In need of a builder...

othrgrl

Diesel Addiction Owner
Mar 10, 2008
2,151
4
38
Wilmington NC
www.mydieseladdiction.com
1. I use the truck for daily driving the most
2. Heaviest i will tow is my enclosed trailer, with quads (maybe 6k?)
3. I want to stay under 600ish, i dont have the money to build / replace my motor (yet)
4. budget to be 6k total. I know it's cheap...but possible. I am not scared of used parts. My truck is old, and i am not a racer.



Too clear things up, I am not buying this turbo with out a trans. period. Regardless, I am returning from the desert in 2 weeks, 6k(budget) to spend on my truck. The ats turbo, i am pretty much set on...It is a good deal at 1500 full kit. Now i still need a tranny setup. Hope this helps!:thumb:

The A3000 has a 57.17mm compressor, which ATS rounds up to 58. The stock LB7 turbo has a 59.9mm compressor......

We'll be putting an LB7 on the dyno soon with manifolds, up-pipes, downpipe, and 3.5" inlet on a stock turbo. We've done 540+ without any of those airflow upgrades on a stock LB7 turbo.
 

c_mo88

New member
Jan 6, 2011
44
0
0
Biloxi, MS/Shaw AFB, SC
i got my tranny built a couple weeks ago by a place in mobile alabama called al-trans....they are certified allison dealers and technicians and all they do are allisons so i trusted them with my truck...i bought a ppe stage V kit with a ML converter and had them install it...they did a really good job...i can pm you the prices i paid for the kit and labor if you'd like...
 

Ryan T

Active member
Sep 5, 2010
1,007
0
36
48
CA
ALWAYS build ur trans first:thumb:.. dont waste ur your hard earned cash on ATS junk either... way better turbos for way less money are to be had, contact Trent Nell i think he is a vendor, and he sells some nice turbo set ups..
P.S. if you decide ur going to send ur trans out to have it done, cut thru the B.S. and call mike L. hes one of the best around!
 

schulte

New member
Jul 31, 2010
449
0
0
CT
With that many miles there are alot of things internal that will need to be looked at and possibly replaced.

Not necessarily; I've torn down plenty a few 250k+ mi Allisons and found no issues with hard parts being out of spec.

The only thing I've commonly seen with trannys with that many miles are stator support bushings, which aren't too difficult to replace.
 

schulte

New member
Jul 31, 2010
449
0
0
CT
I've never seen a Duramax with big power (750+ rwhp) running a BD transmission. Maybe there's a reason....
I use what I know will work properly.

x2. No offense to the BD and ATS guys, but I'd never buy either one or any of their kits.
 

x MadMAX DIESEL

<<<< No Horsepower
Dec 30, 2008
7,535
1
38
34
Lexington, Ky
What about the cheaper kits out there. Dmax store, Alligator, and PPE kit. All come with the ML convertor and Alto clutches for under $2,500... If I had a second truck I would get one of those.
 

othrgrl

Diesel Addiction Owner
Mar 10, 2008
2,151
4
38
Wilmington NC
www.mydieseladdiction.com
What about the cheaper kits out there. Dmax store, Alligator, and PPE kit. All come with the ML convertor and Alto clutches for under $2,500... If I had a second truck I would get one of those.

i bought the dmax 5 kit...all it is is a ppe stage V kit under a different name and it comes with a ML converter

The Stage 5s from those 3 have the same brand of clutches, clutch counts, and pressure mods as the old school SunCoast Stage 4 kits, yet they rate them at higher power capabilities. Holding for a dyno pull doesn't mean anything, look at the stock transmissions that hold 500+ on the dyno or Dimitri who can dyno 20 times on the same trans at max effort but goes to the track and burns it up with the power turned down some. In my opinion SunCoast is more accurate in their power holding capabilities. The other kits don't have a wavy plate for the C2, which depending on the rest of your setup can cause C2s to come on too hard - which is what strips the hub/planet. The Alligator kit doesn't look like (and they didn't tell me otherwise when I called to get the specs) it has thicker C3 or C4 apply plates or shorter pistons. The stock apply plates bow in the center when applied and put more pressure on the center of the clutches than the outside, which is why stock clutches are always more burnt in the center. Thicker plates prevent that bowing and put more even pressure on the clutches to use their entire surface area as much and as equally as possible.

For the same $2220 I know where you could get an actual SunCoast Stage IV kit (not an Alto reverse engineered copy of one) with a Precision Industries converter.

Another big thing to consider when shopping around for the cheapest kit is this:

If you plan to take your truck to a shop that specializes in performance Allison builds to have it done it will most likely be the cheapest total out of your pocket, especially up front, if you let them get the kit and converter for you. When they quote a trans build out the door price they may break it down on your invoice or price quote as $3000 for parts and $1000 for labor or whatever, but if you bring them a kit you will most likely pay more than $1000 for labor. Their out the door price is with all of their expenses and time considered - parts including shipping, shipping cores back, fluids, ect; then they mark it up what they feel is fair for the time and expertise it takes to do it. If you buy the parts and fluids through them they are making a portion of their profit on those parts, and if they are a shop that's been around a while they are getting the parts cheaper than you can get the "cheaper kits", and if they order enough of them at once or stock the kits they may not even be paying shipping. Now if you buy your own parts they want to make the same total money - their time and expertise hasn't changed, if anything it gets longer installing a kit they aren't familiar with or have to mess with clearances more than usual with - now you are paying them more in labor by more than what you saved on the kit. Then you have to pay the core charges ($500) up front, shipping ($75 from DMax Store to 32566), and the shipping to return your core parts ($40+).

So if you are shopping around for a kit to install yourself or for "Joe's Transmission Shop" or the local Allison stock rebuild shop who told you that they'll do it if you provide the kit - by all means try to get the best deal you can on a good quality kit (which may not mean buying a "cheaper" kit). But if you are getting it built by a reputable performance Allison shop trust that if they could get a better deal on the same quality of kit as what they use, they would be doing it and giving you a cheaper out the door price.
 
Last edited:

c_mo88

New member
Jan 6, 2011
44
0
0
Biloxi, MS/Shaw AFB, SC
The Stage 5s from those 3 have the same brand of clutches, clutch counts, and pressure mods as the old school SunCoast Stage 4 kits, yet they rate them at higher power capabilities. Holding for a dyno pull doesn't mean anything, look at the stock transmissions that hold 500+ on the dyno or Dimitri who can dyno 20 times on the same trans at max effort but goes to the track and burns it up with the power turned down some. In my opinion SunCoast is more accurate in their power holding capabilities. The other kits don't have a wavy plate for the C2, which depending on the rest of your setup can cause C2s to come on too hard - which is what strips the hub/planet. The Alligator kit doesn't look like (and they didn't tell me otherwise when I called to get the specs) it has thicker C3 or C4 apply plates or shorter pistons. The stock apply plates bow in the center when applied and put more pressure on the center of the clutches than the outside, which is why stock clutches are always more burnt in the center. Thicker plates prevent that bowing and put more even pressure on the clutches to use their entire surface area as much and as equally as possible.

For the same $2220 I know where you could get an actual SunCoast Stage IV kit (not an Alto reverse engineered copy of one) with a Precision Industries converter.

Another big thing to consider when shopping around for the cheapest kit is this:

If you plan to take your truck to a shop that specializes in performance Allison builds to have it done it will most likely be the cheapest total out of your pocket, especially up front, if you let them get the kit and converter for you. When they quote a trans build out the door price they may break it down on your invoice or price quote as $3000 for parts and $1000 for labor or whatever, but if you bring them a kit you will most likely pay more than $1000 for labor. Their out the door price is with all of their expenses and time considered - parts including shipping, shipping cores back, fluids, ect; then they mark it up what they feel is fair for the time and expertise it takes to do it. If you buy the parts and fluids through them they are making a portion of their profit on those parts, and if they are a shop that's been around a while they are getting the parts cheaper than you can get the "cheaper kits", and if they order enough of them at once or stock the kits they may not even be paying shipping. Now if you buy your own parts they want to make the same total money - their time and expertise hasn't changed, if anything it gets longer installing a kit they aren't familiar with or have to mess with clearances more than usual with - now you are paying them more in labor by more than what you saved on the kit. Then you have to pay the core charges ($500) up front, shipping ($75 from DMax Store to 32566), and the shipping to return your core parts ($40+).

So if you are shopping around for a kit to install yourself or for "Joe's Transmission Shop" or the local Allison stock rebuild shop who told you that they'll do it if you provide the kit - by all means try to get the best deal you can on a good quality kit (which may not mean buying a "cheaper" kit). But if you are getting it built by a reputable performance Allison shop trust that if they could get a better deal on the same quality of kit as what they use, they would be doing it and giving you a cheaper out the door price.


^^^^this guy knows what he's talking about...i wish i could have got my truck to you dustin but time and distance was a factor for me...i think my ppe stage V will hold up to what imma put it through....i still want to visit you one of these days for some fine tuning on the dyno! probably sometime before i leave south carolina and the air force in the next 8 months:thumb: