Sludge in Transmission Pan

[Crunch]

Expensive though. They rebuild for 5K. a Certified done in stock is $5800 and a beefed Certified is $7200.

The $5K seems a bit high to me, though it might be attributable to regional differences in business costs. I had mine rebuilt last year for about $3500, out the door in Texas. The base price was $2800, two weeks turnaround though it actually took just over a week. 3 year warranty. My advice would be go with someone you trust, regardless of cost and stay away from the national chain transmission joints. They probably churn through more employees every year than a mom and pop shop does in 5-10 years.

 

[Mike Wenrich]

I agree. I was referred to thjs shop by someone I trust and likely would chose them to rebuild the trans. The warranty does not mean much to me beyond the first year which is all they guarantee because I don't drive this truck a lot of miles anymore. If it doesn't break in the first year it should be good for the rest of my life. Been a great truck so I don't mind throwing some money into it. Still fact finding and have a couple other shops to check but they are further away from me. I will be keeping an eye on the oil to see if it rapidly changes color again after the band adjustment. If so it's going in for surgery.

 

[JReichenbach]

A few years back, I talked to a fellow named Lou Mancinni. Some of you may recognize the name. He was the Chrysler person in charge of inspecting warranty return transmissions back when 47 and 48 transmission's were out. He informed me that the single biggest issue he observed in those returned ones was improper front band adjustment. Now yours has quite a few miles as well as some time on it, so whether I'd want to risk a band aid fix at this point seems risky. I started having issues with my 05 at around 150,000 miles, so just pulled it and had it rebuilt.I the last 80,000 were dragging a trailer around, but I did do filter, fluid and band adjustments every 15,000 miles, and still do. My understanding was that if you got 150,000 miles out of it , you were doing good.

 

[Mike Wenrich]

Yes. Just doing a band adjustment is likely not going to address the clutch (material) in the pan which likely means a rebuild is imminent. 155K on it probably means "something' is going to go bad at the most inopportune time. Or place. I'm still researching shops while I drive it without problems which is a good thing. I have some time to get the best build I can at the best price, and the best shop. The shop I went to suggests a "billet" torque converter but I don't know if that is a low stall high efficiency unit. Will Have to ask.

 

[Killer223]

I find the topic of band adjustment interesting, when I had mine built, my builder Fred Swanson, said you should never need to adjust the bands. I have over 150K on his tow build and no debris in the pan, and bands have never been touched.
that said I'm approaching a service date miles wise and I'll inspect and return with info.

 

[Mike Wenrich]

If you know it would be interesting to advise what he did for a tow build. I hear a lot about valve body change along with a different converter but is there anything else that makes one better than another? The shop I talked to about the Certified brand mentioned he did not see a benefit, in his experience (40yrs) in changing the valve body but I have seen a lot of recommendations for just that. What else can you do in that "band box" to make it better than something that went 150K? Knowing that some people really beef up HP from stock would change things of course but if you are not building a dragster, maybe keeping them stock is okay. I tow occasionally with mine so knowing what "beefing up" means exactly is good info.

 

[BigPapa]

The magic's in the VB.

When my 47RE was built, I put in a Goerend Constant Pressure VB, triple disc TQ, billet input shaft, and a billet band anchor. Everything else was OE parts. It drove well, shifted well, and held to SOME heavy towing with almost 400hp/600ftlb.

 

[Mike Wenrich]

Did you notice a difference in shift with the Goerend TQ? Like harder shifts, etc.

 

[BigPapa]

Everything was "firmer", more solid feeling. Shifting wasn't harsh by any means. This is the magic of Goerend's, the ability to transmit power and torque solidly and efficiently without harshness and without breaking shafts. I sold many Goerend's trannies with just a ride in my truck.

 

[Ozymandias]

The problem with Goerend is that they don't sell trannys.
That was real show stopper for me last fall, you have to go through their installers/rebuilders and that takes a lot of work and the flexibility to maybe wait for months to come to get a your transmission rebuilt.
For me that wasn't possible so I went with SunCoast, they had one one the shelf.
Stage 3 what I don't needed but I bought it anyway in lack of alternatives.

 

[Mike Wenrich]

What did that trans cost from SunCoast? Just curious for comparison. I have not checked yet but a friend mentioned Jasper. I thought they only did engines. Have heard pros and cons on them and they might have the same pricing but I figure some on this forum has tried them. Those would be available to me locally through a shop here and they claim no issues. But I don't know how many they might have done.

 

[Ozymandias]

7500$ for the Stage3 Trans.
Converter and Flexplate included.

Install comes on top.

For your usage the Guardian Serie would be plenty good.
https://suncoastdiesel.com/i-30498403-48re-guardian-hd-transmission-w-converter.html?q=

 

[Mike Wenrich]

And 10% off. That might cover shipping to the left coast. Thank you for the link. These prices are similar to what I got for the Certified so they must compare with each other for the market. Did not see warranty pop up but I can look into this a little further.

 

[Ozymandias]

2 year warranty for the one in the link, 3 year for mine.