2000 Dodge Ram - Shake, Rattle, and Roll

When researching our aftermarket torque converter choices, we consulted with Mopar technician and Cummins guru Tod Struck of Inline Performance Specialist in Bushnell, Florida. Tod and his shop have been beefing up Cummins-powered trucks since they were introduced, and his expertise led us to Goerend Brothers Transmissions and Torque Converters in St. Lucas, Iowa. Goerend Brothers has been rebuilding transmissions and custom building torque converters since the inception of the Cummins-powered Ram. Realizing that the weak link of this combination was the converter and, specifically, the lock-up clutch, the Goerends developed a custom line of converters with multiple disc lock-up clutches that can be built to handle as much power as you can make. The Goerends also custom build the impeller, stator, and turbine components of the converter, varying blade lengths and angles to optimize performance and efficiency for your application.

We called Goerend Brothers and gave Dave Goerend the specifics of our truck. Since we primarily use our truck for towing and have already added an Edge computer, wastegate controller, performance exhaust, and, finally, propane injection, Dave stated that a custom built unit was the way to go. Since stall speed is a function of torque-and we should have plenty of torque-Dave decided to tighten our converter to handle the extra power. Since the lock-up clutch was our real problem, he built our converter with the three-disc clutch, which will eliminate any slippage. All Goerend Brothers converters are dyno tested prior to shipping to ensure quality and performance. After our converter was promptly built and shipped, we went over to Inline Performance Specialist to complete the installation.

While we've been known to tackle a job like this in the driveway, we appreciated the lift and transmission jack at Inline Performance that helped expedite the job. Our truck was on the lift for a total of about four hours to complete the job. Thankfully, our transmission had not suffered any damage because we recognized our problem quickly and limited our driving until a new converter could be installed. If your transmission is damaged or even if it just has high miles, this is the time to have it rebuilt. A new converter, especially a tighter one with the three-disc lock-up clutch, will transfer more of the engines torque to the transmission, exposing any weak areas. It's better to freshen up the transmission now than to have to pull it again later. When our old converter came out, we noticed immediately the discoloration caused by the excessive heat generated by the slipping lock-up clutch. When the new converter was compared to the old unit, we were impressed with its construction. The Goerend Brothers converter was obviously more substantial and looked like it would take our abuse. After installation the difference was apparent, our truck not only performed better, but showed no sign of slippage, even when aggressively towing a heavy trailer up inclines. The lower stall speed of the new converter helped both towing and acceleration, transferring more of our engine's torque to the tires. What impressed us even more was the lack of vibration in the truck after we installed this unit. We had been attributing an annoying vibration to tire imbalance when, in fact, it was due to our old converter being out of balance.

This upgrade is definitely one of the best we've done to our truck so far, and, more importantly, we can now install additional power-adding equipment without worrying if our converter will hold it.