Whether through eBay, or other means, go get the ATSG brand 722.6 transmission manual, if you are going to ever go through a rebuild on your trans. It is very informative, and tells you many caveats that the OE manuals just will not tell you. It is very detailed. Second, spend the money, and get the Alto Friction/Steel Module kit. It increases the number of clutch discs and steels by 50% in most cases. It uprates the 722.6 to handle 750hp, and will handle more. A good friend runs these in his very wild Challenger (~1000hp), and that trans has been holding up fine. While apart, a few other items were added. First, the TransGo shift improvement kit. This is not a shift kit in the traditional sense, as it will do precisely nothing for making this trans shift harder, or change the dynamics of when and how the shifts occur. Instead, it addresses reliability concerns in the trans, and prevents things like shudders or flare ups between gears, and will allow gear changes to happen more quickly. Second, upon recommendation, MB Blue Top solenoids were installed. There is a ton of debate out there about these, but the general consensus is that these will allow better control of the trans, and much, much faster shifts. The more modern, high end AMG cars all got these, while the more pedestrian MB products got the same "Brown Top" solenoids that the Crossfire received. The Hemi guys swap to the Blue Tops with very favorable results. Downside is that they are pricey. You are looking at about $370 for the pair. Ouch. I am having Josh Chase do the ECU and TCM tuning, and he recommended them for this build. Enough said.

The trans was completed this evening, and here are some final pics of the outcome.







One last thing about the trans. The dipstick. The 5.7L apparently uses a different dipstick arrangement, as the placement of the hole for it is larger in diameter, and higher up on the case than the Crossfire trans. I am going to need to get ahold of a dipstick of the Hemi, and try to make it work. It appeared that there were a few ways to get the Crossfire dipstick tube to work, but it looked like a hack, and would probably wind up leaking. For now, the trans is done, and ready to go into the car. It sits on the dolly, and will now be pushed to the side, and start on the next task. In the next episode, work begins on the engine.