this 518 is gonna be the end of me !!!!!!

[leanburn]

i had a 518 built by a local tranny shop who is suppose to be the mopar guru. i have had nothing but issues, my car has been in his shop for repairs off and on for over 60 days total this summer. the latest problem is that it won't come out of overdrive, as soon as i hit 5mph in 1st it goes into od. i'm not saying it skips through 2nd and 3rd, i'm in od in every gear. tranny guy checked out valvebody, says things are good, he checked out pressures and things are good. he's throwing in the towel and wants to come up with a resolution for a refund wich i am game for just so i can deal with someone else. i have a few options and one is total refund but he keeps the tranny wich i think i might go for it cause i'm so tired of this thing and i still have my 727 THAT WORKS!!!
 anyone ever had this happen before? if i can't find out what the problem is without spending another fortune then i think i'm going back to my 727 but i really don't want to. any ideas would be appreiciated.

[Katfish]

Sorry I can't help, curious what you find.  I plan to go to a 518 eventually

[leanburn]

i think i'm giving up on this whole overdrive quest. i bought a gear vedors a few years back, it blew up twice in first summer, they wouldn't warranty the last rebuild so we had words and i refused to use it again. i sure showed them !!!!! i have over $6,000 into overdrives and still walking to the car shows.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

If the vendors sucks that bad let ol' BIGS dispose of it for you. 

[leanburn]

actually, I gave it to a buddy, he installed it, could not get rid of a vibration and it blew up shortly after.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

wow that sux! I know 2 guys in the area that got them, no issues....   

[ChallengerHK]

Are you controlling this trans with engine vacuum or with a manual switch? If engine vacuum, are you sure you have the right port to get the signal you need? If a manual switch, are you sure there's no inadvertent short to ground?

[aris_unlimited]

I understand that the 518's can be a bit complicated with putting in an older car. Usually problems with the wiring/OD working. That's why I'm thinking I'll go with a gear vendors OD kit lol

[RCCDrew]

A 518 is electronic overdrive.  IIRC you actuate OD through the ground side of the circuit; the solenoid has constant 12v. I would unplug the OD plug and then see if it still goes into overdrive.

[leanburn]

The first thing I tried was unplugging the 12v supply. No change

[leanburn]

will a bad governor create this problem? the reason i ask is one of the previous issues was the governor was rubbing on the case, once he got the right case it stopped rubbing but maybe it damaged the governor and he didn't replace it.

[Aussie Challenger]

Before you give up PM      tactransman   on this site he is a trans guy and should be able to help, keep us all informed as the  A518  or 46RH  conversion is becoming very popular.
  I will be doing this to my LRE, I will also be using the Kit from PACT transmissions, the individual components can be obtained elsewhere if you choose.
  You don't have a mix of the later 46RE transmission parts in this trans?

[leanburn]

i don't  believe i have any 46re parts but there are some diesel internals in the build.

[Aussie Challenger]

i don't  believe i have any 46re parts but there are some diesel internals in the build.

There are a lot of parts that can be interchanged and some that cannot, was all the clutches checked for their proper clearances?
Hopefully you didn't use the diesel governor.
Terry,   tactransman  should chime in with some good advise.   

[leanburn]

gas governor as far as i know. once the case was changed so that the governor quit rubbing the tranny worked great for about 500 miles.