Transmission is Toast!

[RAton]

My truck is not my daily driver. I start it and let it idle up to temperature about every 2 weeks. A couple of weeks ago I noticed an bad smell when truck was idling. I went to take truck on a trip Saturday and after a few miles I had to back into a driveway and had no reverse. I went to drive back home and as I started up a hill I had no forward gears. I put it in reverse and that worked, so I backed a couple of miles home. Fortunately I live in rural America. Checked Transmission and oil is burnt. No codes. Any idea what would cause transmission to just burn up while idling. Anything thing I should have the transmission shop check? Could I have an electrical problem? I don't want to put a bunch of money into fixing the transmission if a problem elsewhere will just destroy it again. It is a stock 2006 mega cab, with 180,000 miles. It has had regular service performed. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Joe Mc]

With 180k on the original trans you've done well. If you want another 180+ out of it start shopping for a complete trans rebuild and not from the local trans guy or any "chain" shop like (Aamco - ugh). I'd look here on the appropriate forum for your truck and ask what others recommend as far as the vendor. It won't be cheap but it'll last. If you want a patch job so you can sell it then take it to a local trans repair shop. MHO.

 

[RAton]

Joe Mc,

I agree with you and am looking to get a "Bullet Proof" rebuild. I just want to make sure no one has experienced or heard of any reason other than "the transmission" that could have caused the failure. It has been mentioned that bad wiring can cause the transmission to fail. I just want to make sure there isn't something else I need to be looking at.

 

[TFucili]

Are these extended idle periods with the trans in park? IIRC the 48RE has no flow in park, and extended idling should be done in neutral.

 

[AEdelheit]

Are these extended idle periods with the trans in park? IIRC the 48RE has no flow in park, and extended idling should be done in neutral.

The factory VB does not cool in park but the Gorend one does , at least it can be set up to do so as mine was and I highly recommend it.

 

[TFucili]

The factory VB does not cool in park but the Gorend one does , at least it can be set up to do so as mine was and I highly recommend it.

Good info, I didn't know the aftermarket had a solution to this. The OP said his truck was stock, though, right???

 

[DavidC]

Yeah, my DTT circulates in park with the 47re. It's a mod done by the installer.

 

[RAton]

Never would have thought idle in park would be a problem.

 

[cerberusiam]

If you have electrical problems you would have codes and lights on the dash. There is very little electrical control on these transmissions and none that matters that won't show codes. If you have no c odes and shifting has been fine it is just the demise of the typical stock transmission. If you have no forward gears and just reverse likely the direct clutch pack is burnt up, that is the burned fluid source. Nothing electrical can effect that, just cheap OE parts and age. It is also the least number of clutches in clutch pack in the transmission and gets all the load and TQ.

Idling in neutral is only a bad thing in the trans if it idles in park for hours in really hot temps. Not idling in neutral is bad if you don't drive it much, no chance for the fluid to circulate and that can easily contribute to seals in clutch packs drying out and cracking. Fixing the VB to flow n park just charges the TC, that does not fully circulate fluid like neutral or in gear does.

Check with your local builders and see who does what. A 48RE is nothing but a 77 with an OD unit on it, easiest transmission in the world to build without screwing it up if they just pay attention. A $6k transmission for a infrequently driven truck is a waste of $$ unless it is burning a hole in your pocket. If you don't need a bunch of expensive parts and complicated mods don't bother, a good stock rebuild with a shift and few other parts is quite adequate.

A local builder will give you someone to talk to if something is wrong or you have problems in 2 months. Where are you located? Post that and someone migth havea recommendation for you.

 

[DonFitzwater]

I've got literally thousands of hours idle time in 48re equipped trucks and the only transmission failures were directly caused by me. Too much power, too many miles and blamo. As mentioned, the 48re is a relatively simple transmission, get a local shop that does Chrysler stuff and you'll likely not have any problems. I also recommend replacing the servo on the side of the transmission that controls line pressure (I hope I'm describing that correctly, I'm not a transmission rebuilder). I have heard of a couple of those going south and causing slippage leading to transmission failure.

 

[RAton]

Thank you all for the feed back. I feel more confident about getting it repaired. I talked to several shops here in Coos Bay, OR and they all recommend TransFix. After talking to the owner/operator and him describing to me what he does to these transmissions, and how many he has done, I feel confident that he will do a good job. He asked the right questions about how I use the truck and gave me the positives and negatives for each level of rebuild he could do. His quote was inline with buying the rebuild kits you see on-line. He is a very nice person and a local shop, so I feel good about that.

 

[AEdelheit]

I would imagine your options are pretty limited around the Coos Bay area but a decent shop that is easy to work with and stands behind there work will be better then the worlds best transmission builder that you cant get a hold of with any issues or problems.

I did not realize how bad the stock transmission was until I had mine rebuilt, man they drive so much better and get more power to the wheels.

 

[Joe Mc]

I agree with AEdelheit fully! A shop that stands behind their work, can do what you want/need and just seem like good guys is priceless. Also, once rebuilt correctly it'll for sure put the power to the ground, even if no mods to engine, you'll see

 

[AH64ID]

Hopefully the shop gets you fixed up!!

I start it and let it idle up to temperature about every 2 weeks.

Once you're back up and running I would quit this habit. Excessive idling is one of the worst things you can do on a diesel, especially a cold motor. Cummins defines excessive as anything over 10 minutes.

Your best bet would be drive it every 2-3 weeks, but if you can't it would be better for it to sit an extra week or two and then be driven that it would be to idle it to temp.