SteveC

I went with the TCI SF-29 flexplate (14 years ago) paid $185.

shepss217

iTrader: (5)

They are like $270 now lol

TimE

iTrader: (8)

So I bought a Hughes HP4004X. Put it in the car and it was "out of round" when cranking. I added a starter shim and it quieted down the noise it was making as it was engaging too deeply into the bendix gear as it rotated. Looking at the ring gear on the engine side, holding it up to a light, there were small gaps and then tight areas between the ring and the plate. I contacted Hughes directly and described what I was seeing to a tech named Steve. After a thorough discussion of what was happening, he asked for my contact info. He wanted to walk out into the shop and lay his hands on a few flexplates to see how they looked. He called me back about 15 minutes later and told me to return it to Summit(where I had originally purchased it from) and tell them it was defective. He also told me to get the HP4004X-EBP. Said that was what he looked at in the shop and they all looked great. The only difference between the two plates is the EBP has the bolt pattern for a 4l80 converter too. Called Summit and they got one heading my way with a return pickup for the bad plate.

It was a hassle but the service I received from Steve at Hughes and then from Summit was outstanding. Steve said the same thing about stamped flex plates that Brian from Circle D stated in post#76. There are variations in the stampings on stamped plates most likely due to the mass production process. I don't THINK there would have been any issues running it with the shim but, the way I saw it, I spent $160 for a part and I wanted it to be right.

SO the take away from this is if you buy any brand stamped plate, look it over closely to be certain it is true. If I had it to do over again, I would have bought the CDS Reactor and forgotten about it. Budget, at the time, determined otherwise but I expect to get good service from the Hughes plate that I have coming.