2003 48RE 1st Gear Issues

[Bob Hartner]

I have a '03 3500 Dually 5.9 with the 48RE transmission with about 170K on it. It recently started slipping and seems to pull poorly in 1st gear and takes much longer and/or much higher RPMs to shift to 2nd. It also revs up & briefly hesitates when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. Once in 2nd, all is good. It downs to 1st when stopping, etc. The pressure solenoid & transducer were replaced with OEM about 40K ago. As soon as the slipping started about a month ago, I had the filter and fluid changed, but it is actually getting worse. I've thought it may be the solenoid & transducer again, but also maybe the bands need adjusting. Looking for advise.

 

[KOG]

I've lost both a 46RH and a 47RH with the same problem. In both cases it was the rear band slipping and then losing its lining resulting in destroying the drum.

 

[cerberusiam]

Rear band is not applied in auto mode, cannot cause slipping if it isn't applied. In auto 1st gear is the forward clutch pack and sprag engaged. If there is slipping it is the clutch pack, if the sprag is slipping it is VERY noisy.