[Giacobbe164]

hello i would like to say hi to everyone i am a new member and also new to diesel pickups. i have done my fair share of research on them and have some basic understanding of the terms slash performance parts.

i just flew to Washington from California to buy a 2001 2500 ex cab short bed h.o cummins with 75,000 miles. i drove it home 1200 miles with no problems truck ran like a top.

today i was driving around town and experenced a clunk noise followed by what felt like my tourque converter slipping appart. i took it to a diesel performance shop near my house and the tranny is SMOKED! i lost all the forward clutch pack! why would this happen on a well taken care of truck with only 75,000 miles? the only things done to the truck are an edge juice w/ attitude and a straight pipe. is the edge enough to smoke a stock tranny. Thanks for the help:banghead:

 

[KyleJ]

Depending on how it was driven for those 75,000 miles stock power can shatter that tranny. Not to mention what kind of mods might have been on the truck and removed before you bought it.

 

[Giacobbe164]

i bought it from a rancher who pulled a horse trailer occasionally. either way the tranny is gone now and i got quoted 3800 bucks for it rebuilt with top of the line sun coast in it new valve body torque converter extreeme duty rebuild kit etc. is that a good deal you think. also comes with a 1 year warranty

 

[KyleJ]

I'll let someone else chime in on that. If you can do it yourself you can save a considerable amount of cash. That's what I did, billet shafts, Suncoast converter, new VB with some other odds and ends for under 2k.

 

[DevilDogDiesel]

$3800 is an alright deal. For that it should have a deep pan and maybe a billet input.

 

[longo244]

The 47RE is a garbage transmission as with most late model Dodge/Chrysler transmissions (not sure about the newer ones although my buddy's 04 tranny blew up with just over 100k on it and he never towed anything heavier than a quad trailer...no performance mods). I have another buddy with an 01 w/ Juice w/ Attitude and he can get the clutches to slip in his auto transmission if he beats on it on 5x5 (80k miles on his...he puts money away every month because he knows he's gonna be replacing his transmission soon). Sorry to hear about your transmission. Personally, I would never own a Dodge/Chrysler vehicle with an automatic transmission, especially a 3/4 or 1 ton CTD truck. It seems stupid to pay big money for a "heavy duty" truck and then have to dump 2-3k in your transmission every 100k miles. Best of luck...if I were you I'd look into swapping the auto for a manual. I know shifting gears is not for everyone but clutches are a lot cheaper than tranny rebuilds.

 

[mahdey]

75hp injectors smoked the torque convertor on my stock tranny...so yes an edge will obliterate

 

[mathews8pt]

First off the truck isnt an HO if its an auto.

Secondly, the trannies suck in stock form. If you have one built correctly then they will hold a lot of power, (yes they will hold more than a 5 or 6 speed when built correctly). For $3800 you should be getting a billet input shaft as well as whats already listed

 

[ramtough01]

75hp injectors smoked the torque convertor on my stock tranny...so yes an edge will obliterate

yup mine did with in 3 months of having my having the edge and i had a pressure loc from bd on my still did it

 

[patracy]

The 47RE is a garbage transmission as with most late model Dodge/Chrysler transmissions (not sure about the newer ones although my buddy's 04 tranny blew up with just over 100k on it and he never towed anything heavier than a quad trailer...no performance mods). I have another buddy with an 01 w/ Juice w/ Attitude and he can get the clutches to slip in his auto transmission if he beats on it on 5x5 (80k miles on his...he puts money away every month because he knows he's gonna be replacing his transmission soon). Sorry to hear about your transmission. Personally, I would never own a Dodge/Chrysler vehicle with an automatic transmission, especially a 3/4 or 1 ton CTD truck. It seems stupid to pay big money for a "heavy duty" truck and then have to dump 2-3k in your transmission every 100k miles. Best of luck...if I were you I'd look into swapping the auto for a manual. I know shifting gears is not for everyone but clutches are a lot cheaper than tranny rebuilds.

The 47RE can be built into a bullet proof transmission. You need to remember yes, they'll blow apart. They're designed to last past the 100K warranty. They're also designed to only handle the stock torque and horsepower they rolled off the line with...

 

[longo244]

The 47RE can be built into a bullet proof transmission. You need to remember yes, they'll blow apart. They're designed to last past the 100K warranty. They're also designed to only handle the stock torque and horsepower they rolled off the line with...

Yes...they can be built to be bulletproof...to the tune of $3800 installed. When you spend 30-40k on a brand new "heavy duty" truck you would think you'd get a transmission that isn't a pile of garbage. I know two people in my area, one with a 99 2500 and the other with a 2000 3500 dually who have had transmission problems prior to 100k with stock trucks. Both use their trucks for towing (horse /equipment trailers). Diesel trucks are supposed to be built to work and tow!!! Also, as I mentioned before, my good friend had his completely rebuilt at 11x,xxx and he never used it to tow anything heavier than a quad trailer. His truck was a 3rd Gen ('04) with no performance mods but this goes to show Dodge still hasn't learned how to build a transmission. Their autos can't stand up to abuse.

 

[BigBlue]

The 47RE is a garbage transmission as with most late model Dodge/Chrysler transmissions (not sure about the newer ones although my buddy's 04 tranny blew up with just over 100k on it and he never towed anything heavier than a quad trailer...no performance mods). I have another buddy with an 01 w/ Juice w/ Attitude and he can get the clutches to slip in his auto transmission if he beats on it on 5x5 (80k miles on his...he puts money away every month because he knows he's gonna be replacing his transmission soon). Sorry to hear about your transmission. Personally, I would never own a Dodge/Chrysler vehicle with an automatic transmission, especially a 3/4 or 1 ton CTD truck. It seems stupid to pay big money for a "heavy duty" truck and then have to dump 2-3k in your transmission every 100k miles. Best of luck...if I were you I'd look into swapping the auto for a manual. I know shifting gears is not for everyone but clutches are a lot cheaper than tranny rebuilds.

They aren't junk transmissions if you treat them right and think about what your doing with them. I made my stock tranny last at 450hp with stock valvebody for a long time and then I put in a DTT VB and pushed it to 496 and it was holding just fine until I started getting cocky and doing boosted launches and burnouts.

Stomping on it from a dead stop isn't good for them as is flooring it with a trailer with the box turned all the way up or lugging the converter down. Leave OD turned off under 55mph, roll in to the throttle instead of mashing it, and just watch what your doing and you'll be fine. They can actually handle an extreme amount of abuse. Mine lasted 120k miles under the abuse of a 16 year old kid (me) doing all sorts of stupid stuff with it before I got educated.

An edge juice is enough to tear up a transmission. Especially if used to pull a trailer. And the fact that the tranny is gone in 75k miles to me means that the previous owner wasn't exactly easy on it.

And anyone who thinks that a stock transmission is designed to handle abuse is, well, we won't go there. Honestly, do you think dodge/chevy/ford design these trucks to be beat on ruthlessly and mercilessly or stupidly? No. They design them to be driven by normal people driving normally and for towing the loads that they designed the truck for. And for every 2 transmissions that someone has had fail under "stock normal" driving conditions I can show you 200 that haven't failed in 200k miles. I'm not saying that it can't happen cause it has. But for people to sit here and say that these are the biggest POS's isn't true.

 

[Electric_Cowboy]

Here's my two cents... buy all the parts you need to rebuild it the way you want it. If you want all Suncoast stuff in it, buy a whole rebuild package from them with all your bells and whistles, then rebuild your transmission yourself. It's not that hard. I did mine last year, and have never done one. Took me a week, but that was only working on it in the evenings after work. I got a Tech book on it, and it showed me everything I need to do to disassemble and reassemble. It was super easy. You'll save yourself so much money that way. I think I saved over $2000.

That being said though, last week I did the auto to manual conversion. Just got sick of the auto, and to be honest it's the best dam money I've ever spent on my truck in my opinion. I love it. And it holds more that my auto ever did. I'm happy as all get out.

 

[BigBlue]

And it holds more that my auto ever did. I'm happy as all get out.

Well I would expect an aftermarket clutch to hold more than a stock auto.

 

[Electric_Cowboy]

Well I would expect an aftermarket clutch to hold more than a stock auto.

Lol. Well I can't argue with that, but my auto had aftermarket stuff in it too. True, you could say that I might have rebuilt it wrong since I had never done it before, but I followed the book, and stayed within all the specs and tolerances. Added extra clutches, transgo shift kit, HD single disc TC, HD cooler. In the end, for me, it just didn't live up to what I thought it would be like. Not saying that auto's suck by any means. I know a few guys that have them things built to the hilt and they PERFORM!!! But mine didn't. Lol. So out it went and on I go. Haha! This time though shifting along the way.

 

[Boosted99.5]

They aren't junk transmissions if you treat them right and think about what your doing with them. I made my stock tranny last at 450hp with stock valvebody for a long time and then I put in a DTT VB and pushed it to 496 and it was holding just fine until I started getting cocky and doing boosted launches and burnouts.

Stomping on it from a dead stop isn't good for them as is flooring it with a trailer with the box turned all the way up or lugging the converter down. Leave OD turned off under 55mph, roll in to the throttle instead of mashing it, and just watch what your doing and you'll be fine. They can actually handle an extreme amount of abuse. Mine lasted 120k miles under the abuse of a 16 year old kid (me) doing all sorts of stupid stuff with it before I got educated.

An edge juice is enough to tear up a transmission. Especially if used to pull a trailer. And the fact that the tranny is gone in 75k miles to me means that the previous owner wasn't exactly easy on it.

And anyone who thinks that a stock transmission is designed to handle abuse is, well, we won't go there. Honestly, do you think dodge/chevy/ford design these trucks to be beat on ruthlessly and mercilessly or stupidly? No. They design them to be driven by normal people driving normally and for towing the loads that they designed the truck for. And for every 2 transmissions that someone has had fail under "stock normal" driving conditions I can show you 200 that haven't failed in 200k miles. I'm not saying that it can't happen cause it has. But for people to sit here and say that these are the biggest POS's isn't true.

well said!

 

[dozer12216]

The life of tranny is dependent on driving habits. Anyone with a mind to can fail one in five minutes. Or you can tow up to 35,000 pounds for untold hours before it gives up at 208,000 miles as mine did. BigBlue says it nicelyl JMHO

 

[BigBlue]

Lol. Well I can't argue with that, but my auto had aftermarket stuff in it too. True, you could say that I might have rebuilt it wrong since I had never done it before, but I followed the book, and stayed within all the specs and tolerances. Added extra clutches, transgo shift kit, HD single disc TC, HD cooler. In the end, for me, it just didn't live up to what I thought it would be like. Not saying that auto's suck by any means. I know a few guys that have them things built to the hilt and they PERFORM!!! But mine didn't. Lol. So out it went and on I go. Haha! This time though shifting along the way.

Who's parts did you go with out of curiosity.

 

[longo244]

And anyone who thinks that a stock transmission is designed to handle abuse is, well, we won't go there. Honestly, do you think dodge/chevy/ford design these trucks to be beat on ruthlessly and mercilessly or stupidly? No. They design them to be driven by normal people driving normally and for towing the loads that they designed the truck for.

I know 3 people who have had to undergo full rebuilds before or shortly after 100k miles. None of these people used their trucks in any manner that could be considered "beat on ruthlessly and mercilessly." All 3 were stock trucks, 1 used for daily driving and light towing, and the other 2 towing/work vehicles. These trucks are sold as heavy duty!!! If you are happy with a tranny that you have to constantly baby in order to not have to worry about it gernading, hey, maybe that works for you. Personally, when I buy a truck that is rated to tow over 10k pounds I'd like to be able to do so and not have to constantly worry that it's going to leave me stranded some place. The fact that you have to "build" your transmission to use it for what it's designed to be used for and expect it to last shows a huge oversight on Dodge's part...probably one of many reasons why they can't seem to keep their head above water in the corporate world. I was educated as an electrical engineer and in my current field, if I were to design a control system that crashed every time the power goes out, I'd lose my job. The goal of engineering and design is to build something as robust as possible. Dodge failed miserably here IMO. They bought one of the best mid-duty diesel engines on the market and they put a substandard transmission behind it. Maybe the should have called Allison or Eaton and asked them to supply a real transmission for use behind the Cummins.

 

[grasmo]

I believe the torque delivery is in the wrong rpm range for engagement of the torque converter and the dam torque from even a stock cummins is more than any stock gasser we have seen. A suncoast built auto should be the last transmission you should ever buy. Honestly I just did a new tranny in my 99 and after my tranny gut talked me out of the suncoast ........ I mean I just got sick of hearing him tell me he could build it up exactly the same,well now I have a few problems he is gonna have to work out for me. If you can get the tranny that is actually built by Suncoast get it. I had one in my 97 and it was stronger than hell.