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so i hope to be getting a rebuilt trans soon , i was wondering if it is a good idea to replace the flex plate with a billet piece or a new factory plate. yes i am getting a good rebuilt unit with new billet toque converter.
I'd replace the original with something as most every one I've removed (hundreds) with any amount of miles is cracked to some extent. Save some hassle and possibly a tow bill and just replace it while it's out.
Wanted to add this to FLexPlate post.. In Ohio to get some warranty work done on Sam Wyse Stage 1 trans, more on that later, and when his son Walker pulled the tran Sam has suggested to check the flex plate for cracks.. I was like for sure. After it was blasted to clean up he said there was cracks around a lot of the bolt hole and this is a common thing you see.. the mileage is 243K and far as i know OEM from factory plate.. (this was not mentioned when the trans was changed out in July 2020 with 191K at another place in OH. but not sure if it was or was not checked either.)
When we talked about replacing it Sam recommend the
What's the matter with a factory flex plate? Gonna have my trans rebuilt, I got a new Ford flex plate just cuz.
I figured that the OEM lasted 23 years, and 200,000 miles, can't really ask for much better.
you just stated the important part... Its not the 23 yrs.. that mean nothing.. its the miles.. 200K.. my unit with 243K had cracks in the flex plate.. nothing is wrong with the OEM unit per say. they run for year.. the summit units are higher quality and when you run some tune producing more HP and specifically TQ the OEM may be the weak link in the line of power to the rear wheels.
The stock OEM flexplate is 150 to 180 buck at the retailer on the forums.. The summit flex plates are SFI approved.. and are appx the same price..
"Our Summit Racing™ SFI-approved flexplates are built for racing. They're thicker than stock, double-welded with a forged one-piece ring ..."
What does “SFI Approved” mean?
Safety Certified Racing Parts
Parts that carry an SFI approval are certified to be safe for racing. This means they are designed and tested to meet certain safety requirements. The requirements are established by The SFI Foundation, Inc.
What's the matter with a factory flex plate? Gonna have my trans rebuilt, I got a new Ford flex plate just cuz.
I figured that the OEM lasted 23 years, and 200,000 miles, can't really ask for much better.
This thread drifted into whether or not to replace the flex-plate when taking down the transmission, but the question of whether or not to replace the flex-plate is not the original question asked by @autoxtech , who asked "I was wondering if it is a good idea to replace the flex plate with a billet piece or a new factory plate?"
And that is a very good question.
Especially when coupled with a billet torque converter.
Both billet pieces are presumed to be stiffer than stock.
No one wants to to have to wonder when, not if, their flex plate will crack.
But since the thing is called a flex plate, key word flex, and not a fly wheel, another question is raised when going all billet:
I think the word flex is not the most accurate description of the plate functions. while there is a slight bit of flex the main feature is to transmit the power to the torque converter etc. flex plates used on race applications have to adhere to higher standard and be in some cases thicker than stock. have more welding and be better balanced to handle the higher loads, speed and HP they may be subject to..
I found this article which i think shed a lot of light on flex plates..
I remember reading the SFI requirements for flex plate certification, it had to go to some stupid RPM (like 8 or 10K) without coming apart. Which is interesting but pretty meaningless to most 7.3 drivers. Who here has had their 7.3 up to 8000 RPM? Mine will never get close to that.
What I care about is cycles, how many start-ups will it survive? I figure that as a daily driver, the factory flex plate has done more than 10,000 cycles over 23 years. Show me a race car that has lasted 23 years without being rebuilt, much less 10,000 start-ups.
As far as stock Vs. billet, my guess that the factory plates were stamped out of a Billet piece of steel then final machined, Billet I guess was machined out of a flat piece of steel. As a machinist, what really matters is the type of steel and the heat treatment and stress reliving after machining.
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