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2013 RAM 3500 with 29k miles 68RFE is GARBAGE!

10K views 104 replies 34 participants last post by  akhr 
#1 ·
68RFE is GARBAGE! Towed 15,000lbs of rock today and the tranny is all over the place and not smooth, slamming into gear, flaring all over. From a stop on a hill it slams into 3rd, feels like the tranny will blow up at anytime. Something ain't right with it. I l love the motor, but its sad Cummin's allows RAM to pair it with a junk tranny. It drives pretty good unloaded. Put a load on it and cross your fingers.

Final straw with this thing. Tow a 2k trailer, throw some bull line pressure code going up a hill. Tow a 7k travel trailer and it does some weird in first gear.

As much I hate to get a FERD, I guess I'm going to blow 80k on a 2020 FORD F-350.

**** THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET A DRUNK FORD OWNER USE YOUR COMPUTER ***** SORRY FOLKS. Anyways. Just grossed out at 22,980 lbs today. 68RFE did fine.
 
#2 ·
68RFE is GARBAGE! Towed 15,000lbs of rock today and the tranny is all over the place and not smooth, slamming into gear, flaring all over. From a stop on a hill it slams into 3rd, feels like the tranny will blow up at anytime. Something ain't right with it. I l love the motor, but its sad Cummin's allows RAM to pair it with a junk tranny. It drives pretty good unloaded. Put a load on it and cross your fingers.





As much I hate to get a FERD, I guess I'm going to blow 80k on a 2020 FORD F-350.


That doesn’t sound right? I have both a 2016 Ram that I tow 11K regularly over mountains and highway, no complaints. I have a 2017 F350 that I tow our sales trailer all over Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming. While I think the F350 is smoother, it’s not enough for me to buy one...have had more serious issues with the Ford than Ram. You should get it checked out for sure!


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#4 ·
Yeah doesn't sound right. I had two 68s, no issues with either of them towing ~16k all over North America.
295/80R18, one was 3:73 and the other was 3:42.
 
#5 ·
Sounds more like you want to buy a new Ford than spend way less repairing the trans. 29k is very low miles but I would put a built trans if it was that serious. Did you check the fluid level?
 
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#6 ·
That's not many miles to be having all of those problems. My old 07.5 now has 160K+ about 1/3 of which was towing - it has towed a 5th wheel all over the Rocky Mtns through deserts in the summer etc and is still doing it's job without complaining. One quick, easy & inexpensive thing you might want to do is check the fluid level and while there see if the fluid is burned. Did you recently change the transmission fluid and filter? Sometimes the plastic nipple the filter screws onto break or back out. I know the earlier 68RFEs had issues with bores wearing in the valve body, but they're usually good to 100K or so - plus I understand that issue was upgraded in later transmissions. As Man in Black said "What all have you done to the truck?"

Good luck on this I hope it is something simple.
 
#8 ·
Sounds like you just want a new Ford. Which is fine, go buy one.

And if your trans is shot; well... sorry; but it is 6 years old, and we have no idea how you (or the previous owner) has treated the truck.

Could be a flood vehicle, wrecked, abused, run without fluid, or it may geniunely have a defect that could be fixed. It could need to be replaced.

The factory trans tuning sucks; no doubt; but it's not so awful that I didn't get 100k out of the factory programming before tuning it, and I tow some, and when I do it's usually for hundreds or thousands of miles.

So go buy your Ford, and be a happy man, and then you can take it in for warranty repairs when you have issues.
 
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#9 ·
68RFE is GARBAGE! Towed 15,000lbs of rock today and the tranny is all over the place and not smooth, slamming into gear, flaring all over. From a stop on a hill it slams into 3rd, feels like the tranny will blow up at anytime. Something ain't right with it. I l love the motor, but its sad Cummin's allows RAM to pair it with a junk tranny. It drives pretty good unloaded. Put a load on it and cross your fingers.

Final straw with this thing. Tow a 2k trailer, throw some bull line pressure code going up a hill. Tow a 7k travel trailer and it does some weird in first gear.

As much I hate to get a FERD, I guess I'm going to blow 80k on a 2020 FORD F-350.
B........bye. Enjoy your new Ford. Thanks for the heads up.:|
 
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#10 ·
Not really surprised at the brand loyal fool responses...what else is new here. The amazing thing is those who continue stand by the joke of a transmission the 68RFE is. Face it, its a slush box and everyone knows it, except the ones with their head up their...

I'm not brand loyal. All I want is reliability, I'd consider a Chevy with Allison but Ford has far more advanced features/tech.

I gave RAM a shot for 6 years but apparently it ain't worth a . 12 recalls...6+ years later I'm still getting recall letters.. Undeniable! WHAT A JOKE.

Peace fellas.
 
#15 ·
Yeah, those 68's are sure junk, mine has only been trouble free for 487K miles, with lots of heavy towing.

Buy the ford, they can be nice trucks, they can be junk, about like all brands.
 
#20 ·
From what I’ve read the 68rfe isn’t a bad transmission and can be built to take some abuse. Heck I’ve towed 30k lbs on a built 47re and it’s still holding fine in my 2nd gen after 100k miles. If you want a proper towing transmission from the factory behind a Cummins pickup I hear good things about the Aisin option. I have a G56 transmission in my 4th gen and so far the only problem I had was the dual mass flywheel. Recently towed #32,600 no issues and I have 3.42s gearing.
 

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#24 ·
On your error, could just be low oil or loose filter. Make sure you are choking the level properly.

I’ll definitely agree the 68rfe is a poor design. They are very fail prone, and have weaknesses. When the transmission was designed, it was built to handle a set max HP. At the time, it was higher than needed. But as the power wars increased, it was quickly under.

RAM even admits the 68rfe is not as good. They out sourced a better transmission for 1ton n up high output. Ford and GM only offer one automatic. The ONLY reason RAM has 2 power levels IS because of the 68RFE.

The 68rfe is an in house designed and built transmission, it costs them ~$400 or so per unit. Compared to the stronger outsourced transmission that costs RAM more per unit. Thus affecting how much RAM Makes per truck. So RAM de rates 3/4 tons and offers a stronger transmission on many 1ton n up trucks.

Buy a FORD diesel and get same power rating across the board.
Buy a GM diesel and get the same power rating across the board.
Buy a RAM diesel and you have different power ratings.. why? Is it to offer the consumer more options? Humm, no. It’s cause the 68rfe reached its design max years ago.

If the 68rfe could be built to handle 450HP, RAM would have done it already. They would save millions a year by only using an in house transmission.


Look, in a completely stock application, when used under rated value ( towing), the 68rfe can last as long as the Cummins. But, add a cold air intake or ~5 more HP, and the usable life will decrease. Our larger tires, and usable life will decrease. ( install lower gears will help). Tow 8 more oz over rated numbers and the usable life will be shorter.

It’s the same for built transmissions. Absolutely no 68rfe built at any price with impossible metal will only handle ~380HP. You can buy a $36,000 transmission rated to hold 500hp, and only feed it 400hp and it’ll fail. It’s a design flaw and limit, nothing you can do or build will make a 68rfe last long with more than 400hp... you’ll see those that will disagree, and say they have a built transmission and 400hp ands fine. But they probably drive less than 80,000 yr or never tow.

Anyway, I have a real good hate for the RFE line of transmissions. The 545 and 68 are just poor and limited designs.



Obviously, all the major tucks have their own unique issues. Ford and GM trucks have their own common flaws too. Switching will just change what the common fail point is.
 
#25 ·
It’s the same for built transmissions. Absolutely no 68rfe built at any price with impossible metal will only handle ~380HP. You can buy a $36,000 transmission rated to hold 500hp, and only feed it 400hp and it’ll fail. It’s a design flaw and limit, nothing you can do or build will make a 68rfe last long with more than 400hp... you’ll see those that will disagree, and say they have a built transmission and 400hp ands fine. But they probably drive less than 80,000 yr or never tow
Blah, Blah, Blah! Absolutely useless garbage spewed. You have no clue when you post crap like this.
 
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#26 ·
I have yet to have a 68rfe fail with me. I also have a built 68rfe. I still wouldn’t trust a “550” or higher to handle 400hp+ for any length of time.

I only have a built transmission to extend the usable life. I figure a stock unit will last 30,000 or so. A built unit maybe 40,000. So a little longer life. ( who knows, maybe 300,000 and 400,000 or 3000 and 4000, point is the built unit will last a little longer)

I had a truck with a 545rfe, and I now have 3 transmissions I rotate through. One installed, one built on standby, and a 3rd getting rebuilt or also on standby. I have to rotate 3 to 4 times a year. Granted, it’s a race truck.

The 68 is basically like a 545 but 20% larger. I’m planning on replacing the “built” transmission every year or two. For me the 68 is like tires, it’s a consumable and will need replacing every so often.
 
#28 ·
Well, I guess I can see your frustrations. I know two people with Ford Fusions that have over 150,000 plus miles and they’ve been great cars. I had one, same year as theirs, had a ball joint fail at 65,000 miles, rear defrost quit at 40,000 and transmission went without warning at 72,000 miles. I said I would never buy another 13-18 fusion.

Have a friend who bought the best selling trucks and the best quality trucks, which is Ford as we all already know, right?!!!! He bought it new in 2013. It has 55,000 on it, the rear defrost has failed twice and the rear bed panels are rusting out. He took extremely good care of this truck and still does.

I know these aren’t Ram trucks we are talking about and I’m actually a Ford guy. I’m just saying, I get where you’re coming from O.P. We all know that they all have problems. But you are on Cummins Forum. Lol

We will tend to be Cummins loyal, not Ram loyal. Too many Powerstroke designs over the past 15 years compared to the same basic engine design that goes back to the 80s with the Cummins for me to shake the thought of going to a Ford.


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#29 ·
So you threw a trans code so obviously something is up, time to diagnose and figure it out. It is what it is, could be something simple. Parts fail sometimes.

If you want to buy another truck over it, feel free and help the economy. Spend thousands in sales tax, etc. I’d slow my roll and figure out why your trans isn’t operating properly before I’d sell the farm. JMO, best of luck. Rye
 
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#33 ·
Now, now...the voice of reason has no place in this thread...

This thread is for throwing bombs, and then watching the destruction and fallout!:wacky::bombsmile::kaboom:
 
#30 ·
I'm just a newbie owner with only 5000 miles. My impression of the transmission is it feels "truck like". It is a bit rough and gruff but I thought that was designed in as part of the heavy duty engineering. I like the early TC lockup feature, makes it feel like a manual with better fuel economy. When towing, I like firm shifts. Slushy transmissions build heat.
 
#35 ·
29K in 6 years. For 4800 miles a year towing something I think I would just rent a truck when I need to tow before I drop 80K on a new one. But I do not come from money, nor am I saying you do, just looking at it from a bottom dollar standpoint.
 
#36 ·
No useful information just negative towards the trans.. I'm going to go ahead and call troll. Now if you want help fixing the issue please answer the questions relating to what you've done to the truck and describe your issue with more detail than just useless slushbox. If you dont want help than go ahead and wonder off.
 
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