Generally people won't post on a forum how great their transmission is holding up, and how much they love it. They will post about the problems they have. If you go to a D-Max site, I'm sure you would find plenty of posts about how the Allison didn't hold up.

It has nothing to do with being sensitive, you simply posted false information, and people with first hand experience are correcting you.

My best advice would be drive both, and whichever one you like better take home. But with either tranny, expect to put some work into it, if you go over stock rwhp levels.

 

I believe I have to agree with this^^^. Forums shed many bad situations for a reason. They are both great trucks, you just have to determine what you want most out of a truck.

 

Funny how these things get carried away with just a simple thread question. Wow.

Dmax/Cummins/Ally/48re are all great. All in stock form. Start adding power to them and expect trouble. Thats it!!!

 

I have a 06 duramax & a 06 dodge. The Ally is much more refined . After saying that, I can`t say that it is a better trans. I have had no trouble with either. I have 90,000 on the dodge & 49,000 on the GMC. The difference in the mileage tells which one I like to drive.

 

No complaints about the 48re here. Over 80k and no probs but at stock power. Trans has been worked but not beat. Does seem to shift a little hard and I can see where a 6 speed would be nicer at times for getting the power to the ground. The 48re is not junk, its a good transmission, but start adding power and you will have to do some upgrades or youll be playing with fire. Its my impresssion the allison will take a little more power stock before needing work, but repairs are much more costly.

 

dang, i must agree with the original poster here. many of you are overly sensitive. yes the 48re is a good tranny with stock power. add much if anything to it and they don't hold up very well. i have seen one or two of you in this thread that have "built" 48re transmissions. why is that??

 

couldn't agree more!!

 

Go and visit the Dieselplace and you will find the same thing. Anyone adding more than a 100 hp adder are beefing up the Allison just as much. Its as much a prevention thing as much as a repair IMHO. I would rather repair first than be stranded. I think this thread is clear in that if you go above stock, don't expect the stock drive train to handle it.

 

Lil dog, since I'm pretty much set on a 07.5 and up Cummins tell me about your 08 Mega Cab... I'm much more interested in hearing about the 68FRE than the 48RE.

 

correct me if im wrong and not sure on either of the engine but as far as the tranny goes arent the durmax guys with big power now running 48re built and called dura-flights in there trucks

 

Well, where to start..

I have been waiting to catch one of the 6.7's, the later release so I got a late 08 version. Some searches here and other sites will fill that in, but it has most (not all) of the quirks worked out for the emissions controls.

68RFE, not much to tell really. Reports out show it to be comparable (good or bad) to the 48 with internal integrity. The TC seems to be the weak link with about the same limit as any other at about 60-90 hp increase. Problem is aftermarket parts are not as plentiful and double the cost. Still if you look hard enough you can find guys loading the 140 hp tunes and say it works fine. I won't try it.

I don't intend on using it for HP shows, but to tow my TT and haul the family. The 6 spd is great for my first automatic ever... Shifts are firm and make use of the torque band. The Exhaust brake and T/H mode is far more useful than the tranny brake setup in the Allison. After driving both, the EB has more hold back and is more user friendly day to day. The selectable gear range is also cool to keep it from lugging down. It hauls my mid sized TT (28 ft) with no real hassle.

I had a delay in getting into the EPA strip show, but I expect mileage to be back to what I am used to with the 12V after that.

So far so good.

 

90K miles with a bone stock 48RE, probably more than half of them towing, no problems. Ever. No attitude, just facts. Would I like the new 6 speed automatic? Sure, why not, but the fact that it's not attached to a 5.9 with no DPF and all that other garbage is a deal breaker for me.
I've driven a few LBZ equipped Chevy's, and they're really nice, but at the end of the day if I had to do it all over again I'd still go with the 5.9/48RE combo.

 

I was really worried about the 48RE when I bought my truck, but after 70,000 miles I'm not worried about the trans anymore. I ran it with the programmer set high enough that it was on the edge of slipping the converter for lots of miles. Then added the trans go shift kit, now I run around on smarty level 9, trans feels solid, just a really loose converter until it locks up.

I'm not sure where I'm gonna go with the truck, I'd like a tighter converter. Performance stuff gets out of hand pretty quick if you're not careful.

 

I had an 03 HO with the 48RE... HATED that transmission just like the 47RE I had before it in a 96. Sure, it's durable (stock truck for 60k miles), most of it was towing. But inefficient as hell. I had the 4.10 gears too, which didn't help. It got pretty rotten fuel economy as well. The hole between 3rd and 4th was majorly annoying.

I now have a 6sp 05 that I love, but I want a GearVendors for it.

If I got a new truck, I would look seriously at the new automatic, but I dunno if I'd get one or not, just because I know the 6sp can take the extra power. But since a new truck isn't something I'm getting anytime soon, it doesn't matter.

IMO, get the Cummins. You'll love it.

Rob

 

After seeing the upgrades to the interior of the 2010 model and having the option of getting a full size crew cab with an 8 foot bed, I think I may have made up my mind! Just need to see wait and see if MADS can crack the ECM so I can have a smarty and delete all the emissions crap.