Building a518 for 400hp ish.

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Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby Kobane » Sat Mar 26, 2016 7:10 pm

Hey there gents, this is my first post on this Forum. I'm putting a 93 6BT and a518 trans into my 78' F150. I have attained an HE351CW for turbo, am an HD Mechanic with lots of experience rebuilding Powershift transmissions and Torque Converters.

I'm not new to diesels, but am new to the 6BT and Dodge auto trannies. I've read a lot about the a518 and its ups and downs, some su they are junk, others bitch about lack of L/U, ad others call them scrap. I feel extremely confident I can rebuild my current a518 myself, so that can help in labour dept, what I lack in experience is understanding what parts to choose for my selected HP. Goerand will prob be the converter I will go with, but everything else is pretty much up in the air. If you were in my shoes, what supplier would you use, what parts/kit, and why?

Cheers gentleman
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Re: Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby Kobane » Sat Mar 26, 2016 7:18 pm

Forgot to mention what it is meant for....a 4x4 street brawler (something to play around with), a 4x4 rig (don't worry, already have 07 F350 D60, 10.5 Sterling rear both 3.73 gears), and a DD. Want a good solid trans that can handle the power, heaviest towing will be towing a 2 sled trailer. Thanks
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Re: Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby ellis93 » Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:53 pm

Meh....if I had the time,money,and patience to wait to find a good core 47rh......I would. The 518 will work,that's what the resident site moderator has and pumps a bunch of power thru it. That being said it is far......far from a stock animal.
93 D250 ,5 speed,4.11s,k&n autometer tach pyro trans boost guages,GDS 60mm h1c 14cm,honed 5x10,hplp/reg,1/8 timing,M+H M2 fuel pin, tims cooler tubz
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Re: Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby dazedandconfused » Sun Mar 27, 2016 11:52 am

ellis93 wrote:Meh....if I had the time,money,and patience to wait to find a good core 47rh......I would. The 518 will work,that's what the resident site moderator has and pumps a bunch of power thru it. That being said it is far......far from a stock animal.


His transmission is basically a 48re stuffed into a 518 case. It's still non lockup.
Big Andy
1983 Dodge D150 that has been repowered with a 93 Cummins/518 running gear AKA The Ugly Duck! I would much rather build them then buy them.[
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Re: Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby ofelas » Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:09 pm

Heh. True. I used BC's 518 build thread when I changed the converter, flex plate & some small parts last week.
Not a pleasant 7 hours in the driveway, but at least I didn't separate the transfer case from the tranny.

His transmission is basically a 48re stuffed into a 518 case. It's still non lockup.
R12 = liquid bilit
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Re: Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby txs » Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:10 am

You could make your 518 a lock up, if you did you will need an alloy input shaft, the lockup shafts are weaker than non lock ups. The only upgrade that is not bolt in in a 47rh is the double wrap reverse band, other than that the internals swap over, even true with the 48 internals.
93 w250 6 speed 4" exhaust, caution, work truck, she's no beauty. building 1 ton dually 4x4, dana 80, 48rh, 205 Scratch the one ton, bought frt. dually 4x4 98 12 valve with the tiny rear doors. rides so much better than the 93.
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Re: Building a518 for 400hp ish.

Postby dazedandconfused » Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:16 am

I have a gas lockup 518 I plan to use to make mine a lockup trans.
Big Andy
1983 Dodge D150 that has been repowered with a 93 Cummins/518 running gear AKA The Ugly Duck! I would much rather build them then buy them.[
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