the Dodge transmission is the acknowledged Achilles heel of our trucks,
and most of the weaknesses are not easily overcome, unless you just drop $5~6k on a new tranny.

i was doing a GOOGLE for my transmission shudder, and a website from Canada (cant find it now) said the bands must engage/disengage/engage to shift gears, (like the 1-2 band was engaged to shift from 3-4 for some mechanical reason) and the adjustment of the bands affects the smoothness of the shift, but the constant band manipulation is inefficient, and wears out the bands. line pressure is also extremely important, and a few websites said to monitor pressure at several points in the transmission to balance out the flow & maximize performance.

do a GOOGLE for Dodge Ram Transmission Problem

i wonder how much software the 6 speed automatic needs to operate?

is it a stand alone transmission controller?

my local diesel shop said a VB was a waste by itself, and so was a TC by itself,
so you may as well do a complete tranny once you hit 100k (or once you give up on your dealers desire to fix your transmission)

i will be at 100k mid summer, was thinking of putting a tranny on the credit card, and be done with all this shudder.

 

If you give them a list of parts , then you can call that a kit .
But if you go to the dealer with the list , you may as well get the auto built , there prices are just too high .
Go to a junk yard , get a truck with everything gone [ to pay less ] except the trans & all that work it , like peddles , linkage ect.

 

I don't know of anyone that has made the swap. I know a few have talked about it on here. My guess would be for the cost/time you would be better off with a billet trans.

 

nah, it would be more than a straight parts swap.

probably the ECM and several other control boxes in the truck would need to be reprogrammed.

maybe you are right, the OEM's prices are so high, they could not sell the 2007 Six Speed Automatic tranny for less than the $5~6k a built billet tranny costs, so it would be a non starter.

one buddy has a few years old Duramax (02?) that has the Allison tranny. i rode with him from NC to both ends of NY and back. that tranny was awesome, even with 130k on the odo

buddy has a new Silverado 1500 at work, always telling me how cool it is.
so i gave him a ride in the Cummins just now to another building, the tranny was stuttering and shaking. it was pretty embarrassing.

 

A stock transmission is not up to the task, but a little work will greatly enhance its ability. The weak points are really easily addressed and you can address them as you go up in power. You do NOT need $6k to hold moderate power. Total misconception fostered by lack of knowledge.


If they were talking about a 48RE, their blowing smoke and selling parts. There are so many things wrong with that paragraph its not even worth dissecting.


A lot, the 68RFE is totally electronically controlled and uses inputs from other sensors to shift (FE stands for Full Electronic control). It has 3 pinions and more bands than a 48RE and will NOT be as easy to upgrade power thru or time the shifts as well. All the 6 speeds are much more expensive and harder to make work under big power than the simplistic 48RE.


All three statements are wrong for the most part. A VB or TC by themselves are huge help in both addressing the stock issues and helping the longevity. If you need a rebuild at 100k then then there has been sime hard use and/or lack of maintenance involved.

The longevity of your trans is all relative to a couple things; power level, driving habits, service intervals. Its quite easy to build a 48RE to handle 500 HP, work it, and get several 100k of use. All depends on how you rtreat it.

 

correct, i have not studied this as deeply as i could.
but, i rode submarines for 20years, and i learned one thing:
no matter how bad it hurts, do the job right the first time.
don't BS, don't scrimp, don't cut corners, JUST DO IT RIGHT.
most of what I have read about these tranny's is that you will find the weakest link in your rebuild ASAP as inconvenient and far from home as possible.

there's no reason to piece meal it together, then **** it in or out twice and say "well, i guess i coulda shoulda woulda"

take it out once, build it right, put it back in once.

yeah, why i wanted to find the link. this was a guy trying to sell his services, by making it sound too complicated to adjust the bands & pressure points.


agree, everything is very complicated now. thats why it would have to be the OEM to make the software work.

I don't care about massive increased power, but i would like to throw a smarty on it and run a 100hp setting or so

sorta disagree here, see if i am wrong, here's my logic:
-a transmission works on fluid, and an upgraded VB moves more fluid,
the stock TC can't supply that
-an upgraded TC would flow more fluid than a stock VB could handle.

so you "may as well" put in a TC and VB at the same time.

if your tranny has 60~100k on it, you "may as well" do new bands.
if you plan on a smarty or power adder, you "may as well" do a output shaft,
if you are gonna do a output shaft, you "may as well" do a input shaft.


in other words, if the f'in tranny comes out, you "may as well" put it back as bullet proof as your wallet allows.

i drove my 04 like a hot rod.
that's why the carpet is there, so the gas pedal don't clank when it hits the floorboard. in the 2004 at 60k, with the Bullydog on the middle setting, the dealer adjusted the tranny, and said it barely had enough material left to adjust.
i was blowing coal & sucking earth yesterday in my 06 with a little utility trailer and some junk it. it's a CTD, it's gotta roll.

a normal married guy with a wife and kids and a busy schedule, with no ability to lift a CTD enough to get the tranny out every few months (he has to pay to have it pulled every time it sneezes) is better off to pony up the big cash, and be done with it, instead of piece mealing a tranny together


i dunno, if you were local, me and you could do it,
but without some place to get the tranny out,
and someone very knowledgeable to help me rebuild it,

i would rather buy a reasonably priced complete unit, say rated for 500hp, with a warranty, and never worry about it again.

 

I originally tried just a trans go shift kit and it held up well for close to a year dyno and dragracing with 570 RWHP and then I started to be able to slip the trans at will.
I finally just put the cash down to get it built and I can still say that it is the BEST upgrade I have done to my truck. Getting the trans built right made it feel like a completely different truck.
I wouldn't bother with a trans swap because the money invloved in doing the swap would be the same or more than just getting the trans built right.

 

If you can't or don't want to work on the truck yourself, by all means drop all the coin you want for peace of mind. Not trying to dissuade, just saying how much you spend will depend on your use.

I am a cheap SOB and like to get my moneys worth. If it don't need it I'll run it until it does then fix it. I like to see the limits I can push, but do all my own work and can.


Logic is backwards, there is little difference in flow between a stock TC and performance one. The TC doesn't generate the flow, it uses it. The pump generates the flow and pressure, the VB routes and regulates it. Upgrade the VB to raise line pressures and the clutches hold better as does the TC lockup, even with a stocker. An upgraded TC just makes better use of the power in fluid coupling and will hold more power in lockup.

I ran 400+ HP towing and playing for 40k before I noticed a problem. Installed a shift kit an no more TC shudder and slip shift. Got another 15k out of it before the damage done to the direct clutches caused issues. At 107k the trans was pulled apart and the only problem was the direct clutches from the Smarty TQ management and the low line pressures. The front band was perfect as was all the rest of the pieces. Granted, I did not abuse it, used it as hard as I could but know how to run hard and save the equipment. Did I mention I am CHEAP.

If you want to drop $5k on a trans to do 600 HP or less and not race or sled pull, its your choice. I am doing that for half the price and totally satisfied. How fast do ya wanna go and how much can you spend.

 

Jeff K swapped a 6 speed for an auto I think he had a write up somewhere about it.

 

Hes talking about a 68RFE, the new six speed AUTO behind the 6.7...

From what Ive heard, it may or may not ever happen. Im trying to think of the reason why it wouldnt work; pulse modulation or something like that...

Edit: I believe the transmission uses a pulse width modulated signal to determine when it needs to shift. Something like that (Im no electronics or tranny guru by any means )