I was over at Suncoast Transmissions's web site looking at there heavy duty clutch packs for the 545RFE. I am eyein up a custom build 5.7l hemi stroked to 6.4L (392cubic inches) for my ram and I know the tranny won't last long with 400hp to the tires going through it.

I've mentioned this in another post but a guy with a hemi ram, got one of these 392's and supercharged it to roughly 800hp. He was blowing up the tranny left and right, but after getting the heavy duty clutch packs from Suncoast it is holding together rather well.

Anyway, to the point of this post. I noticed they also have converters forsale for the 545 too. Check out the converter page.

http://www.suncoastconverters.com/dodge ... ories.html

Notice there first custom converter is listed at 1500rpm stall, perfect for our Liberty CRDs. The heavy duty clutch pack is in the kit's & components link.

Just need someone with a bit of coin to bite the bullet and give it a try. These guys have a good rep, they specialize in diesel tranmissions for Dodge Ford and Chevy pickups.

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2006 Jeep Liberty CRD LTD, Predator Module, Blizzak DM-Z3's for the Canadian Winters.

2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L hemi, LT headers, magnaflow exhaust, AFE CAI, 6.1L Cam, transgo shift kit, Programmer, 2800stall converter. 1/4 mile 13.71@97.7mph and I can still haul.

they offer NO TC for the 2.8 crd application...we need a spare blown or good unit for them to to work from. such is the case for all the other aftermarket light truck diesel trans builders i've contacted. The low production build number for the crd does not make it very interesting for them....not to mention a good share of them are still under warranty.

bk

Plus, we don't yet know what stall speed would work best with our engine, tranny, gearing, and tire size. Everyone keeps batting around 1500 rpm, but AFAIK that's still just an educated guess.

For that matter, Hughes Performance can rebuild your converter to their Fuel Miser model, 1000 to 1200 rpm stall speed.

As far as which stall speed is better, we don't know yet. Several people here on the list are going various routes to try and get some feedback on this.

What does look interesting is Suncoast's conversion kit to change the 545RFE to a 518 (48RE if I remember correctly). 48RE's are what they put behind a Cummins. And if their kit would allow you to use a 48RE torque converter, well, take your pick - seems like a gazillion aftermarket converters out there for this tranny, diesel apps included.

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Mitchell Oates
'87 MB 300D Diamond Blue Metallic
'87 MB 300D - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Sport CRD Stone White
Provent CCV Filter/AT2525 Muffler
Stanadyne 30 u/Cat 2 u Fuel Filters
Fumoto Drain/Fleetguard LF3487 Oil filter
V6 Airbox/Amsoil EAA Air Filter
Suncoast TC/Shift Kit/Aux Cooler
Kennedy Lift Pump/Return Fuel Cooler

The problem is the 5.9 Converters will have a different bolt pattern for the flex plate . There is no reason to switch transmissions. Just upgrade the one we have eventually.

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Feb/2006 Silver Sport 4x4 CRD

I've heard great things about Suncoast as well.

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--Greg
2005 CRD Sport in white
2.5" Daystar Lift Kit
245/75/16 Maxxis Buckshot Mudders

I agree with trying to upgrade the 545 first, if nothing else less expensive, as it may be that all we need is a different torque converter, better seals, and the upgraded pump.

But it would be interesting to find out what such a conversion entails. If nothing else, might give us pointers and info on items we need to look at with the 545 we haven't considered up till now.

Also interesting for those that might be ambitious enough to try transplanting this engine into another vehicle at some point.

And, if nothing else, it could always be the option of last resort if the 545 finally turns out to just not be up to the task.

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Mitchell Oates
'87 MB 300D Diamond Blue Metallic
'87 MB 300D - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Sport CRD Stone White
Provent CCV Filter/AT2525 Muffler
Stanadyne 30 u/Cat 2 u Fuel Filters
Fumoto Drain/Fleetguard LF3487 Oil filter
V6 Airbox/Amsoil EAA Air Filter
Suncoast TC/Shift Kit/Aux Cooler
Kennedy Lift Pump/Return Fuel Cooler

Looks like they are out near Pensacola. If they were interested, I would let them take mine apart....I could stay at Mom's place in St. Augustine until they are finished. A bit of a hike from the St. Augustine/Jacksonville area, but worth it if it gets us a heavy duty TC for our CRDs.

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06.5 Jetta TDI PKG 2 - Silver/Anth

retmil46, I don't know exactly what RPM is right for the R428 mated to the 545RFE, however, as an educated guess I can't imagine that letting a diesel engine spin many hundred rpm PAST its peak torque can be a good thing. I understood that the more torque a diesel produces, the LOWER an rpm an auto TC could be set (judging from performance mods to Cummins, Powerstrokes and Duramaxes, this seems to be the case.)

Looking forward to how this develops, good info so far, retmil!

Cheers
Duey

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2K9 Space Grey 335d Sport
2K1 Galaxy Blue Jetta TDI 5-sp

I think this is an excellent thread start and provides some hope! You guys are on to something that is highly possible! So many people on this forum are frustrated to the point of getting rid of their CRD, but for those of us who truly LOVE the CRD and are willing to take the challenge of modifying to make the CRD the way we want them to be both reliable and well built, then this thread caters to us! So keep up the good work and let’s try to make things possible! Sharing thoughts and information is where it begins! Soon all these reckless thoughts and creative ideas evolve into something great!

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2015 Ram Ecodiesel/Big Horn/4x4/Quad Cab
2016 Arctic Fox 22G/Onboard 2500 LP Cummins Onan Generator/160 Watt Solar Panel

I took the road less traveled. Now I'm LOST.

Exactly, these guys might be a good start to fixing this Torque converter problem once and for all.

Keep in mind the stock stall in the hemi trucks is 2300rpm. This is why I would think a stall in around the 1500 mark would work quite well for us.

The hemi crowd is the same way, sure we could swap out the 545 for a 727 or something that can handle 600hp+ but they would rather try and build up the tranny to take that hp. Suncoast is the only company to offer us an aftermarket clutch pack for the 545 so far, and is one of a handful of companies making aftermarket converters. The difference is Suncoast specializes in Diesels and the others are gas only.

This thread is just to get the info out there. My converter hasn't had any problems yet so I am not about to dump $800 canuck bucks for a new one right now.

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2006 Jeep Liberty CRD LTD, Predator Module, Blizzak DM-Z3's for the Canadian Winters.

2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L hemi, LT headers, magnaflow exhaust, AFE CAI, 6.1L Cam, transgo shift kit, Programmer, 2800stall converter. 1/4 mile 13.71@97.7mph and I can still haul.