MT82-D4 rebuild thread

[NGOT8R]

Some of you may know that my 2019 Bullitt‘s clutch is on it’s way out after just two drag strip outings and five completed 1/4 mile passes. With that being said, while I‘ll have the tranny out to replace the clutch, I figured I might as well upgrade whatever I can in the transmission to help strengthen it for aggressive shifting and/or drag strip duty. Note: I’ve never built a transmission before, but I am very excited optimistic about taking on the challenge.

My plan is as follows:

- Upgrade the 1/2 -3/4 shift forks to billet parts with bronze shift fork pads. Note: These parts are already on the way.

- Possibly have the 5/6 shift forks completely welded for increased strength, coupled with WPC (micro shot peening process) and add bronze shift fork pads.

- Upgrade the input shaft from a 23 to a 26 spline shaft (if I can find one). I’ve only seen them for 2011-2017 MT82 transmissions, but not the D4. Does anyone know if the 2011-2017 26 spline shaft if the same as the 18+?

- Upgrade the synchros to carbon fiber pieces (unless someone knows of a good enough reason why I shouldn’t stay with factory synchros).

- Look into having the WPC process performed on the factory gears and input/output shafts, as well as REM polishing.

- Install new bearings, seals and retaining clips.

- Add bronze shift rail stop

- Finally, pair the transmission with a really good clutch (considering a Mantic or McLoud RXT).

This is going to be a lengthy process, as it will be expensive and may even require extended wait times to have other services performed (like the WPC process and REM polishing). My hope is that others with upgraded transmissions (especially those with Calimer Stage 2 and 3 transmissions) can weigh in and share their experiences as to how their setups are being used and holding up, as well as what HP/TQ they are making. Thanks in advance!

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[NGOT8R]

At what point would a 26 spline input shaft be recommended over the factory 23 spline? I’ve only seen them listed for the 2011-2017 MT82, with the exception of the Ben Calimer Stage 3 which has this option available. I’m not sure if Ben is using a 2011-2017 26 spline input shaft in his Stage 3 builds though.

 

[NGOT8R]

Has anyone run carbon fiber synchros in their MT82? If so, I’d like to know if they‘re a worthwhile improvement over OEM (i.e., can they handle more abuse, lifespan; compared to OEM, or are they just an up sell item)?

 

[kevinvan6000]

If you have Facebook try posting in the group Stick Shift Coyotes to get a bit more exposure.

 

[NGOT8R]

If you have Facebook try posting in the group Stick Shift Coyotes to get a bit more exposure.

Copy that! Thank you! I’ve also reached out to AMP Distributing where I ordered the billet shift forks from to see what they have to say about parts durability and interchangeability.

 

[NGOT8R]

Here are a few pics of some MT82-D4 eye candy! I’m now one step closer to having everything that I need. Now if I could just get our home builder and his contractors to come and finish up some work to my garage floor and re-epoxy it, I can finally get on with pulling the tranny for an inspection and teardown. At the rate he and his contractors are going, it could be another month or two before they get out of my hair. It sucks being at someone else’s mercy. It throws a big wrench into my plan of attack.

 

[NGOT8R]

I had to endure a little unnecessary anxiety behind this shipment, as yesterday, FedEx sent me an email saying they had delivered it to my front door. We’ll, my security system said otherwise (didn’t happen), so I started a claim with FedEx. The rest of my night was jacked up, wondering where my expensive clutch was. To my surprise and total appreciation, my doorbell rang this morning and it was a neighbor, who lives two blocks away from me in the same subdivision. He said he woke up and found my clutch at his front door and figured I might need it. Thank God for decent people. I sent FedEx’s customer service an email saying that I laid my package and a short while later, I received a call from a guy identifying himself as a FedEx employee. He went on to say that he was following up with me and wanted to know if I received my package. I told him yes and explained what I knew to have happened. Believe it or not, the guy said to me, “Well at least you got it!“ That was very reassuring (being sarcastic) to know how much he cared. I’ve been debating whether to contact customer service again and give them the name of the person, who actually called me (in case it was the driver that screwed up). While I wouldn’t be seeking to get anyone in trouble, I would like to make sure I mitigate the chance of something like that happening to me again anytime soon. Crisis averted and now I’m breathing normally once again? SMH

 

[Goterr0r]

I feel your pain with Fedex. They have sucked in my area lately and i have had the same thing happen to me. I'll either get someone else's stuff or i will get lucky and someone will bring mine over. I live in a simple normal neighborhood with house numbers on the mailbox and house. Its not that hard. I guess they are just getting worse new hires coming in that don't give a damn. I did read yesterday that starting before the end of this year Fedex will require their drivers to submit photos when they drop off the packages similar to Amazon. I guess this is because they understand they suck now and have to do something. At least i will have a picture of some ones front porch to guess where my box will be..... Glad you got your clutch. That's my luck and would have sucked for sure.

 

[NGOT8R]

@Goterr0r, thanks for that info. It sounds like there will be a little more accountability aimed toward the delivery drivers in the near future. Amazon came onto the scene much later than FedEx and UPS, but both of those companies are a little late in implementing certain measures to help enhance their reputation. I recently found out that a lot of FedEx drivers are actually contract drivers using their trucks and get paid daily.

 

[silverbullet85]

I had to endure a little unnecessary anxiety behind this shipment, as yesterday, FedEx sent me an email saying they had delivered it to my front door. We’ll, my security system said otherwise (didn’t happen), so I started a claim with FedEx. The rest of my night was jacked up, wondering where my expensive clutch was. To my surprise and total appreciation, my doorbell rang this morning and it was a neighbor, who lives two blocks away from me in the same subdivision. He said he woke up and found my clutch at his front door and figured I might need it. Thank God for decent people. I sent FedEx’s customer service an email saying that I laid my package and a short while later, I received a call from a guy identifying himself as a FedEx employee. He went on to say that he was following up with me and wanted to know if I received my package. I told him yes and explained what I knew to have happened. Believe it or not, the guy said to me, “Well at least you got it!“ That was very reassuring (being sarcastic) to know how much he cared. I’ve been debating whether to contact customer service again and give them the name of the person, who actually called me (in case it was the driver that screwed up). While I wouldn’t be seeking to get anyone in trouble, I would like to make sure I mitigate the chance of something like that happening to me again anytime soon. Crisis averted and now I’m breathing normally once again? SMH

Good to hear you got your clutch. What are the specs of the clutch? Is it a different clutch than the standard mt82 d4 mantic because of the output shaft? Need to send mine in to get looked at, it only has 600 easy miles on it its just a giant paperweight. Looks different than mine for sure. Curious as to why you decided to go to amp to buy billet parts and didn't just buy a stage 3 from calimer. Interested to see how everything works out for you, looks like you've made educated purchases on everything so far.

 

[NGOT8R]

Good to hear you got your clutch. What are the specs of the clutch? Is it a different clutch than the standard mt82 d4 mantic because of the output shaft? Need to send mine in to get looked at, it only has 600 easy miles on it its just a giant paperweight. Looks different than mine for sure. Curious as to why you decided to go to amp to buy billet parts and didn't just buy a stage 3 from calimer. Interested to see how everything works out for you, looks like you've made educated purchases on everything so far.

Thanks. The clutch is a twin disc. I think it weighs something like 62 lbs. I liked some things about it over the Mantic such as, the clutch plate and springs looks much more beefier. The Mantic also seemed like it had a couple more steps to the install with the aluminum drive blocks (not really a big deal, but could be if someone didn’t pay attention to this step). Lastly, the Ram seems like it would offer more protection or containment of parts, should something fail or let go, whereas the Mantic is more open on the outer perimeter and could provide an avenue of escape for broken parts if a failure were to occur.

I decided to build my own after reading a couple of very concerning threads regarding quality control with Calimer. I won’t mention the website or who made the posts, but here are the texts from a couple of end users that had trouble with the Calimers. With that being said, the price is too high to be receiving product in unsatisfactory condition. This sort of thing is exactly why I got into doing my own work (whenever possible), to begin with.

End user #1:

Has anyone here had trouble with a Calimer transmission?
I received the first one and it looked terrible, greasy inside the bellhousing like it was never cleaned. Took a chance and installed it anyway, big mistake, no second gear! Got a second one with a damaged input shaft so two that are junk. Anyone else had something like this?

End user #1:

Both of mine were dirty and damaged.

End user #1:

Believe me they were dirty and did not look good at all. I was shocked at the look of the first but the second still was not close to looking new. They paint right over the dirt and grease.

End user #2:

I got a second Calimer tranny for a friend last year. It too arrived pretty dirty with the magnetic plug full of metal bits etc.. Did not feel very smooth when turned over by hand.... Showed Ben the pics and he was a bit grumpy that we had opened the box up to see inside... My buddy was not happy, but the tranny has been going for about a year now with out any problems..

My Calimer box died long time ago after two hard seasons, but it died before adding a oil cooler.

 

[boB]

"This sort of thing is exactly why I got into doing my own work (whenever possible), to begin with."

My sentiments exactly! Will you take the whole thing apart again if something does not seem exactly right? Yep! Will someone who is working on a schedule and will lose $$ if it takes too long? Not likely.
So we do it ourselves.

 

[NGOT8R]

"This sort of thing is exactly why I got into doing my own work (whenever possible), to begin with."

My sentiments exactly! Will you take the whole thing apart again if something does not seem exactly right? Yep! Will someone who is working on a schedule and will lose $$ if it takes too long? Not likely.
So we do it ourselves.

When you pay premium prices for goods and services, those goods and services should be reflective of the money spent on them. I know I’m not going to cut any corners on the work and that’s the mindset everyone in business needs to have too.

 

[shogun32]

that's mighty disappointing about Calimer. Is there some engineering justification to think a 26 is stronger than a 23? Naively, a 23 would have more meat on the splines so should be more stout...

can you not get a 1-3ft roll and in so doing significantly reduce the shock and strain during launch?

 

[NGOT8R]

that's mighty disappointing about Calimer. Is there some engineering justification to think a 26 is stronger than a 23? Naively, a 23 would have more meat on the splines so should be more stout...

can you not get a 1-3ft roll and in so doing significantly reduce the shock and strain during launch?

I’m not sure on the engineering standpoint of the 26T being stronger. Maybe some of the engineers who read this can weigh in and give us some insight.

I like the way you’re thinking! Roll racing would definitely be far easier on the drivetrain, but to do a soft roll out of 1-3ft would kill the sixty foot time and make for a much slower et and mph.

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