Thanks JJPAGE. I really like it and I'm doing my part for the environment by driving a "Green" truck..... LOL. I've got an SRT10 hood on it now but haven't loaded pics here yet.

I need bigger tires too........

 

Exactly right. If you "use" the truck you will use the extra power and it immediately starts chewing on the weak points.

Unless the OE weak points are addressed even 40 HP is too much because the trans is already at the planned obsolesence point with stock power.

Babying the truck and not using the added power doesn't count, its an anomoly that is NOT representative.

 

I never said baby, I said common sense. Rolling into the power, not mashing the pedal is what I would consider common sense. Maybe you lack a little of this and that is why you are an expert on trashing trannies.

Yeah, I don't drive as much as I used to with the price of fuel. I guess it's a good thing since my tranny could go any time now.

 

Mine started slipping the lockup clutch at a steady throttle, not rolling it on, and not full throttle. I have never had to pull a grade at full throttle with this truck and if I did the tranny would be begging for mercy. With my modifications, accelerating up a grade with 18,000 lbs gross at 65 MPH is this trannies limit, but not the Cummins limit.

Before I did some tranny work, pulling grades at about 1600 RPM the clutch would begin to slip and shudder. So I had to start pulling at about 2200.

"Rolling it on" in OD lockup to pass (empty truck, not towing) gave the same results. Shuddering and slipping lockup clutch. Still does with a better TC, VB and 208,000 miles.

I'm definitely overdue for a new tranny.

I still recommend getting a Smarty. And I recommend driving sensibly. I like my truck and don't want to break it. I also don't need to prove I've got the fastest truck on the planet. I'm racking up 1000 miles a week right now and racing just sounds stupid.

 

Bottom line: Adding 40hp WILL NOT damage your transmission. Abuse, including hard launches and towing heavy up steep grades with the TC slipping, will damage your transmission.

Towing heavy in lock-up at highway speeds my transmission doesn't know the difference between 40 extra hp and stock. The temp gauge tells me so.

 

Oh yes it does and your temp gauge won't tell you it knows the difference. You can NOT monitor the problem areas.

Bottom line is stock trans = stock power or start saving. Period.

Add extra power and use it in normal driving\towing and the trans will know it and react accordingly. Been there, done that, got the billet parts to prove it.

 

SO

When the tranny is locked it's not producing extra heat. It's the torque converter unlocked and working that is the main heat producer. Towing unlocked is where you have to have a cooler or you can burn the tranny fluid and ruin it. That's when you need a gauge.

It's the tach, the sound and the shuddering that tell you the lockup clutch is slipping. And it's not about heat, it slips because of too much torque.

The temp gauge just tells you if the torque converter unlocked is working too hard. That's when you're producing heat, unlocked.

That was the problem with the first gen trannies. They could destroy themselves while towing with stock power. They would just get hotter and hotter from the TC working and no lockup.

Third gens don't over heat from torque, but they will slip the clutch with added power.

 

Boy it sure would be nice to have enough $$$ to just drive these trucks like we want and not WORRY about it!! If it breaks, fix it....better yet have two trucks so that you have a spair when one is up on the rack.

 

I can chime in now that I have found the lifespan of a 48RE...

I kept my Smarty jr at 100hp all the time. I drove it that way for a little over 120,000 miles. I had the 1-2 stutter and didn't address it immediately, okay I didn't address it for 40,000 miles... , I put in the new and improved BW solenoid and off I went for more towing and full throttle launches (not many of those...).

I just know that there is a lot of force on the bands when you are grossing at 25,000 pounds and climbing a hill from a stop and the trans is shifting under tremendous power.

I know the power is detuned so the trans doesn't see everything the Cummins has. When you say the trans can't handle additional power, you should realize Dodge knows it can't handle stock power and Dodge limits engine output.

I put a Transgo in my transmission long ago, and I know that helped it last as long as it has. I have gone through one entire front band, down to bare steel, and have a replacement band in now. The TC is finally going as it doesn't fully unlock and I have to put it in neutral at stop signs and such.

48RE 2006 - 2011 / 127,000 miles, RIP.

 

Our 03 so had a few intake and exhust mods and an edge box. the trans is still good but the stock torq didn't stand.