Diesel4blood

What do you guys have and what do you prefer? Why? I'm trying to decide if the expense of going from an A618 to a NV 5600 is worth it.......................................

Driving up the ALCAN.............................

Tate

I won't own a daily drive auto. Even for a toy, I'd shy away. But thats me. I love my G56 tranny.

cj360trider

the auto will give you good service if its built correctly. good internal components shift kit and billet torque converter

Fiftygrit

I have towed for half my mileage 100k and so far the 48re has worked just fine, I dont race, I just take it easy and service it every 30k miles and so far so good. Only a 36ft 5th wheel. around 12k lbs.

Diesel4blood

It's good to know these things from Automatic tranny owners! I have a 35 foot travel trailer with a 10,000 lb limit. How much have you tranny owners spent on upgrades?

cj360trider

i built my trans myself and bought a reseal kit for around $75 at Whatever It Takes Trans Parts and $360 for a Precision low stall billet TC. spent about $100 on my transfer case rebuilding it

Fiftygrit

The only thing I have done is a MagHytec double deep pan, she holds 24 quarts now.

patdaly

Ive had both, but my Auto was stock. No way I would keep it with a stock Auto. Unless you know what you are doing, get a good Auto from one of the name builders, or swap in a manual.

9812vram

You'll get a lot of opinions asking a question like that, and probably few facts.
For what it's worth: It's ALL personal preference. Auto's typically get a bad rap because in stock form they are too mushy and tend to be a little unreliable when worked hard/hot . However, a properly built auto will handle as much and arguably more than the manuals and last a long long time if maintained properly. Add a lower stall billet converter and you've got a solid trans that shifts itself. If you prefer to do the shifting on your own time, don't want the maintenance of an auto (regular fluid changes, band adjustments, etc.) or you like the low RPM Cummins rumble, then a manual is what you're looking for. Keep in mind, the manuals have weak spots also, but as with the auto's these weak spots can be fixed/upgraded too. My truck had a nice mushy factory auto that somebody else beefed up a bit. It was ok until I wrecked it hauling gravel. I am currently beefing it up more and adding the ultra low stall triple disk billet converter. My last truck had a built auto trans with a shift kit.
My Opinion: I'd prefer a manual trans, but with that said: I'll take a built auto with a good shift kit any day of the week.

Diesel4blood

Good replies by all! I knew this question would bring many different opinions and mine is that I prefer a stick shift. But the Automatic A618 is what I own and it hasn't given me any problems so far and building it could be a better deal than trying to convert to a stick because of cost! Not to mention that all the parts for the A618 are here which makes things easier!

I will keep using the truck as is for now and taking care of the Automatic. I would have to find a standard tranny in either a Getrag or NV to get the 6 speed I want.

I had thought about building the automatic I own and installing another tranny fluid cooler behind the one that already on the truck and putting a 12 volt cooling fan on that to bring trans temps down. I currently have a trans temp gauge and it has only gone to 205F degrees and that was only on days when the outside temps hit 110F plus outside!

It typically operates around 175/180F and hits 195F when towing on flat ground............................................ ..........

And those temps are in our Southern Arizona desert. The truck did come with a 10,000 lb Reese Ease lift hitch when I bought it second hand.............................................. ...........

zthatzmanz28

Towing 13K 5er between NC and MI along I-77.
Spent $20 in upgrades--Potentiometer and lock up switch.
Trans will need refreshing next spring after a fuel plate, AFC and 5X12 injectors and since we will be going west for the summer. We will be looking at new clutches, TC and flywheel.

DC199512V87

cant imagine not having a 5spd in mine except shifting when racing slows u down......

Diesel4blood

I would go with a 6 speed if I were to swap out the tranny. I'm currently leaning to having my A618 built up with a large oil pan and an auzilliary fluid cooler with an electric fan for cooling while slowly going up mountain grades!

I'm in southern Arizona. Anybody have recommendation for a reliable tranny shop that would do a great job building/rebuilding a good working A618 without gouging me? I've never had one of these apart myself...........................................

Diesel4blood

Where do I get a kit to manually control Torque Converter lockup and replace the Throttle Position Sensor?

cj360trider

you get a switch and some wire from auto parts store and find a wiring diagram and put switch into appropriate circuit