The first part tackled in this project was the transmission. Since I already had the NAG1 from a 2009 Dodge Charger 5.7L Hemi for the 2.4L project, this would become the basis for the M113K swap, as well. The stock Crossfire transmission is a W5A330 unit, meaning it is a 722.6 transmission, rated at 330NM torque. The Charger's unit is a W5A580, meaning it is rated at 580NM torque. Externally, they are very similar, save for the bellhousing, which is distinctly Crossfire. My plan is to use the main casing from the 5.7, all of the internals from the 5.7, and the bellhousing, rear mount, shift lever and pan from the Crossfire (Crossfires have a drain plug in the pan. Very handy!)
It makes sense to put in the best bolt in improvements that could be easily made to the transmission since it was all going to be apart, anyway. A call to Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts had a pile of stuff on its way. Also ordered was a torque converter, conductor plate, standard rebuild seal kit, an Alto red band/Kolene steel plate set (high performance!), a TransGo shift improvement kit, and separately the coveted Blue Top Solenoids from Mercedes Benz. More on each of these as we go.
The first task was disassembly of the 5.7L transmission, and separately disassembly of a badly slipping Crossfire transmission to harvest the bellhousing, pan, shift lever, and rear mount plate. The rest was pretty much discarded. On the 5.7L trans (which will be the only one I am talking about from here on out), discarded was the bellhousing, pan, rear mount and the shift lever.
Stock Crossfire trans, sans Bellhousing
Everything was taken apart, run through the parts washer, and then the main case, bellhousing, and rear mount plate, and spent several hours in the bead blaster. Once done, everything was thoroughly cleaned, dried and masked off for powder coating. I'm a big believer in powder coating. A powder coated SRT4 transmission in another project car has lasted 15 years ago, despite being in and out of the car several times, driven daily on dirt roads, snow, rain, you name it, it still looks really nice. Powder does a great job at being easy to clean up, and resisting corrosion.
Main casing blasted, cleaned, masked, and ready to apply powder.
Main casing blasted, cleaned, masked, and ready to apply powder.
Sharp readers will see the very Chrysler part/casting number on top, along with some extra screw bosses and other minor changes. This being a 2009 model casing, the thought process was that the casting will have received all of the improvements that production fleshed out over the 5 year difference from the Crossfire transmission. After blasting, powder was applied. I don't have any pics of what it looked like before it went into the oven, as one tends to not waste time once the powder is on, risking something happening to the powder that is only sticking to the parts by shear static electricity at this point. A two stage powder was applied, which is color and then clear. More info after some pics:
One thing I wish I would have taken the time to do was to grind/sand the casing to get rid of the bulk of the surface casting roughness. I didn't, but wish I had. The base color powder is Reflective Chrome with a clear coating afterwards on all parts. If you look closely, though, the rear bracket looks almost chrome, but the rest does not. There is a good reason for that. I wanted a slightly darker grey metallic look, much like it found on some high end cars and industrial equipment. To achieve the regular chrome, you apply the chrome powder, bake it, let it cool, apply clear. That was done on the rear mount. To get the grey, you have to work fast! The casing and bellhousing were pulled from the oven from the chrome powder portion (stage 1), and when the parts cooled only to about 240°, the clear (stage 2) is immediately applied, which began to "flash" right away. It takes several heavy coats, and then put in the oven for a full cure. This gives an interesting effect, and I am happy with the results. The finish is very glossy, but not so bright as to look like a rattle can job. Next post, the build is done!