Poland! Do I get a prize, or a cookie?

Miyanovich · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 6:52 pm

So, I have a very badly needed Flex Plate Hub.

Contrary to most people's beliefs, Chrysler shows ZERO in their nationwide stock, with no plans of manufacturing any in the future. VM Motori shows ZERO in their European stock.

So what is a man to do? Where does he go? Well, if a man doesn't want to go to the boneyard, then, apparently,there's only one place he can go...POLAND.

That's right, I said it, POLAND.

I had a guy in the UK help me to find the part in Poland.

Random Person: "Hey, you have a diesel Jeep, that must be awesome! It's so RARE! Where do you get your parts?"

Me: Poland.

:SOMBRERO:

Randy B · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 7:07 pm

Glad you found one. If I may ask what will the shipping cost you, and how long to ship? Or how much time from Poland to your hands.

Miyanovich · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 7:13 pm

Randy B wrote:

Glad you found one. If I may ask what will the shipping cost you, and how long to ship? Or how much time from Poland to your hands

Thank you, good sir.

Shipping is $57. Shipping time quote as 3-4 business days. We'll see about that, though.

:juggle:

Randy B · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 7:27 pm

Not a bad time frame. And hope that you get your little beast back on the road soon. That is what I call my CRD,

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 5:19 pm

In this modern world where parts come from every where, why not Poland?
The place in Poland may be one of the suppliers VM/ Chrysler use.
The company I work for has some Fiberglass components made in Nicaragua.

I don't recall the flex plate being dished and remember it being flat, correct me if I am incorrect. As long as it is flat, you could have one laser cut out of steel plate using the old one as a template (the fab shop can figure out the alloy in a few min), the crank and torque converter mounting holes will need to be drilled (I have used the old one as a drill guide before) and if the ring gear is good, transfer it. If you make the new flex plate you can have it balanced at a good Automotive Speed shop the local Race Car Drivers use. The big holes are to allow expansion so the flex plate does not wobble when it warms up, not to lighten it up. Bean Counter Engineers don't waste extra cutting or machining they don't have to do. Having the flange that bolts up to the crank faced is not a tough job as long as the fabricator has at least an early 1900's lathe with a large true face plate.
If you new flex plate is a little thicker, the extra rotating mass will be a good thing and smooth out your engine. You won't get the back massage any more, but you can always buy a massage vibrator if you or your soul mate needs one, I bought one for my wife. Suncoast and Precision Industries both use Sonnax front billet covers that are a lot heaver than the stock converter front half, both smooth out the engine with no harmful side effects on the KJ.
Since Pittsburgh has a lot of great fab shops, it should not be a problem finding a place to make one quicker than waiting for US Customs to determine it is not a terrorist device and they have extracted the import duty.
It is all Cost Benefit Analysis that you need to crunch. Make up a bunch of spooky Sales Projections and some short line Jeep Parts place may have a way for your Local Fab Shop to crank out the flex plates at a profit. Remember to Copyright any fab drawings and make sure they are a little different than the Mopar part you are kinda copying. Even if yours is a direct knock off you could do another step like normalizing (cooking in the oven at 500F for an hour), shot peaning the surface, powder coating the non mating surfaces, or on and on. Just don't make an exact copy, enhance it or improve it, at least in your mind.
Good luck

Poland! Do I get a prize, or a cookie?

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