My 2004 48RE tranny starting acting up. It was not shifting at the right point from 1st to 2nd gear. Otherwise it was pulling strong and running like a top.

I took it to a local diesel only repair shop. They just called and told me my whole tranny is shot. They tell me there is clutch material in the pan (BTW... I was running a MagHytec DD pan with 5 gallons of Amsoil synthetic). They tell me #2 band is shot which I do not understand since second gear was pulling strong.

Does this seem right? They want to put in a new tranny.

IT ONLY HAS 85K MILES ON THIS ONE!

 

I do want to add that this truck does not tow anything and has never been over 90MPH. It has never been hotrodded and I have been the only driver.

 

You could always get a second opinion. Good luck!

 

UNDER WARRANTY? sounds a little suspecious but hey, bottom line is... do you trust them? 2nd Band is toast? How would they be able to see it without total take-apart?
I'd probably work on it myself, check the various pressures, clean the pan, dump in some new fluid and then check it again. When was the last service? Anything in the pan then?
Just to let you know, it could be from the converter also, not just bands in the trans.
I roasted my forward and front drum clutches and just dropped the trans and replaced them without a complete rebuild, but I replaced the converter as well cause it showed lots of heat... and that was 40K miles ago, so you don't necessarily need a COMPLETE rebuild but that's the suggested path since no-one would guarentee any work without going completely thru it. Keep in mind if the filter does it's job then nothing should've got into things beyond normal small particles. I just used my siphon air nozzle and some clean solvent and sprayed out everything inside the case and let it dry good before going back together.
Of course I used new Kolene steels and Red Clutches so I could get more in the drums to carry the torque and HP from my added tuner. I also changed the o-rings, lip seals, and gaskets of the items I changed out. Used the same band and all's good so far.

... and I use my truck to pull a BIG 40' enclosed 3-axle fifth-wheel car trailer and when hooked up for a race weekend event we top the scales at 21K lbs easy.

 

cdennyb,

I flushed the tranny and replaced the fluid with Amsoil Syn at 60K miles. Nothing in the stock pan at that time.

Converter does skip and chatter a little when I get on it with the Banks set to 6. Other then that it runs great all the time until this recent "no shifting" issue.

Might I asked what all that worked cost you? Don't think it is still under warranty. I think back then it was 7years/70K

 

Last year when mine was messing up in 1st and 2nd it was a band according to the Dodge Dealer. It was also irractic shifting from 2nd to 3rd as well.
I think the band fixed the 2nd to 3rd and the pressure solinoid fixed the 1st to 2nd issue. The Torque Converter was showing a 42% slip on the Juice/Attitude when the TC engaged. They missed the TC. Just installed another one a couple weeks ago.

Here is a link to the pressure solenoid: You can buy them local as well.

http://www.transmissionpartsusa.com/...-000053396.htm

 

OK, now I know I must be getting screwed. I was quoted $4500 for a stock tranny and converter repalcement or closer to $8000 for a "better" one.

Does this sound even remotely reasonable.

 

Here some links for tranny prices, good ones.

http://www.goerend.com/transmissions.php

http://www.suncoastconverters.com/do..._products.html

Must be bunches of labor in there at big numbers.

 

I think I did the front end (Front and forward drums) of the trans as detailed above for about this:

gasket and seal set: $100.
Red Line clutches: $50.
Kolene Steels: $35.
Converter was about $200. (stock rebuilt one from local builder, not reseller.)
Fluid: plain old +4 fluid from wal mart $85.
Filter: $20.
solvent: $20.

that's what i remember. It wasn't all that much $$, mostly my time, and sweat trying to get it out and back in and waiting for the converter guy to build what I wanted, single plate disc, extra beffy sprag and bearings... plus the fact I had to work on it after I got home from work at 6pm. during the winter.

 

Well I bit the bullet:

BD 48RE performance tranny with billet input shaft
Multi disc converter
Billet flex plate.

Hope it last a long time.

 

Even with a multi-disc if you don't have pressure (because the filter got dirty and plugged up the flow) it won't lock up solidily and the discs will slip which will destroy them just like a single disc one would. I'm sure you'll have a good long useful life with it. Wish I could afford those kind of toys.

 

I bought my truck used, with 28K miles on it. The previous owner didn't tow a heavy trailer, and rarely towed anything. A year later, it developed an erratic shift at light loads. I took it to the dealer, because it was still under warrenty. When they dropped the pan to replace the governer, the pan was full of trash. At 32K easy miles, they rebuilt the whole thing, and put in a new converter.