5 Nearly Indestructible Transmissions (and The Cars That Use Them)

Let's opportunity nan input and output shafts of your transmission are betwixt 1 and 1.5 inches successful diameter, which is simply a small thinner than nan mean banana. Though they whitethorn look comparatively diminutive, these shafts must transmit hundreds of pound-feet of torque from nan motor to nan wheels for thousands upon thousands of miles. That's not thing astir bananas will grip unless they're made of tungsten aliases something. 

To beryllium fair, immoderate transmissions do look astir arsenic anemic arsenic your mean Cavendish. They whitethorn person a fewer Achilles bottommost parts that will deterioration aliases break pinch little clip and accent than they should, aliases nan transmission whitethorn beryllium 1 elephantine flop wherever thing and everything tin spell incorrect (wave hello, Ford 10-speed automatic, we're addressing you directly).

Some gearboxes, connected nan different hand, look to person been hewn from earthy adamantium and designed by engineers pinch geniune clairvoyance. Any imaginable problem came to them successful a imagination and they simply pre-fixed nan issue. These are nan transmissions we're focusing connected here. They person a estimation for solidity and durability that elevates them to fable status, and they tin beryllium trusted to withstand miles, years, torque, and perchance nan sun exploding. No transmission is perfect, but these get person to perfection than astir others.

It was tempting to item nan Tremec T-56, nan transmission Dodge installed to enarthrosis nan sadistic torque of Viper V10s. But nan TR-6060 is stronger successful astir each way. If you thrust a manual Hellcat Dodge Challenger, this is your gearbox. Hellcats make torque for illustration AI devices make bland transcript — nan car debuted successful 2015 pinch 650 pound-feet of torque erstwhile utilizing nan Hellcat's full-power reddish key and 575 pound-feet of torque pinch nan achromatic valet key. 

Both nan TR-6060 and the T-56 Magnum (basically a retrofit type of nan TR-6060) are found successful cars for illustration nan Camaro ZL-1 and tin grip up to 700 pound-feet of torque, though location are definite OEM versions of nan 6060 that person little torque ratings. First and 2nd gears successful nan TR-6060 get triple-cone synchronizers and dual-cone synchros for nan different gears. T56s utilized dual and azygous cone synchros. The other cones unsocial tin summation torque capacity, but 6060s besides get larger diameter synchros. Plus, nan rings changed from c fibre to much durable and accordant sintered bronze.

Even better, nan synchro assemblies are narrower, which leaves room for thicker, stronger gears. The 6060's output shaft is beefier than nan T56's, too, and has a one-piece alternatively than a two-piece countershaft for illustration successful T56s. Finally, nan TR-6060 did distant pinch nan T56's adapter sheet to summation lawsuit rigidity. Still, 6060s can acquisition premature base failures and create grinding successful first and 2nd gears (and moreover 2nd cogwheel failure), but this is usually owed much to personification maltreatment than immoderate creation flaws.

Late-'90s Mercedes-Benz often gets compared unfavorably to the good aged days erstwhile it made nan first ever S-Class. And yet, 2 of nan astir durable things ever made came from pre-2000 MB. In summation to nan stupendous M113/M113K V8s, location was besides nan 5G-Tronic transmission, which tin apparently return nan torque of an water liner. Also, depending connected nan vehicle's model, it came pinch 2 reverse gears for barren and slippery conditions! Just usage nan W/S toggle to take betwixt nan 2 settings.

The 5G-Tronic, aliases 722.6, is an fantabulous illustration of engineering from nan apical down. Mercedes designed it to service its 4-cylinder models, arsenic good arsenic nan twin-turbo V12s and moreover nan metallic batmobile itself, nan SLR McLaren. Since nan 5G-Tronic could grip 796 pound-feet of torque, nan SLR McLaren's 575 wasn't going to wounded it.

There are moreover adapter kits that make it easy to instal connected vintage Mercedes cars pinch nan robust artifact M116 and M117 V8s, improving capacity and reliability for older models utilizing those engines. You could besides find this transmission successful DaimlerChrysler-era Mopars, such as nan first-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8s. 

Great arsenic they are, 5G-Tronics are aging. Shift rod bushings barren retired and crack, valve assemblage bores tin deterioration out, which leads to vibrations, and bad conductor plates tin nonstop nan gearbox into limp mode. Thankfully, shops tin still grip this transmission's fewer flaws.

You're astir apt wrong 1,000 feet of a ZF 8HP correct now. It tin beryllium recovered successful Dodge Challengers (where it's called nan Torqueflite 8), BMW 760Lis, nan now dying Toyota GR Supras, Morgan Plus Sixes, Ram 1500s, Lamborghini Urus, Ineos Grenadiers, Rolls-Royce Ghosts, and Bentley Mulsannes, among galore others. The 8HP is everywhere, it is ubiquitous, it is omnipresent, it is everyone and it is nary one, and it whitethorn outlast civilization itself. 

Possibly nan astir astounding facet of nan 8HP is that it apparently has nary downsides (unless you see it a downside erstwhile a transmission doesn't person a clutch pedal). It shifts arsenic soft arsenic whipped food for EV-like unobtrusiveness, but tin besides displacement quickly capable (200 milliseconds!) that companies like Aston Martin for illustration it to dual clutch transmissions. The 8HP is besides lighter and cheaper than your mean dual clutch, too. 

All functions successful an 8HP are electronic, which is why it has a neutral information move to get it retired of parkland erstwhile nan artillery dies. Aside from that insignificant inconvenience, location are only 2 main issues that tin create pinch this transmission, and moreover then, they're not communal and are easy to fix: Oil cooler connections tin leak and nan Mechatronic sleeve, which shields electrical connectors from fluids, tin fail. That's beautiful overmuch it unless you scheme connected pushing much powerfulness done than nan transmission was designed to handle.

Simplicity, thy sanction is Powerglide. While not arsenic basal arsenic the very first automatic transmission, it still adheres to nan engineering adage: Never adhd much parts than necessary, arsenic that creates much nonaccomplishment points. Powerglides person 2 guardant speeds, and that's it. While this is simply a detriment to substance mileage arsenic nan transmission perpetually coin-flips betwixt 2 ratios that are seldom nan astir businesslike for nan situation, nary 1 cares astir substance mileage astatine nan resistance strip, which is wherever these gearboxes are existent heroes. GM only produced nan Powerglide from 1950 to 1973, but resistance racers still emotion them, rescue them, and upgrade them to grip insane power, acknowledgment to nan immense array of aftermarket parts.

Powerglides utilized a azygous planetary gearset, band, and clutch pack, and nan first versions used cast robust cases. The only really analyzable portion of nan early type was its bolted-together five-element torque converter. In 1962, nan Powerglide dropped 100 pounds, acknowledgment to a caller aluminum case, and gained a simpler, sealed three-element torque converter. 

For nan astir part, nan Powerglide sat successful 2nd (top) cogwheel and fto nan torque converter supply nan mechanical advantage. This translated to mushy emotion acceleration, for illustration powerfulness had to transmit done marshmallow to scope nan output shaft, hence nan term, "slip-and-slide Powerglide." But again, this database is astir durable transmissions, not refined ones, and pinch owners reporting hundreds of thousands of miles racked up pinch nary issues, Powerglide durability isn't successful question.

Will it astonishment you to study that Aisin, nan institution that made nan stone solid, robust, granite-like A340, is nether nan Toyota Group umbrella? Of people not. A340s will spell complete 150,000 miles pinch nary an issue. The TacomaWorld forum is afloat of first-gen Tacoma owners (1995 done 2004) who person racked up good complete 200,000 miles pinch nary signs of failure, and immoderate are approaching 300,000 miles.

The A340 is simply a elemental torque converter four-speed automatic that was successful a slew of Toyota products during its lifespan. From 1985 to nan early 2000s, buyers could find this transmission successful nan Supra, 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra, and Sequoia, arsenic good as Lexus GS and SC 300s. A rebadged version of nan A340 called nan AW4 besides recovered its way into nan XJ Jeep Cherokee and moreover nan 1993 6-cylinder Grand Cherokee. There were versions of nan A340 for rear instrumentality thrust (RWD), all-wheel thrust (AWD), and four-wheel thrust (4WD) vehicles (yes, there's a quality betwixt AWD and 4WD), and nan gearbox could grip up to 350 pound-feet of torque.

As pinch immoderate transmission, location are a fewer issues that tin harvest up. Solenoids can fail, which leads to slipping gears aliases simply a nonaccomplishment to prosecute immoderate cogwheel astatine all. Also, erstwhile utilized to tow dense trailers aliases erstwhile driving successful stop-and-go traffic, A340s tin overheat from nan utmost friction. There's nary shortage of shops that tin activity connected these transmissions, though, and they tin beryllium modified to grip gobs of power.