Make your own flexplate?

I own a 1984 Dodge Caravan, 2.6 L Mitsubishi. I have replaced the motor many times but never the transmission. Recently the flexplate broke around the crank bolt holes and then 2 - 4 years later, my spare flexplate broke. I assume this part has a twenty year life and it is to be expected. My question is, could I fabricate one out of slightly heavier guage (1/4 vs 1/8 inch) mild steel or weld a reinforcement to the old plate and expect any results at all. I think replacement part from the wrecker would have the same problem. Thanks.

Reply to
redryderridesagain
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Yes, you can do it. But here are the gotchas:

1) Welding a reinforcement to the existing plate won't work because it will just crack again, at the welds.

2) You are limited in how thick you can make it, if you make it too thick it will drive the converter too far into the transmission when you draw them together and it will jam

3) The plate needs to be balanced once you finish making it.

I would be surprised if the dealer does not have this part, have you tried calling them yet?

Ted

Reply to
tedm

Make sure when you remove the trans/engine you install the guide sleeves (or whatever they call em) back into the block. If you leave these out they can cause the engine to twist from the transmission and cause the flex plate to break.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

Note it is called a flex plate. That means it is meant to flex a certain amount under a certain load. I'm guessing the engineers at Chrysler figured this out to a reasonable approximation. If you make the plate stiffer, then it will flex less under a given load which means that something else will absorb that load. This part will then likely fail ... and this part will likely be much more costly than the flex plate.

However, if you try it, let us know how it works.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

If there is no ring gear attached to the flex plate (I know older Chevys had the ring gear welded to the flex plate but MoPars did not) I have heard tell of people making a flex plate out of several layers of thin stainless steel. The reasoning behind this is that the thin plates will be able to absorb flex loads better than one thick one.

good luck

nate

Reply to
N8N

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