a500 ?

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Babyblue66

Babyblue66

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GUy I work with is planning on putting an a500 overdrive in his duster.
Any tips or suggestions for upgrades, converters, etc. It has a slightly built 360 Magnum in it now.
 
I'd advise against the use of the A-500 , especially when it's going behind a nice , torquey motor like a 360 .

They have that beautiful lockup converter ( and , last time I checked , no one makes higher-stall converters for them ) ; and they were only available behind the 239 ( 3.9 Litre ) V6 and 5.2 Litre ( 318 ) V8 ; the 360 got the vastly-superior A-518 ( ad. seq. ) .

The A-500 is nothing more than a 904 with overdrive ; the 518 is an A-727 with overdrive .

The mods necessary to slip one of these in an "A" Body are very involved and quite extensive . Back in c.1991 , Rick Ehrenberg ( Mopar Action's Tech Editor ) ran an article wherein he and his cronies installed a 518 in Rick's 1974 Duster ( W2 340 , etc. ) .
It definitely wasn't a shade tree mechanic swap !

Now-a-days , there's the Keisler 4 speed auto . A bolt-in swap ( no trans tunnel interference ) .
 
It was my understanding that the A500 could be put together to handle a strong 360. I was told however that the OD would not stand up to full throttle shifts very long. The A518 requires major tunnel surgery. I have not run across any articles on the A500 install in an A body and would definitely be interested in following a thread on the installation of one.

http://www.carcraft.com/newlook/crc_act/116_0302_trans/index1.html
 
dustoff440 said:
It was my understanding that the A500 could be put together to handle a strong 360. I was told however that the OD would not stand up to full throttle shifts very long. The A518 requires major tunnel surgery. I have not run across any articles on the A500 install in an A body and would definitely be interested in following a thread on the installation of one.

http://www.carcraft.com/newlook/crc_act/116_0302_trans/index1.html
Click to expand...

They are a lot stronger than given credit for. Even though they were only used behind the V6 they are a heavy duty version of a 904. As for the O.D. unit it can be beefed up as well. The A500 would be slightly easier to fit in an A-body since it's shorter. The big problem is the large diameter of the O.D. unit which is the same on an A500 and A518.

Babyblue66 I'd contact Chris Andrews at Andrews racing and see what he recommends. I'm not well enough versed to give much advice on the A500 except it isn't as weak as some say. Heck for a long time people claimed the A518 was junk and only good enough to use behind a mild small block. I know a guy running an A518 behind a Hemi making in excess of 800+ hp in a heavy Superbird. Just goes to show how things change.

Here's a link to Andrews Racing's website.

http://www.andrewsracingtrans.com/Transmissions/727/index.html
 
This is a great swap. Good enough. A spruced up a 318 for street/cruise...
Expect to spend time with maintenance anything over 320 ft. Lbs. Be well advised from a friend at a Chrysler dealer or your local transmission shop (above). Take a look and see what gear vendors has to offer.

Knowingly have seen this in a mild turbo Slant six build.

"put it in. break it. put in another" -Your Mom
 
LOL why do people keep posting on this? Look at the sticky!! DO a search, open your eyes!
 
Either of those trans will require tunnel surgery, one only a little more than the other.
You can get anything you want from a custom convertor source. No doubt it will be pricey.
 
For the converter just grab a gopnh.com OEM hi-stall or whatever you need and get r done.


I think that most people talk out of their a$$ when it comes to the a500/42RH 'beef up'. Just parroting information they read vs. first had experiences.


Dudes, it's an a904 with a OD bolted to the back, hog out the OD feed hole, maaaaybe add a couple clutches and steels and let it roll!
 
PoisonDart74 said:
I think that most people talk out of their a$$ when it comes to the a500/42RH 'beef up'. Just parroting information they read vs. first had experiences.


Dudes, it's an a904 with a OD bolted to the back, hog out the OD feed hole, maaaaybe add a couple clutches and steels and let it roll!
Click to expand...


well apparently I'm not talking out of my a$$, because you said it didn't need to be beefed up (not needing any work) then you go and mention the upgrades it would require...:wack:
 
should hold up fine behind a 360. like stated its just a 904 with od on it... do the normal 904 mods to it. basically a quality rebuild with quality parts and a shift kit. there are a few oiling mods that should be done too. nothing exotic really from what i have read in my research over the years.

now fitting it in will require some crossmember work and trans mount modification..
 
The actual installation is probably the hardest part of this swap.
The A500 as mentioned is a 904 with the same OD section as the A518 and there are lots of good HD parts available for the 904. The big bug-a-boo is the overdrive planetary setup. The early design had a 22.5 degree tooth pitch and had a lot of failures. The later design went to a 15 degree pitch and the problems went away. You can get an overdrive geartrain kit with the later goodies in it from Transtar or WIT. Be awful damn careful when you take the OD section apart. There's a spring in there that is under tremendous pressure and if you don't have the tool to take it out, you could be missing fingers or worse.
As others have said, a high stall not a big deal, and to keep things simple, get the early (1988-1996) hydraulic trans.
 
& fiy, you can get a custom stall for that l/u converter (withen reason). call P.T.C in newhamton iowa, they built a coustom 2500-2700 stall for my small piolt 'baby'904 in my 65 dart & shipped was $225!
 
66plyValiant said:
well apparently I'm not talking out of my a$$, because you said it didn't need to be beefed up (not needing any work) then you go and mention the upgrades it would require...:wack:
Click to expand...

Look, everytime I say something, you have some snide remark trying to be contrary. Go kiss some chrome dude.
 
transman said:
The actual installation is probably the hardest part of this swap.
The A500 as mentioned is a 904 with the same OD section as the A518 and there are lots of good HD parts available for the 904. The big bug-a-boo is the overdrive planetary setup. The early design had a 22.5 degree tooth pitch and had a lot of failures. The later design went to a 15 degree pitch and the problems went away. You can get an overdrive geartrain kit with the later goodies in it from Transtar or WIT. Be awful damn careful when you take the OD section apart. There's a spring in there that is under tremendous pressure and if you don't have the tool to take it out, you could be missing fingers or worse.
As others have said, a high stall not a big deal, and to keep things simple, get the early (1988-1996) hydraulic trans.
Click to expand...
Can you tell me what year the overdrive planetary setup pitch changed from 22.5 degree ..to 15 degree ? Also is this the same for both the A500 and the A518 ? thanks . If I go looking for an A500, might as well find the updated version.
 
rustytoolss said:
Can you tell me what year the overdrive planetary setup pitch changed from 22.5 degree ..to 15 degree ? Also is this the same for both the A500 and the A518 ? thanks . If I go looking for an A500, might as well find the updated version.
Click to expand...
Od gear angle changed to 15 deg. In 94 ( a 500, 90- 93 ,22 deg) ( a500, .94- up ,15 deg.) Same year break for a 518
Lon
 
fishy68 said:
They are a lot stronger than given credit for. Even though they were only used behind the V6 they are a heavy duty version of a 904. As for the O.D. unit it can be beefed up as well. The A500 would be slightly easier to fit in an A-body since it's shorter. The big problem is the large diameter of the O.D. unit which is the same on an A500 and A518.

Babyblue66 I'd contact Chris Andrews at Andrews racing and see what he recommends. I'm not well enough versed to give much advice on the A500 except it isn't as weak as some say. Heck for a long time people claimed the A518 was junk and only good enough to use behind a mild small block. I know a guy running an A518 behind a Hemi making in excess of 800+ hp in a heavy Superbird. Just goes to show how things change.

Here's a link to Andrews Racing's website.

http://www.andrewsracingtrans.com/Transmissions/727/index.html
Click to expand...
And the diesel boys are running 8-900HP+ behind the A518
 
rustytoolss said:
Can you tell me what year the overdrive planetary setup pitch changed from 22.5 degree ..to 15 degree ? Also is this the same for both the A500 and the A518 ? thanks . If I go looking for an A500, might as well find the updated version.
Click to expand...
A500 and A518 use the same planetary setup. Everything comes in a kit. OD sun gear, OD planetary, and OD Annulus(ring) gear. My catalog shows the late design happened in 1996.
 
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