[tyoneil54]

I have been looking at doing a trans rebuild with new clutches and whatnot, as well as a shift kit and torque converter

about how long does it take to do a rebuild from the time the truck goes on the lift till the time its on the floor again?

Im just asking because i want to know about how much it is going to cost me for labor.

Also if i just do the rebuild but dont do the torque converter yet, does the whole trans have to come out again to put in a new torque converter?
thanks for any input

 

[Klevingston]

Depending on shop, 3-6 labor hours for the pull out and re-install.

Rebuild Labor, again depending on experience 8-10 hrs on the bench. (they can be done faster, but just to many variables when you are talking labor)
*This does not mean you should count on having your truck back in 2 days.

Most shops give you a price based on the job, where they use generic or average labor costs when performing work.

Plan to have transmission dropped again if convertor installed at a later date. They don't have to drop it all the way to the ground, but it does need to come back, hence drop a bit as well, to remove and replace convertor.

 

[CeeKoo]

I have been looking at doing a trans rebuild with new clutches and whatnot, as well as a shift kit and torque converter

about how long does it take to do a rebuild from the time the truck goes on the lift till the time its on the floor again?

Im just asking because i want to know about how much it is going to cost me for labor.

Also if i just do the rebuild but dont do the torque converter yet, does the whole trans have to come out again to put in a new torque converter?
thanks for any input

Replace converter at same time. It may contain lots of bad oil/debris if your old trans is in bad shape.

 

[3brorce]

Clutches, valvebody, triple disk converter and billet input at minimum.

 

[tyoneil54]

Clutches, valvebody, triple disk converter and billet input at minimum.

I wasn't sure about doing billet input or not, I talked to a trans shop yesterday they said they usually do a converter and heavy duty clutches, and can do a shift kit if I wanted.
They said it does pretty good

 

[3brorce]

Yea for about 500hp. You need a billet input.

 

[tyoneil54]

I'm not looking to make much more than 500 though. All I'm doing is injectors turbo and efi live

 

[3brorce]

That's more than 500hp bud. You need a billet input.

 

[Gen414]

Billet input is over kill, UNLESS you are sled pulling, drag racing, etc.. at 500HP.


the biggest issue in these trans is the converter, so get a good converter. Single or triple is fine. If you think you HAVE to have a triple, than you are making more than 500 and/or sled/drag and putting the truck through the ringer.

Ive done quite a few of these trans, and a good converter and just a stock type rebuild with good clutches and steels and a few mods to the valvebody, and its good to go for 500HP.

My truck is in the 500HP neighborhood, but don't sled pull. Im hard on my truck and Im running the stock input, intermediate and output.

My trans is basically a 47RE, with some 48RE parts in in it. Oil pump, planetaries, but a 47RE valve body with some mods.
I ran it like that with stock converter, and would blow through the converter under boost/heavy throttle.

Yanked it, threw a single disc in, and Ive been good to go since.

Most of the rebuilds I do, are along those same lines: Good converter, clutches, etc...

Don't get me wrong, if you can afford the billet, sure, now is the time to upgrade. Go for it. That way one day when you actually need it, you have it.

Same with triple over single. If you can afford the extra coin, there is no harm in going that route and will only help.

The reason Im chiming in is, is because if you are asking how much its gonna cost you in labor for rebuild, to me, that's saying you need to budget your money.
Nothing wrong with that. That's why I threw a stock converter back in my truck.
Of course, it didn't take me long to realize that was a screw up on my part.
The ONE thing you HAVE to have, is a good converter.

I dare say, that if you yank the trans BEFORE it starts slipping on you, and you screw it up, if you yanked it, plopped in a good converter, and your trans cooler is up to snuff, the trans would last longer than you can imagine.
The converter is our biggest culprit in these trans. They suck, for lack of a better term.

 

[tyoneil54]

Thank you for the very detailed input!
I don't know exact numbers but I am going to be right around 500hp when it comes back from the shop, so I am really worried about how much longer my tranny will have.
And yeah I deffinitely need to set money aside for a while to do a rebuild, I can't afford to drop 3-4 thousand right off the bat.

I really don't like to cut corners i would rather do it right the first time, and do a triple converter and billet input
I don't pull often, usually once or twice a year I do the pulls at the fair, that's it
But I would rather have the tranny done one time and never have to worry about it again.
I called the local trans shop and they said probably about 3000 for a rebuild, so I will have to see what that gets me exactly.

 

[Gen414]

Thank you for the very detailed input!
I don't know exact numbers but I am going to be right around 500hp when it comes back from the shop, so I am really worried about how much longer my tranny will have.
And yeah I deffinitely need to set money aside for a while to do a rebuild, I can't afford to drop 3-4 thousand right off the bat.

I really don't like to cut corners i would rather do it right the first time, and do a triple converter and billet input
I don't pull often, usually once or twice a year I do the pulls at the fair, that's it
But I would rather have the tranny done one time and never have to worry about it again.
I called the local trans shop and they said probably about 3000 for a rebuild, so I will have to see what that gets me exactly.

For $3000, WITH a billet input and triple disc, that's CHEAP. I could see that IF you yanked trans, and delvired it to them, and them doing it that cheap.

But, for them to yank/rebuild/install AND use those parts...$3000 is super super cheap.

Billet input is in the $700 range. Triple is $1200+ So, that is $2000 right there. So, basically paying $1000 for a shop to yank trans, rebuild it, and put it back in. Cheap.
Not saying they wont, but I would ask to see the input and disc unless you know these guys REALLY good.

Again, Ive been doing this for a LONG time, and I know its hard to find a repair shop that doesn't rip people off. They are everywhere, and you will have to excuse me if Im a little hesitant when I see that price they are charging you.
Not saying it cant be done...just saying, that IF they are doing what they are saying, then you are getting a great deal.

 

[tyoneil54]

I don't think the 3k included triple disc and billet input I think it was just a basic rebuild with a regular converter

 

[Gen414]

I don't think the 3k included triple disc and billet input I think it was just a basic rebuild with a regular converter

Ah, Ok. That makes more sense than. Still a good price to be honest with you. As long as there is some type of warranty (any trans shop worth their weight will offer AT LEAST a 1 year warranty, and most are 2-3 years), you cant argue with that price. Its a good deal.

 

[tyoneil54]

http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=221159931355

http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=370753819565

I was looking at getting this rebuild kit and shift kit, I don't know if that's really what I should be getting or not but from what I read it seems good.

I just want something I'm not going to have to worry about

 

[rghavana]

I would be very careful buying any parts of that importance from ebay, there a lot of blemish /counterfeit parts out there.
Since it sounds like you wont be doing install, Do yourself a favor and try and find a local, reputable experienced performance cummins diesel trans builder/installer and discuss your goals.
That way you get parts that work well together, I.e., you don't want to put certain convertors in with certain valve bodies/servos etc.
Just piecing different kits/parts together is usually asking for trouble.
If you are in need truck for DD. you could just buy a built trans, have shop check condition of your coolers/flush lines and swap, take 4-8 hours if shop has experience doing them.
Prebuilt with billet input, billet flexplate triple disc convertor $4-5k.
There are quite a few options i.e. ATS, BD, Firepunk Garmon. Goerend Revmax, etc, do some research.
Good local builder should know that all of these companies will also sell parts, that they can use to build your trans.
Do search on here for local fellow CF members they should know .

 

[tyoneil54]

I would be very careful buying any parts of that importance from ebay, there a lot of blemish /counterfeit parts out there.
Since it sounds like you wont be doing install, Do yourself a favor and try and find a local, reputable experienced performance cummins diesel trans builder/installer and discuss your goals.
That way you get parts that work well together, I.e., you don't want to put certain convertors in with certain valve bodies/servos etc.
Just piecing different kits/parts together is usually asking for trouble.
If you are in need truck for DD. you could just buy a built trans, have shop check condition of your coolers/flush lines and swap, take 4-8 hours if shop has experience doing them.
Prebuilt with billet input, billet flexplate triple disc convertor $4-5k.
There are quite a few options i.e. ATS, BD, Firepunk Garmon. Goerend Revmax, etc, do some research.
Good local builder should know that all of these companies will also sell parts, that they can use to build your trans.
Do search on here for local fellow CF members they should know .

yeah i hear what youre saying about ebay, but i have had this rebuild kit on my watch list for several months and they seem to sell a lot of them, and they continue to re-list the item when it expires. they also have a very good feedback rating.
this kit is pretty much just clutches and seals.
seems like it would save me a good chunk of change to go with it, compared to buying a big brand kit such as ATS or BD