Well, this was about the biggest waste of money I have spend on the truck. It lasted exactly two WOT shifts and then broke. Spartan 310 owns this thing!
At least I was able to get two paper weights out of it. Only $412.40 each! :doh:
Suncoast does not manufacture the part. I am seeing and hearing on the forums is that with transmission tuning they are making the transmission shift too hard. I have seen this with other transmissions as well. The factory intermediate shaft seems to be a pretty good shaft, but it also may have some torsional give to it as well. If you make the transmission shift too hard, you will break parts. There is a difference between making the transmission shift well (firm and crisp) and making it bang into gear.
Yeah I'm running billet shafts and no Spartan TCM. Been good all last summer running the 310v8 and now KEM 345. I know my truck is lighter. But some of you barely get to have fun and it breaks. I've had tons of fun and been flawless!!
If you get a Suncoast, there is no need to run the Spartan TCM anymore. If you have a billet intermediate shaft from Suncoast....whether its being ran in conjunction with the Spartan TCM or stock TCM, it is likely to break. The stock intermediate is going to last much longer. Aaron's race truck proves this......and he is running Spartan tuning.
No, I am pretty sure he installed the SD rebuild kit from Suncoast. Not the one from Elite. If you are planning on one, I would say stay with the stock shaft, that is what Elite recommends too.
They are in the process of fixing the part, but like I stated above don't use the TCM if you have a Suncoast. Pressure is just way too high. There is no need for both together. Back when Matt originally posted about the TCM, it was for use in conjunction with the stock tranny to increase the life of the stock tranny. The only other upgrade that he mentioned may be needed was a Suncoast torque converter for those planning on daily driving with the 310.
Matt from Spartan knowing I had a Suncoast in my truck regarding a TCM...
"After a few WOT runs it will straighten right up and should be grabbing some nice rubber between gears. Holding power is WAYYYYYY up with this one as is lockup force. Let me know how it works for you."
Then after 2 Suncoast's Spartan blames Suncoast and my problem has nothing to do with the TCM. How dare I blame SPARTAN DIESEL and the TCM. Yet you just said what I was telling Matt all along. "The pressure with the TCM is too high"
Now my truck shifts great with zero issues running my job 1 TCM with Kem's 345.
According to Elite's website, 3400 for the trans, plus converter, billet, etc. Which really is not a bad price at all. I may have to give them a call this week.
Not sure what the problem was, but we got my Suncoast in the Thursday night before last, and I went to the track that Friday night (less than 24 hours later) and made 4 passes...and this was after I did a pretty intense tranny relearn with the 350 tune before heading to the track. Nothing broke running the Spartan TCM and my tranny is shifting great. I do have the stock intermediate though.
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