yay)

Some reading I did recently leads me to believe the small spline a543 has less beefy gears then the large spline 3.77 trannies (I dont know if the large spline 3.50 tranny has the older gears or the newer ones).

Then some personal blathering.
My race car has a small spline 3.50 a543 in it that is definitly "worn" (decent synchro but horrible reverse idler gear rattle that Im ntot sure is the only problem, there is also a LOT of play in the gears) but I have 2 spare 3.77 trannies (not sure how nice they are). My spirits 3.77 is definitly in need of a rebuilt with no 5th gear synchro left and reverser idler gear rattle and annoying play between the engine and the wheels that shakes the car on decel. Car drives well enough and i can rev match + double clutch to get into 5th gear so I will not be rebuilding anytime soon :P Just makes the car almost impossible for other people to drive.

I have never used a rebuilt/newish 5 speed tranny. Both of the transmissions I have actually used are pretty sloppy (play in the gears, snaping feeling if you dont ease into the gas) and on decel will shake the car at certain rpms

[Shadow24V]

did the 3.5 FD a543 come in a large spline version?

looking for some taller gears soon, was thinking the early 568 gearset w/ 3.55 FD or a 543 3.5FD.....

[mwinkle353]

To my knowledge, no it did not. If my sources are correct, they only came on the small spline pre-91 units.

[Shadow24V]

crud, no chance of swapping the outut shaft and ring gear to get the FD ratio?

[Ondonti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwinkle353 To my knowledge, no it did not. If my sources are correct, they only came on the small spline pre-91 units.

Yes they did wink,
91 units (91 stamp) with 3.50 gears have large imput shaft.

But I dont think large imput shaft is really needed.

[Shadow24V]

so there were large spline 3.5FD a543s? hmmmm

[Ondonti]

I dont know where you will find one. the 3.50's are very rare and the large spline is only 1 out of 3 years.

Really there is no reason to get the 3.50 gears or large spline. The only imput shafts Ive heard of people breaking is with auto trannies and their insane torque multiplication. Not an issue with 5 speed.

When you rev to 7000+ rpms like your car will you will probably NOT accomplish anything by going with wider gearing as your top speed in each gear will be a LOT higher already. .

[Shadow24V]

so the taller gears wont help out with the higher torque, hp and revs? i thought they did (hence tall geared autos in powerful dragsters)..

but in any case, a small spline is no weaker then? ok, that would just mean a different clutch disk, which is easily swapped.