[lacabra]

iv been going through alot of this forums and almost everyone is saying upgrade the tranny whats the deal should i be worried.

04 2500, banks 6gun, no muffler, 4in exhaust, s&b cold air intake:rof

 

[GETERDID]

you should start getting worried if its a auto

 

[lacabra]

ya, my truck is a auto. if its so weak what would be a good upgrade

 

[TOXIC-DIESEL]

if you have an auto with no mod's to your truck and do a trans service every couple thousand miles and drive like a grandma you should be fine.... if that does not apply to you then start savin for some trans upgrades

 

[awenthol]

Don't give in to all the hype. The 48RE is not as weak as everyone talks it up to be. You are fine wiht the mods you listed. If you start throwing any more power than that, at it, you'll want look into a valvebody and toque converter.

 

[rufushusky]

ya, my truck is a auto. if its so weak what would be a good upgrade

The 48re, the auto that took over in 2003.5, is stronger then more people give it credit for. Of course it is designed for stock power and if you beat the living day lights out of it yes you will destroy it, but if you are a rational human being with your right foot then you should be ok. My 48re has stood up to my juice/ts stack fairly well. If you are really concerned a better torque converter and valve body will help you if you don't plan on racing. :thumbsup

 

[wildcat]

Let's just say we have a motor in our truck capable of at least TWICE the Horsepower it came with from the Dodge assembly line, and a Tranny that will BARELY put up with the "Advertised" Horsepower!

It's probably got ALOT to do with they didn't want to foot the bill in production for a Tranny that was capable of putting up with what this motor will truly dish out! Guess I can't fault them, really.
I sure do wish they would have charged me an extra $6000.00 for a Tranny that I could have forgotten about until I got to, say, 750HP. :butt:

EVEN if it was an option! :CRY:

And THEN I woke up...

 

[carl48]

wildcat is correct the 48 is junk from the factory if you have one do a bd upgrade immediately if not sooner, they have the best warranty on the market

 

[wildcat]

I feel better! This "Venting" stuff really works!

Like awenthol said, you will be fine with the mods you listed... You could probably "push it" a little further! Maybe a Smarty JR or Smarty on a low setting...

Lord knows I did!:rof

Of course I was hno: all the way!

Meh, that's half the fun of it, as long as someone doesn't put their eye out...

 

[awenthol]

I've been running Smarty on 5 and 7 with moderate torque management for quite awhile and have had no problems

 

[wildcat]

I've been running Smarty on 5 and 7 with moderate torque management for quite awhile and have had no problems

HAY! Aren't YOU the "Guy" who told me to try level 5 when I was pussyfootin' around with level 3?? :gun2:

Hehehe! I jumped to level 5 with the REVO... Not sure why, if it's my settings or just a better program, but Idle and power sure seem more "Refined" or "Smooth".

I attribute my tranny's ability to survive to my ability to excercise restraint in not destroying it by driving like an a$$hat. Sometimes, when I get on it HARD, I feel a sickening shudder or slip, I back out right away because I have more sense than NUTZ! :rof

Truth is, I could prolly get by with a TQ conv. and VB for now, but I'm holdin' out for the full Monty!! :hyper: :woot: :$::ah:

Hehe!

Accepting donations...

 

[awenthol]

...but I'm holdin' out for the full Monty!! :hyper: :woot: :$::ah:

That's my only goal for the summer :thud:

 

[DIESELDALE1]

I Highly Recommend Several Upgrades To The Transmission. First, Get Rid Of The Stock Cooler. If The Tranny Gets Hot The Plastic Balls In The Valve Body(replace It Too) Will Melt And Go Up The Tube. This Will Stop Up The Line Then No Cooling. Or It Just Stops Up With Clutch Material And Then Bypasses Creating Way To Much Heat On The Fluid. I Put 2 10"x15" S Flow Coolers In Its Place And A 30" Finned Cooler On The Frame. Next Is The Torque Converter And Flex Plate. Replace Both Of Them. I Had Both Go Out. I Developed A Chatter Them All The Bolts On The Torque Coverter Broke Off And Took The Cheap Thin Flexplate Out. You Can Use A Single Disc Billet Converter For Light Use And It Is Better Than A Stock Converter Or The Triple Disc Converter Which Handles Big Hp. A Note Here. With A Thicker Flexplate And The Billet Converter You Will Need To Shim The Transmission Away From The Engine To Give The Neccessary Clearance For The Tc. I Put A 1/16" (.125") Shim Under Each Bolt To Get Enough Clearance. Next, The 48re Clutches. Have Large Clutch Packs Put In. I Am Not Good In This Area But I Believe They Put 9 Disc Packs In The Front 2 And The Overdrive Already Has It. The 48re Already Has 6 Pinion Planitary Gears So It Doesn't Need Upgraded. Lastly, The Valve Body. It Really Isn't Necessary But A Good Upgrade Doesn't Hurt. Don't Get One That Shifts Hard Unless You Are Racing Or Pulling. I Learned All This The Hard Way. One Transmission Burned Out At 44,000, Tc And Flexplate At 118,000, And Overheating 100 Miles Later. I Hotshotted With A 40' Gooseneck. I Pulled 16,000 Lbs. On A 7,000 Lbs. Trailer With An Edge Chip. Don't Know WHich One But It Was Hot. I HAD PTC IN MUSCLE SHOALS ALABAMA BUILD MINE BUT THERE ARE 2 REAL GOOD TRANS BUILDERS IN PHOENIC, AZ AND ONE IN IDAHO. CHECK THEM OUT AND READ UP ON WHAT THEY DO. IT IS WORTH IT.

 

[Guest]

Don't give in to all the hype. The 48RE is not as weak as everyone talks it up to be. You are fine wiht the mods you listed. If you start throwing any more power than that, at it, you'll want look into a valvebody and toque converter.

Exactly. The 48RE is NOT the 47RH from 1996. Unfortunately, people always remember the past when its bad, and forget how much improvement has been made.

 

[Tuffguy707]

just like the saying goes, nothing is indestructable. the harder you are on it the sooner it will break. i have talked with alot of tranny guys and they all swear by dodges trannys behind the cummins with a few upgrades. they all tell me that dodges trannys are way better than the ferds or the allison in the cheby. i myself am starting to notice slip in my auto tranny but i dodnt blame dodge i blame myself for the way i drive. yes im alittle hard on it. for what you have you will be fine as long as you dont boost launch or anything like that.

 

[Guest]

Let's just say we have a motor in our truck capable of at least TWICE the Horsepower it came with from the Dodge assembly line, and a Tranny that will BARELY put up with the "Advertised" Horsepower!

I'd be very interested in having a credible source that specifies exactly how much torque or HP that the 48RE will withstand. Until then, anyone claiming the above should realize its just an opinion, and no proof exists to back it.

I have a friend pushing double the hp and torque through a 48RE. Does ATS double its plantaries, clutch surface area, line pressure etc? I doubt it.

The fact is, the 48RE, and even the 47R* transmissions can handle a load far in excess of the truck's rated capacity. How far in excess depends on the driver and how they drive. I've piled 7000lbs of sandbags in my truck. I've also pulled a 50,000lb rig. I've hauled a 5000lb car on a 1300lb trailer in OD for hundreds of miles. My trans is fine. According to the naysayers, it should be trashed.

Its got 85k on its second batch of fluid.

I'd wager a good sum of money that 50% of trans failures in these trucks were because of abuse. I'd follow that by betting that about 10% of failures were due to flawed assembly. The remaining 40% could be debated forever.

The part that is the funniest is when someone says the old three speed TorqueFlite's were so much better than the A618 series. The fact that the front three speeds in the A618 are straight out of a Hemi/440 A727 seems to be forgotten.

 

[Guest]

I Highly Recommend Several Upgrades To The Transmission. First, Get Rid Of The Stock Cooler.


[snipped for space]



..........IT IS WORTH IT.

An auxiliary cooler is a good idea if you drive under load as a regular trip. Beyond that, the factory cooler will work fine. If you want to add a cooler, it can't hurt.

If the little balls in the trans "melt", the trans was well beyond too hot, and you should change your fluid immediately.

If your cooler clogs with clutch material, you have bigger problems than what will happen when the cooler plugs up.

Shimming the trans away from the engine may be necessary, but check with the supplier of the flexplate. If you need to shim 1/16th of an inch, use .062" shims.

Nine discs in the front clutches is nearly impossible. Six, maybe seven might happen. But in order to do so, thickness of the drive and friction plates is compromised. A stock 48RE has 5 and 4, front and rear. The OD housing has 6 discs for OD, and 23 (count half that for an accurate comparison with the other clutch packs) single sided discs in direct.

The 48RE does have 6 pinion plantetaries. I've also heard that some builders prefer the 5 pinion plantetaries.

A VB upgrade is a good idea. There are several areas which can be improved. Details can be found in various shift kits. The advice to go with something less than a full race shift is a good idea.

Ultimately, find a good trans builder, and follow their advice. Stay with their product through the entire trans, TC and VB. Don't mix and match.

 

[Guest]

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[Guest]

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[DIESELDALE1]

Max, Thanks For The Real Info On The Clutch Packs. I Couldn't Remember. I Did All This For Under $2500 . I Did, As You Said, Abuse It Pretty Bad. I Just Went Over The Limit Of What It Would Do And Then Added More Power. If I Was To Hotshot Again I Would Never Take A Load Over 10,000 Lbs And Get An Aluminum Trailer.
You Are Real Knowledgeable Of These Trannies, Can You Tell Me About And How To Manually Operate The Torque Converter. With All The Mods I Have Done I Still Get Heat In Around Town Driving.
Oh Yes I Didn't Jackrabbit Or Jump Off The Line With It. I Just Overloaded It Hotshotting.