jupman

Hello all. I wanted to get some advise on my truck. 2007 ram 3500HD 5.9 70k miles. The miles reflect at least 60k miles of heavy towing. I am a contractor and have a heavy fifth wheel camper that we use for camping as well.

I have a band that needs to replaced. Its at the dealer now. They are telling me that the trans has to be dropped to replace. The cost will be 1100.00 to replace one band ! He says he tried to adjust the band with no luck. Still has trouble finding second gear.

My question is since it is going to cost so much I am going to go ahead and overhaul the whole thing including a new torque converter with a low stall. What do you guys prefer as far as brand of converter and clutches without breaking the bank. Thanks!

Z-MAN

Welcome to DTR. Is it the rear or the front band that you need to have replaced? I'm asking because I just ordered my front band from wittrans for 22 bucks and it will take me about 2-3 ours to replace it without dropping the tranny. $1100 sounds like a ripoff to me. Check ATOtransmissions.com. Good luck.

jupman

Its the front band. Its at a Len Stoler Dodge dealership.

rich

wait isnt the drivetrain covered under warranty. If not i would run from that dealership cuz they are raping you on the charges to r&R the tranny. it shouldnt be more then 6 hrs labor and surely a band doesnt take more then a hr to change with the tranny out.

jupman

Its a 2007 with 71k miles. No warranty

John_P

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jupman:

Welcome to the website Sir! Sorry to hear you are having troubles with your transmission but it doesn't really surprise me.

No offense to DTR Member Z-MAN, but if it is your FRONT BAND,...you cannot replace that without removing the transmission. I know because I have two (2) Dodge CTD Pickups (1996 and 2006) and I just replaced my front band along with other worn parts in the 2006 with 162,000 miles on it.
FWIW,....your front band rides over the front drum and if the band wears down below the rivets it will start to chew into the metal on the front drum and that metal willgo through and into the trans cooler, the torque converter and your valve body! So,....I wouldn't wait too long to fix it Sir.

Also, the $1,100.00 price you were quoted sounds high to me. There are shops here and individual technicians near me that would do the work for less than that, so I would shop around some. I also wouldn't "just replace the front band." I suggest having the shop or tech do a thorough inspection of the clutches in all areas, forwards, high reverse and overdrives along with the drums and seals. If you already have a worn front band at 71K I can almost guarantee other parts have heavy wear too.

Good luck to you.

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John_P

jupman

I am just having the tech replace the band with a stock band unfortunately. I am rushed for this repair. I hope it lasts me a year or so then I may build the tranny tougher or just get a late model 3500 with the different tranny they are running now. How reliable are the trans that are on the 2013 3500's ?

SOhappy

You can ask in the 4th gen section, but I've only ever heard of one 68RFE failing on this forum and the truck was modded (no warranty as a result).

The six-speed autos are proving to be very reliable with stock power & programming. Together with the much improved two/haul mode and the integrated exhaust brake the 4th gens are worth putting up with the shortcomings of the 6.7 if you ask me.

That said, your 48RE front band should have lasted at least 150k. I bet somebody over-tightened it, or maybe a fluke manufacturing defect caused its premature failure.

SOhappy

This other thread claims you can replace the front band without dropping the tranny.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...t-t313674.html

John_P

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Yeah,....I read your link but I sure wouldn't want that "replacement band" in MY Dodge CTD Pickup!! Like I said earlier,....if Jupmans' front band is worn @ 70,000 miles I can guarantee you he has other components in that transmission that are worn equally as bad and JUST replacing the front band is NOT going to last! I have done these transmission "tune-ups" many times on four Dodge CTD Pickups and doing a procedure as shown in your link is just a "Band-Aid" Fix in my honest opinion.

Z-MAN

Finally I had a day off just for myself and I took the time to replace the front band without having to drop the tranny, but only the valve body. It took a little bit of grinding, not that bad or impossible like others said. I'm posting this just to help in case you have any doubts when you decide to do it yourself. It saved me a good sum of money.