Anyone running the Passon 18 spline OD gearset? I am trying to make a final

[fueliedart]

I am trying to make a final decision on which way to go and I want to get some input on the OD gearset from Passon to see if they are problematic or if they are any good. I have heard good and bad about them and I have heard horror stories of bad customer service when there are issues. Any input on experiences with this mod would be appreciated.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I know people with both the 855 & the OD 4spd & they love them

 

[BriceRoad]

I have the 4 speed version. I have had it for over 10 years (although my car hasn't moved in the last 4 years until last week) but before that I put a lot of miles on it and had no trouble at all.
Fourth gear is 0.80:1 and I have 3.91 gear ratio which gives me a 3.13 ratio in 4th gear. This allows me to easily navigate the interstate. When I first got it, it was making a strange noise. Jamie was very good to me. I brought him the car and he corrected some of the stuff that was done wrong on my car. It was originally an automatic car and the person who did the conversion didn't weld the Z-bar bracket in correctly. It was practically falling off. Jamie welded it for me. He also noticed the bell housing was cracked and repaired making it not center to the crankshaft. I did have to pay him for these repairs as they obviously weren't part of any warranty but I didn't mind as long as my car was fixed right. After the repairs the noise was definitely less but still there. Jamie told me, "Don't worry. It won't grenade itself." We never found out what the noise was. Eventually it just went away and the trans is still good today. That has been my experience.

I just want to add that what I liked about this mod is that except for one of the shift rods everything else needed was stock Mopar parts.

 

[fueliedart]

I know people with both the 855 & the OD 4spd & they love them

Thanks

 

[fueliedart]

I have the 4 speed version. I have had it for over 10 years (although my car hasn't moved in the last 4 years until last week) but before that I put a lot of miles on it and had no trouble at all.
Fourth gear is 0.80:1 and I have 3.91 gear ratio which gives me a 3.13 ratio in 4th gear. This allows me to easily navigate the interstate. When I first got it, it was making a strange noise. Jamie was very good to me. I brought him the car and he corrected some of the stuff that was done wrong on my car. It was originally an automatic car and the person who did the conversion didn't weld the Z-bar bracket in correctly. It was practically falling off. Jamie welded it for me. He also noticed the bell housing was cracked and repaired making it not center to the crankshaft. I did have to pay him for these repairs as they obviously weren't part of any warranty but I didn't mind as long as my car was fixed right. After the repairs the noise was definitely less but still there. Jamie told me, "Don't worry. It won't grenade itself." We never found out what the noise was. Eventually it just went away and the trans is still good today. That has been my experience.

I just want to add that what I liked about this mod is that except for one of the shift rods everything else needed was stock Mopar parts.

Thanks for the info. I have read alot about the A855 having issues of jumping out of gear. I really don't want to have to run the factory 833OD because of the tight 1-2 gear ratios. So I am down to a stock non OD trans with a GearVendor and a fair amount of mods or the Passon OD gearset . That would be the easiest but I have heard stories of noisy gear sets also from people doing the Passon gear set install. Your noise went away, that is good to know. I really want to keep the tranny install simple.

 

[BriceRoad]

Keeping it simple is a really great way of doing it in my opinion. I saw recently on an older episode of Graveyard Yard Carz (not the newest season but the one before that) and Mark Worman was discussing the aftermarket 6 speed and he was showing how they have to cut the trans tunnel and make it bigger, etc but he said the 5 speed from the same company did not require those mods. The company, which I can't remember the name, was not in business when I bought my trans. Have you looked into that option? I really wanted to keep my car old school but I would love to have one of those newer transmissions that have the shifter built in to it. I have only heard good things about the Gear Vendors unit but will it totally bolt in without any mods? I heard once that you have to slightly enlarge the trans tunnel for it to fit. Good luck with your car.

 

[fueliedart]

Keeping it simple is a really great way of doing it in my opinion. I saw recently on an older episode of Graveyard Yard Carz (not the newest season but the one before that) and Mark Worman was discussing the aftermarket 6 speed and he was showing how they have to cut the trans tunnel and make it bigger, etc but he said the 5 speed from the same company did not require those mods. The company, which I can't remember the name, was not in business when I bought my trans. Have you looked into that option? I really wanted to keep my car old school but I would love to have one of those newer transmissions that have the shifter built in to it. I have only heard good things about the Gear Vendors unit but will it totally bolt in without any mods? I heard once that you have to slightly enlarge the trans tunnel for it to fit. Good luck with your car.

The A855 would have been the ideal choice had it been successful, but the bad press and lack of availability stained it. I actually have a 71 Dart that I want to upgrade. I can live with the "old school" trans as long as I can have an overdrive. I just thought you E body guys may have a different perspective since I have gotten really good feedback from the A body guys including a nightmare scenario from one members bad experience on an A855 purchase that went really wrong. Man I wish the A855 would have been everything that it had been promised to be. If I end up with the Passon 4 speed OD kit I will build it as a full aluminum case trans including the tailshaft. I already have the case and tailshaft just not the gearset yet. The weight difference just in the A body iron to aluminum tailshaft is unbelievable. I will be running "modest " 3.55's but hope to drive this thing alot.

 

[jt4406]

I have the 4spd OD in my 70 Challenger and have put approx. 10K miles on it with no problems. I built the transmission myself, only purchasing the gearset and 3/4 shift rod from JP. The gear spacing/rpm drop between the gears is excellent and the .8 OD makes my 3.54 Dana think it's a 2.8 gear. With 245/60 R15's it will cruise at 75mph at around 2800 rpm. It makes the car a pleasure to drive, even on the interstate. The only beef I have is it's noisy in 1st, 2nd, and 4th, but not in 3rd (which of course eliminates the countershaft). Is it gear noise? Don't know, but it has always been that way, and I would assume "break in" is long past. If you have loud exhaust, you probably wouldn't notice it, but my car has stock exhaust and the transmission IS noisier than the 18 spline I replaced. Just my experience. jt in ky

 

[Avalanche]

The TKX 5 speed is supposed to be a direct bolt in. I believe you need a new driveshaft. If you do a search a lot of info pops up.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I have converted at least 12 cars to the factory 833 OD & I have had them in my own cars as well & don't mind them at all , 4th is 71% reduction so for 4.10 =2.91

 

[BriceRoad]

I have the 4spd OD in my 70 Challenger and have put approx. 10K miles on it with no problems. I built the transmission myself, only purchasing the gearset and 3/4 shift rod from JP. The gear spacing/rpm drop between the gears is excellent and the .8 OD makes my 3.54 Dana think it's a 2.8 gear. With 245/60 R15's it will cruise at 75mph at around 2800 rpm. It makes the car a pleasure to drive, even on the interstate. The only beef I have is it's noisy in 1st, 2nd, and 4th, but not in 3rd (which of course eliminates the countershaft). Is it gear noise? Don't know, but it has always been that way, and I would assume "break in" is long past. If you have loud exhaust, you probably wouldn't notice it, but my car has stock exhaust and the transmission IS noisier than the 18 spline I replaced. Just my experience. jt in ky

I recently saw an episode of Dead Dodge Garage and Jamie (the You Tuber-and my personal favorite you tube guy) was saying that if the holes for the counter shaft are worn the transmission will make noise. However, he did say that this really only happens with aluminum cases. The way he described the noise was very similar to what you are saying. The noise my transmission made was different. You really only heard it was when the car was stopped and in neutral and clutch was not pressed. It kind of sounded like something scraping against something. If I pressed the clutch in it went away. In case you want to watch the episode it is about the factory OD 4 speed. You can view it here:

Also I was wondering what oil do you use in the JP OD 4 speed? I still have the original oil JP gave me for it in the transmission. He told me not to use gear oil. I don't what the stuff is that he gave me because it came in an unmarked container.

 

[jt4406]

I use SAE 140 regular gear oil rated GL-4. It is a little clunky shifting for the first few minutes/miles, but that goes away as soon as everything is warm. I love everything about it but the noise. jt

 

[BriceRoad]

Thanks for the info JT.