Beef Up Your Transmissions' Weak Link

(Important information for Duramax owners by Dan Sanchez & Truck World magazine)

Adding a performance torque converter to improve acceleration, decrease heat and improve your diesel truck's towing and power capabilities.

We have all heard the horror stories of guys adding big power to their diesel trucks, only to end up with a box full of broken transmission parts, a terminated warranty and a repair bill in the thousands. But all of this doesn't need to happen simply because you want to add more horsepower and torque to your turbo-diesel pickup. In most situations, adding performance will put a strain on the vehicle's transmission. The problem with adding big power to the late-model Turbo diesel engines is that the factory torque converter clutch assemblies cannot handle the amount of horsepower and torque. In essence the Torque Converters are too loose, and slip, forcing the transmission to handle the extra power. The result is excessive heat build-up and eventually entire transmission failure. In addition to installing a torque converter that can handle the abuse, it is also necessary to reprogram the vehicle's transmission ECU to compensate and operate within the new levels that a performance converter can deliver.

According to Terry Hedrick of Precision Industries, who manufactures high-performance Torque Converters for street, racing and diesel truck applications, understands why factory Torque Converters fail and has come up with some solutions which required building a converter made from scratch, and not just from combining internal components from factory and aftermarket parts. Hedrick told us they developed a solution to this problem, which led to the development of its 13-inch Stallion Multi-disc Torque Converter .

Hedrick told us that this converter is uniquely designed to handle the extra stresses of a performance Turbo diesel. Precision Industries torque converter features a one-piece steel billet housing making it almost indestructible and less prone to leaks, compared to two-piece converters that have the cover welded together and are prone to this problem. This was also necessary to include a multiple-clutch pack that would not fit into a standard factory converter housing.

Dmaxstore Info: 

Precision Industries has developed their Vigilante series converters for the GM Allison Duramax using many of the same features found in the Stallion converters. These heavy duty Multi-Disc Billet converters can handle any amount of torque and horsepower your truck can produce. A must have for any modified Duramax improving mileage,acceleration, and peace of mind, backed with a full 2 year warranty.