Aisin Shifting

[JR]

GS only tows downhill... you don't need as much power OR robustness for that.

Sometimes things soak in slower as I get older... I think I AM a member of the Ram, Cummins, and AISIN Cult. And most followers are members of the Royal Order of the TDR. Heil the leader (Ram, Cummins, Aisin)!

Cheers, Ron Grand PooBah

Grand Poobah, my comment certainly wasn't meant as a jab or a personal rift towards you or anyone specific. It was just an observation, someone asks why for, cuz it's a real tow beast and all else is inferior!

Kinda comical actually if you think about it

 

[Wiredawg]

Grand Poobah, my comment certainly wasn't meant as a jab or a personal rift towards you or anyone specific. It was just an observation, someone asks why for, cuz it's a real tow beast and all else is inferior!

Kinda comical actually if you think about it

Yep, it is comical, ain't it? No jab taken... just good fodder for banter. Every now and then when things get slow, I'll bait the Ram 3500 pickup boys with a little My Ram 5500 is the BEST tow machine known to man" there's about three times I got that beehive going.

EDIT: Hey JR, I just reread my post # 32 and I did sound a little curt. Sorry bout that. I was sitting in a burger joint Chris Madirids with my BIL and niece waiting on one of the best burgers in the world, whilst posting... definitely could have done better on my tone. Anhoo, all is good in the grand TDR.

Cheers, Poobah

 

[dieselshadow]

They are definitely bigger, both dimensionally and weight. Aside from what you mentioned there is also the PTO. They account for a lot of mass.

I think you are largely still missing the point i am trying to make. I didn't chime in to try and justify what "I" bought. In fact it has nothing to do with the 68rfe and everything to do with the Aisin, the one that so many have commented on asking "is this right?" And it isn't just new guys either. There is a very respectable member who i wont name that has had probably more experience with MD stuff than most here. He has had his in to get looked at for these very issues. At one point he wrote "I've simply learned to ignore it".That's not right, not normal, and not characteristic of any properly tuned automatic transmission regardless of rating. I'm sorry, but it just isn't.
And he isn't alone. Another long time member that changes trucks like some guys I work with change underwear sold his Aisin truck for a 68 because the shifts drove him nuts. There's definitely something more than just explaining away, "it's a real trans".

Maybe it's just Ram and Aisin not working together to get the tuning right. It seems hit and miss with some owners having a finnicky unit and others not. The bad thing is, nobody even knows what else these transmissions are run in So there's nothing else to even compare to. That's another head scratcher. Eaton, ZF, and Allison have their units available across multiple truck manufacturers and are very modular in the aspect they can be upfitted to multiple platforms.

My apologies, my post wasn’t accusing you of anything, at least that wasn’t my intention.

“Real trans” and tuning IMHO are two completely separate issues. I agree, it seems the new 19s in some conditions have what appears to be a tuning issue. My truck doesn’t exhibit that. Mine shifts firm and when it’s supposed to, or rather when I’d expect it to.

It does seem that some are getting sensitive to the phrase “real trans” as though it’s making a mockery of another trans or another person’s buying decisions. Please don’t take a statement like that too harsh. Again, I certainly don’t mean it that way if I said that, I might have.

But this in the end it is very simple. The 69 is a medium duty transmission and the 68 is a light duty transmission, at least as far as ratings go. Both have had issues depending on year and application.

 

[SnoKing]

Yep, it is comical, ain't it? No jab taken... just good fodder for banter. Every now and then when things get slow, I'll bait the Ram 3500 pickup boys with a little My Ram 5500 is the BEST tow machine known to man" there's about three times I got that beehive going.

Cheers, Poobah

So you want to play with the other Ron on his 17% grade?

 

[JR]

No apologies necessary. Its better when one sticks to facts and leaves opinion out of the equation, although I know I'm certainly guilty of doing just that.

 

[Wiredawg]

So you want to play with the other Ron on his 17% grade?

I might just delete the post and deny I ever did it. Let there be peace in the kingdom.

No apologies necessary. Its better when one sticks to facts and leaves opinion out of the equation, although I know I'm certainly guilty of doing just that.

And that is the challenge here, particularly when you can have 5 drivers test drive a single truck and have 5 or at least a couple completely different opinions. Although I love the way my 5500 drives, it's not my daily driver... I bought it to tow heavy.

Finally, consumers seem to be buying up the new HO/Aisin Rams... Lots of 68RFEs to be had few Aisins to be had.

So, until the next enlightening Aisin thread,

C-ya, Grand Poobah

 

[JR]

Finally, consumers seem to be buying up the new HO/Aisin Rams... Lots of 68RFEs to be had few Aisins to be had.

C-ya, Grand Poobah

Poobah, its statistics, statistics, statistics. It's a numbers game in that aspect. All 2500 and most 3500 come equipped with a 68. I can most confidently say this is 100% true in this area, at least. I spent
close to two years looking for a good used truck, both private and dealers. I can count on one hand the number of used Aisin trucks I came across in that time frame that weren't C&C trucks.

 

[Wiredawg]

Yep, that's my point... San Antonio dealerships cant keep HO/Aisins on the lot and what I find very interesting is all the Limiteds optioned with everything cept the HO and Aisin, talkin $81K MSRP trucks. Sorry, but if I was aiming for the moon, I wouldn't settle for low orbit. The only 3500 CC, dually 4x4 with HO/Aisin last week was a 2019 Tradesman marked down to $50K... and it got snatched up fast. There's a whole bunch of 2500s to be had for great prices.

I guess I could go back and read your previous posts, OR I could come clean and admit I don't know which transmission you have in your 3500...

Cheers, Ron

 

[JR]

There are exceptions to every rule, but numbers don't lie. Big picture stuff

 

[Wiredawg]

You're right there are more 68RFEs being produced, however I'm right our dealers can't keep Aisins on the lot. I didn't mean to imply differently, just one seems to be in short supply and the other not. Plain and simple. The only way I could agree with you stronger is to add experlatives (cussing for fellow necks). Is the gallery in full agreement?

Cheers, Ron

 

[TFucili]

The only way I could agree with you stronger is to add experlatives (cussing for fellow necks). Is the gallery in full agreement?

Cheers, Ron

More cussin' oughts ta work!

 

[Wiredawg]

wait, I need a couple more beers to get good an wound up... cuss'ns an artform.

 

[High Voltage]

75K Miles, does it all the time, just put my foot into it..

 

[gsbrockman]

wait, I need a couple more beers to get good an wound up... cuss'ns an artform.

No TRUE redneck needs adult beverages to rev up.

 

[Wiredawg]

I drank big boy beers, and some JD

 

[AH64ID]

Granted I don't have much seat time with auto trans in HD pickups but my Aisin shifts exactly how I expect a truck to shift. If it shifted any softer I'd be worried, not happy. It firm but not harsh, as it should be. Smooth seamless shifts are sloppy and waste power or they add heat.

I wonder if the programming issues are slow to fix because the Aisin programming is standalone and likely not conducted by Ram.

 

[SnoKing]

I ran a test on the way to Lowes this afternoon. Getting a little lively with it without TH and with TH, the shifts were around the same running empty. I do have the issue rolling up to a stop sign going up hill and get back on it, and it hunts to first gear with a firm engagement when it finds first. A full stop and brake application pause fixes this issue.

 

[Cummins12V98]

My 68 and AISIN I ran the hell out of both. My Dad did also with his 12.

All three trans shifted solid with no flairs etc.

Service Manager at DS told us to run the hell out of our trucks. Served us well right out of the box.

 

[gsbrockman]

My 68 and AISIN I ran the hell out of both. My Dad did also with his 12.

All three trans shifted solid with no flairs etc.

Service Manager at DS told us to run the hell out of our trucks. Served us well right out of the box.

Your truck must have “Unicorn” programming then.

I’ve owned three AS69RC units.....and they ALL exhibit shift flare.

 

[Wiredawg]

Your truck must have “Unicorn” programming then.

I’ve owned three AS69RC units.....and they ALL exhibit shift flare.

Greg,

Despite my BEST efforts, I can't seem to help learning something new EVERY day. I had to look up shift flare to see what it is. Afterwards, I was trying to figure out if I have it or if I have the 2nd Unicorn software truck . I guess I haven't noticed shift flare, so not sure what exactly I'm missing. Can you please explain the conditions where you see this and how much RPM swing are we talking about. Now don't git too technical on me, I'm just a kuntry boy in TX.

Chee-eers, Ron