Beefing Up an A500

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65 Dartman

65 Dartman

1 of None 65 Dart Sedan Delivery
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OK transmission gurus - I have 2 A500s which came behind the 3.9. What would you do to upgrade them to live behind a stock build 340 and a stock build 273/235. No racing - just cruising around.
 
Aren’t they just a 727 with OD? I would think you can toughen them up like a 727 and enjoy the OD for cruising
 
No, there not a 727 w/OD. That would be the 518.

The 904 w/OD is the 500.

But I think your mostly right. Pretty much what ever the 904 would use to be beefed up would be the same for the A-500. But there is something else I bet.
 
Hey Dartman, I used a TCI rebuild kit with shift kit in my 904. No problem holding up to 350+ HP! 65'
 
Gotta keep in mind that even though it was behind a 3.9 the vehicle it came out of was a crapload heavier and rated for some amount of thousands of pounds towing capacity.
I stuck a Transgo TF2 kit in mine and stuffed it in the car, and I have layed into it pretty hard at times with no problems.
I figured I would pull it back out and do whatever broke after I got the new motor all set up, but it never broke (so far) and it's been in there since April of 2016.
 
65 Dartman said:
OK transmission gurus - I have 2 A500s which came behind the 3.9. What would you do to upgrade them to live behind a stock build 340 and a stock build 273/235. No racing - just cruising around.
Click to expand...
what year of tranny do you have?
 
318willrun said:
what year of tranny do you have?
Click to expand...

To carry this further look at the two electrical connectors. You will have a 3 terminal NSS/ reverse switch just like older torqueflites, and another connector. If it is also 3 terminal, you have an RH, which shifts the main box just like old torqueflites. If you have more terminals (I forget 6 or 8) it is ELECTRONIC, and must have a computer controller, or I'm told you can put a special all manual valve body in
 
67Dart273 said:
To carry this further look at the two electrical connectors. You will have a 3 terminal NSS/ reverse switch just like older torqueflites, and another connector. If it is also 3 terminal, you have an RH, which shifts the main box just like old torqueflites. If you have more terminals (I forget 6 or 8) it is ELECTRONIC, and must have a computer controller, or I'm told you can put a special all manual valve body in
Click to expand...
I could be wrong, but it seems '96 is the last year for the RH ???? Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.
 
318willrun said:
what year of tranny do you have?
Click to expand...

I will look up the numbers and see if I can pinpoint the year

67Dart273 said:
To carry this further look at the two electrical connectors. You will have a 3 terminal NSS/ reverse switch just like older torqueflites, and another connector. If it is also 3 terminal, you have an RH, which shifts the main box just like old torqueflites.
Click to expand...

Both units are like this.
 
rumblefish360 said:
No, there not a 727 w/OD. That would be the 518.

The 904 w/OD is the 500.

But I think your mostly right. Pretty much what ever the 904 would use to be beefed up would be the same for the A-500. But there is something else I bet.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. I knew the A518 used the same internals as a 727 and that there was never a 727 with an OD. I was always told the A500 was a 2WD A518. I guess I was told wrong!
 
EZ mistake. No biggie. But now you know!!! Woo-Hoo! LOL!

I don’t know what kind of power the OD will take. Can I shift into the OD gear with 500lbs. Of Tq.???
 
rumblefish360 said:
EZ mistake. No biggie. But now you know!!! Woo-Hoo! LOL!

I don’t know what kind of power the OD will take. Can I shift into the OD gear with 500lbs. Of Tq.???
Click to expand...
It's the same OD section as a A518/A618. Ask the diesel boys, and they're getting 500lbs+ of torque. Something to think about.
The earlier OD sections had a 22.5 degree tooth pitch, and there were issues with the OD section. The cure, the later design 15 degree tooth pitch, and the problem seemed to have been solved. There is a kit you can buy that has: od sun gear, od planetary, and the od ring gear. Sold a ton of these update kits when I was working.
A point to remember. When taking the OD section apart, there is a pretty damn big spring in there under a lot of compression, and if you don't have the right tool to get that spring out, damage to yourself can/will happen. Item 132 is the spring I talking about.
 

Attachments

  • Chrysler OD section.pdf
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I also have an A500 to be rebuild as well for my daily driven Dart with high cr 360 engine.
A TransGo TFOD-HD2 kit will be used, but I've been looking for overhaul kits on TransmissionCenter.net but couldn't really make out what exactly comes with those kits or what the differences are on their site.
Also want to replace the plastic piston with the available improved one and also like to add clutch plates wherever possible for some added holding power.
 
transman said:
It's the same OD section as a A518/A618. Ask the diesel boys, and they're getting 500lbs+ of torque. Something to think about.
The earlier OD sections had a 22.5 degree tooth pitch, and there were issues with the OD section. The cure, the later design 15 degree tooth pitch, and the problem seemed to have been solved. There is a kit you can buy that has: od sun gear, od planetary, and the od ring gear. Sold a ton of these update kits when I was working.
A point to remember. When taking the OD section apart, there is a pretty damn big spring in there under a lot of compression, and if you don't have the right tool to get that spring out, damage to yourself can/will happen. Item 132 is the spring I talking about.
Click to expand...
  • what year did they go to the 15 degree pitch?
  • Also, the advantage of the A500 is the smaller housing poses less of a fitment issue in A-bodies, correct?
  • And wasn't there an adaptor mount available for the crossmember so it would be a direct bolt in?
  • Last, what's it take to get the speedometer cable to work with the factory speedometer??
 
318willrun said:
  • what year did they go to the 15 degree pitch?
  • Also, the advantage of the A500 is the smaller housing poses less of a fitment issue in A-bodies, correct?
  • And wasn't there an adaptor mount available for the crossmember so it would be a direct bolt in?
  • Last, what's it take to get the speedometer cable to work with the factory speedometer??
Click to expand...
According to my parts catalog: the early design was from 1990-93 for the A518 and for the A500, 1988 to 1995. The overdrive housing is the same for both series of transmission. The transmission case for the A500 is physically the same as a 904, and the A518 Case is the same as a 727.
I can't help you on the last two questions, but I'm sure someone on the board can.
 
transman said:
It's the same OD section as a A518/A618. Ask the diesel boys, and they're getting 500lbs+ of torque. Something to think about.
The earlier OD sections had a 22.5 degree tooth pitch, and there were issues with the OD section. The cure, the later design 15 degree tooth pitch, and the problem seemed to have been solved. There is a kit you can buy that has: od sun gear, od planetary, and the od ring gear. Sold a ton of these update kits when I was working.
A point to remember. When taking the OD section apart, there is a pretty damn big spring in there under a lot of compression, and if you don't have the right tool to get that spring out, damage to yourself can/will happen. Item 132 is the spring I talking about.
Click to expand...
I promise you I will NIT be taking any trans apart! I’m actually good at it BUt getting them back in working order...
ehhhhhhhh
Not so much!

Thanks for the tip though!
 
transman said:
..... series of transmission. The transmission case for the A500 is physically the same as a 904, and the A518 Case is the same as a 727.
.......
Click to expand...

You don't mean they interchange do you? I thought the passages were different for the OD, You mean physical size?
 
transman said:
According to my parts catalog: the early design was from 1990-93 for the A518 and for the A500, 1988 to 1995. The overdrive housing is the same for both series of transmission. The transmission case for the A500 is physically the same as a 904, and the A518 Case is the same as a 727.
I can't help you on the last two questions, but I'm sure someone on the board can.
Click to expand...
Who builds these to monster levels?
 
67Dart273 said:
You don't mean they interchange do you? I thought the passages were different for the OD, You mean physical size?
Click to expand...
One of our customers that purchased a lot of the extreme duty hard parts for the A518 in particular was a company called Farm Boy Diesels.
 
transman said:
According to my parts catalog: the early design was from 1990-93 for the A518 and for the A500, 1988 to 1995. The overdrive housing is the same for both series of transmission. The transmission case for the A500 is physically the same as a 904, and the A518 Case is the same as a 727.
I can't help you on the last two questions, but I'm sure someone on the board can.
Click to expand...

67Dart273 said:
You don't mean they interchange do you? I thought the passages were different for the OD, You mean physical size?
Click to expand...

So just to clarify (because I had this question as well) the cases internally are different between the 727/518 & 904/500 but externally are the same?
 
carfreak6970 said:
So just to clarify (because I had this question as well) the cases internally are different between the 727/518 & 904/500 but externally are the same?
Click to expand...
RR or Trailbeast (I believe both are transmission builders by trade) should be able to give you the technical answer. But as a retired parts salesman, I know that a 904 case has a different part number than the A500.
 

A518 - 727 - A500

mopar_automatic_a518_727_904-jpg.jpg
 
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