48re power handling

[GHead]

My buddy has an '03 2500 and was wondering if his stock 48re transmission can handle what his "Edge E-Z" puts out.

 

[berman2000]

no prob.

i had a 2004 with the ez, before i had my transmission done. i pulled a trailer full of concrete panels (10k +) and it went 100k before i had to rebuild it. it was slipping a bit, still ran ok, but i sure wasn't easy on her.

 

[cerberusiam]

My buddy has an '03 2500 and was wondering if his stock 48re transmission can handle what his "Edge E-Z" puts out.

Short answer, no.



That said, depends on use and how its driven how long it will last.

 

[berman2000]

cerberusiam....

you dont think so? i'm not a transmission expert, but i did have great luck. i mean i bought the truck with just under 20k, the first thing i did was put amsoil atf in and off i went. i did however and still do change fluid and filter regularly. i dont want to leed anyone astray, so, maybe i should put a cork in it. i did have great luck though, maybe thats what it was. luck. god, i kicked the snot out of that thing, was a little less mature than i am now, but yeah. ok.

i had a donaldson muff, cold air kit and the ez. it was a nice driving rig too! still on the road near me (over 275k) sold to a friend in the construction bus. and he drives it like he stole it. he got a great deal. great transmission also!

 

[ABorgardt]

I was told after asking the diesel mechanic at the dealer where i bought it that everything on the truck will handle whatever you want to put to it (responsibly) EXCEPT the torque converter. It is rated at 700 ft lbs with an engine putting out 600 - 610 ft lbs stock. Not to much room for performance work!!!. I suppose if you watch your transmission temp close enough you could get away with it but i am a big fan of doing things in order. Make it so it can handle the power before you make the power. Besides a torque converter is cheaper than a new transmission!!!!

 

[JDiepstra]

I have been running my Edge Juice on the 60 HP level with no problems. I am up to about 65,000 miles now. I do have a HTS valvebody and deep pan though.

 

[cerberusiam]

I do have a HTS valvebody

And thats the only reason you have not had problems.



Even though the 03-04 trucks are a little better because they have a TV cable to adjust the pressure rather than the TV motor that you cannot adjust, an extra 50 hp and the associated TQ will kill a stock trans. Its only a question of when.



FWIW, Smarty on #3 mild TQ management and 40k equaled rebuild time as it totally smoked the direct clutches due to lack of pressure to hold the TQ. I tow quite a bit so am sure that contributed but even empty you could feel the lack of holding power.



Its a pretty good bet that the addition of any power without some mods to the trans will eventually lead to trouble. Seen it on numerous trucks in addition to mine.

 

[cerberusiam]

I was told after asking the diesel mechanic at the dealer where i bought it that everything on the truck will handle whatever you want to put to it (responsibly) EXCEPT the torque converter.

Actually the TC is not that bad and will handle some uprated power. The real problem is the lack of line pressure to hold the power. The TC clutch and the direct clutches will not hold if you hit it too hard and then they generate heat that hastens their destruction. Up the pressures enough to hold better and their life span is exponentially greater.



You will eventually kill the converter but have seen them go well over 100k just beating them to death with power and towing to see what they would take. The key is getting the line pressures up and getting clutches to hold better. A simple shift kit and a couple of small billet pieces makes a huge difference.

 

[Tinman]

I think the stock trans and stock turbo are pretty much maxed out at stock power. I upgraded both before I added any real power. You'll be suprised at how well the truck runs with stock power and a good trans. With the stock TC, most of your power goes to heat trans fluid, not forward motion. Without a good trans, more power kinda pointless IMO.

 

[berman2000]

guys........

listen, i have a 2006 w/48re. it is at about 440hp/770+tq. i had it on a dyno early this summer 410hp/740tq... ... ..... stock transmission! yes, stock transmission! it has just under 60k now, just did a transmission filter and amsoil last night. guess what, it runs like a raped ape. so, tell me, how can you say it cant hold the power. i also use it for light towing, on tow setting of course. towing under 8000lbs.

its not slipping it does shift oddly at times, only when i'm not getting after it; i run 295/70/17 tires, but again, explain to me how my 48re doesn't hold the power. oh, i have also gone through 2sets of tires and the present ones have about 20k left of tread..... so you can see i'm not easy on it. again this is the same transmission (48re), that i had on my 2004. on the 2004, i pulled in excess of 10k of concrete panels. so, in my experience (2 48re's) i have had no problems running higher hp. i plan on getting a K&P transmission over the winter. so, maybe its the driver?

 

[ABorgardt]

listen, i have a 2006 w/48re. it is at about 440hp/770+tq. i had it on a dyno early this summer 410hp/740tq... ... ..... stock transmission! yes, stock transmission! it has just under 60k now, just did a transmission filter and amsoil last night. guess what, it runs like a raped ape. so, tell me, how can you say it cant hold the power. i also use it for light towing, on tow setting of course. towing under 8000lbs.

its not slipping it does shift oddly at times, only when i'm not getting after it; i run 295/70/17 tires, but again, explain to me how my 48re doesn't hold the power. oh, i have also gone through 2sets of tires and the present ones have about 20k left of tread..... so you can see i'm not easy on it. again this is the same transmission (48re), that i had on my 2004. on the 2004, i pulled in excess of 10k of concrete panels. so, in my experience (2 48re's) i have had no problems running higher hp. i plan on getting a K&P transmission over the winter. so, maybe its the driver?

I was in no way shape or form implying, nor do i think anyone else on this post was, that the transmission will not hold the power. Asking for advice is exactly what you get. I read this post and thought of what was told to me and thought i would share it here. I agree that the 48re is dodges best transmission yet, aside from a manual, and that it can and will hold the power. the question is not if it will but how long it will.

 

[JimB1]

The 48RE's that seem to fail too easily probably had some internal leaky oil circuits and resulting pressure drops.



48RE's standing up to long time hard work and SOME extra hp with no problems most likely tight low leak internal oil circuits resulting in very little pressure drops.

 

[berman2000]

Ab.........

did not mean to sound nerve-y... . just saying that i have had great luck. i know it is a tough question to answer. there are a lot of things to consider. power, how it is used, even temp. , but yes, it is sometimes a matter of just plain luck. again, there is one thing for certain... ..... with power comes problems. its just the name of the game. now, knowing my luck, it will run out and you'll see my post tomorrow cursing the 48re. :-laf

 

[ABorgardt]

I agree... . it is luck... . i myself have had an 97 5. 9 gasser, an 03 Hemi, and now a 06 cummins since 02 and have put well over 300,000 across the board and have had no problems. I have done performance work to all but the one i am driving now due to lack of sufficient funding. never the less, things do happen and all we can do is try our damnedest to avoid them, even more so the expensive problems... My luck seems to fall to the front axle... and of course i get the axle with the hubs seized to the knuckle. $1500 per side for that.....

 

[CAPN Harley]

ber or ab

This is my first automatic with a diesel and I am concerned also. I am looking at an Edge juice or something like that. How do you know if you are loosing pressure?

 

[cerberusiam]

This is my first automatic with a diesel and I am concerned also. I am looking at an Edge juice or something like that. How do you know if you are loosing pressure?

You don't and won't know you have a problem. The trans will run and shift and work fine up until something happens that severely impacts its operation. If your lucky it happens when your close to home and you can feel a definite problem that needs to be addressed. If it happens when you are towing or racing or whatever it will normally self destruct before you catch it.



You would be very surprised at how much damage a 48RE can sustain to clutches and STILL FUNCTION LIKE IT SHOULD! You simply cannot tell from driving it there is a problem unless you have gauges, are tracking fuel consumption closely, and are intimately familiar with all the previous under varying conditions. Been there, done that, got the pictures and billet pieces to prove it.



If one wants to add 100 hp and/or big tires and drive the snot out of it with a stock auto and delude oneself into thinking the trans is fine, well, whatever gets you thru the day is fine with me.



Reality is a bit harsher. Its not a question of if, its a question of when you will see issues. Its been hashed over quite a few times that the stock pieces are pretty decent and will take some power but the stock setup needs help. As I said before, 2 little billet pices and a shift kit and your chances of trouble go way down, Expecially on the 05 and up trucks.

 

[berman2000]

yep, i second that.

hes right, because right before i hot 100k, i was on te highway, listening to tunes and bang, lost overdrive. thats how it happens, unexpectantly.

 

[JDiepstra]

My Edge Juice with Attitude has a torque converter slip indicator that tells how much it is slipping. It consistently shows between about 8 to 9. 8 percent, which seems acceptable. I have been watching for it to go higher but have never seen 10% or higher.

 

[cerberusiam]

My Edge Juice with Attitude has a torque converter slip indicator that tells how much it is slipping. It consistently shows between about 8 to 9. 8 percent, which seems acceptable. I have been watching for it to go higher but have never seen 10% or higher.

It lies. :-laf:-laf



You do realize that showing that much slip when the TC is locked is a bad thing, right?





The monitors read slip as the difference between engine rpm's and transmission output shaft speed. I have yet to see or hear of one that reads zero slip in lockup so the electronics leave a little to be desired. Most read 2-3 percent and that seems to be the norm for a good trans. Reading 8-9 percent slip, well, the only question is when is it gonna die.



On the other hand, slip monitors are a bigger lie-o-meter than the over head mpg so who knows.

 

[TMax]

All we can do is guage from our own experience. Do I think the stock transmission will handle the added power? Maybe so... maybe no. I know that mine didn't with the Smarty on 70 xtra ponies. I didn't drive hard but I could accellerate on the freeway and feel it slip (tach moving and speedometer not moving or moving but alot slower). When I put the new VB and TC in, it was night and day. The new TC has a lower stall and you can tell it is a better match for the Cummins torque curve. Believe it or not, the tighter TC made a milage improvement just because it was using less throttle to move the truck. So... do you need a new TC now? Maybe not but my bet is that you will sooner than later if you add any HP to the equation.