transmission Upgrades?

[firemansdiesel]

Should I buy a new transmission or buy a new T/Q with V/B upgrade? I got a quote with labor for the TQ & V/B for $3,000 ( Suncoast). I did not get a quote for the whole new transmission, but I figure add another $3,000. Thanks.

 

[robmints]

First off, I have no idea. But if it was me that was in your situation I would think about how hard I ran the truck, especially with the Banks. I would think about how the transmission has been acting. In other words, are you looking to do trans work because it just doen't feel right anymore, maybe a little shutter or slip that might not have been there when it was new. Most of what I read here, people seem to feel you should do the trans work before you do the power mods. And when you do the trans work you should plan for what power mods you are going to want to do. I would also think about how many miles are on the transmission and if and when do you want to spend the money. If you have 90K on the truck and the transmission is about to hit the dumper anyway you can either do nothing and wait for it to give up the ghost or do it all now if you are ready to spend the money. If you have 40K on the truck and you just got the Banks and you never ran it above some low power setting and never really got on it and the transmission drives like new and you are not the type who is not planning to run the Banks on high power anyway, then you might want the VB/TQ. I'm in sort of the same boat as you but I'm not adding power until I have the blessing of the transmission gurus.



I think it is going to be difficult for those that know to give you any advise without more details, like how you drive and what your plans are.

 

[firemansdiesel]

I tow a ski boat during the summertime. Thats all I really tow. I have 24,000 miles on the truck. The transmission shifts fine so far and I don't use the speed loader level (Only level 5 or 6 except when towing, level 3 or under). I don't race or sled pull. My concern is when I do step on it. I do not want to damage the stock transmission. I am getting roughly 100 hp & 200 tq on level 6. So I am wondering just do a basic upgrade to the transmission and be set. I don't plan on anymore mods.

 

[KevinO]

Do the trans once and do it right the first time. It cost me a lot to tear one up that wasn't a complete build. Plus you get a warranty with a full built one.

 

[TConnolly]

I just wrecked my 2005 7 days after having the transmission built with a Suncoast 3disk TC and dbl sided flex plate, transgo kit / X-treme red alto / kolene steels,... has 3yr unlimited miles / tow weight warranty if interested PM me, or direct email tomconnolly at gophertortoise dot org. Also have intact the Laramie Quad cab med slate, nav radio/ 5. 9L Cummins / Manual transfer case / 3:73 front and SRW / accident took out L ft and rear quarters driver door and bent frame Repairs will take 2 months and I need to work so I replacing with 2007 6. 7L 6spd auto. Not a scratch on me! Was hit by a F150 both trucks moving 40mph they were'nt as lucky.

 

[timroberts]

To bad about your truck,at least you are ok.

 

[DerekW]

my mom got ****** off at me when she brought my truck home after hitting a deer. cuz when I saw the damage she did to my truck about 140 miles from where she was supposed to be with my truck and hit a deer I knew the truck was safe and I knew she wasn't hurt. So the first thing I said was the truck and not her and she was fired up. But she wasn't where she was supposed to be, hit a deer tip toeing across the highway cuz she wasn't paying attention (playing with the sirus radio trying to find a station) looked up and there it was right there in the middle of the 8 lane highway. I knew she couldn't pay for it and she didn't have insurance either. All my money was being spent on performance and I didn't have money for non functional crap. the crappy thing about it was she told my sister and neither she or my sister would tell me what happened. Do you wanna tell me who told me what happened? When she got home with my truck it was dark out and I couldn't see but the great dane started sniffing it really hard for about 10 minutes even crawling underneath it so I got the flashlight and I blew up. lesson learned no matter how safe you know you truck is and the conditions of the incident always say are you ok and then after that is said its ok to start throwing a fit.





SORRY i hijacked your post above but as to the answer to your question about you trans: I have a 2004. 5 I had banks 6 gun with speedloader on it. when the 6 gun with speedloader worked I had a top speed of 70mph at wide open throttle. This was cuz I was slipping either the torque converter or the Overdrive unit on the transmission. AT the time I had that setup I went to the dealer and had them look at slippage when the automatic transmission (48RE in dodges 2003-2007. 5) when 4th gear was applied. I took the tech for a wild ride he noticed slippage and we talked about it. then a few days later I went to pick it up and he claimed nothing was slipping when the entire time the banks was picking up on it and going back to stock power levels. I finally destroyed the 48re when I added more power, had a expensive long distance tow bill and here the transmission sits next to me in my kitchen waiting on parts. I have found my problems I have been having the entire time, so heres all you have to do if you will run 6 gun with speedloader or even a big hoss kit but only tow a boat and drive unloaded with no abuse from competition sled pulling or drag racing with more power than the banks stuff can provide:



Overdrive unit needs to be upgraded with better quality clutches and replace the big like 3inch (cant find in the pile of parts) roller bearing that is located in the the overdrive housing. this roller bearing is notorious for going bad and making alot of noise. Lets see thats pretty much all that the OD part of the trans will need but I reccomend you having a company other than ATS or PATC do this for you as I am dealing with them right now on parts!@#$%^&*() = see below for additional details. you also have to have a aftermarket torque converter and valve body for your useage of the truck. Don't let anyone talk you into changing the input shaft, intermeddiate, or output shafts. FOR YOUR CURRENT USEAGE YOU DO NOT require these expensive items. I personally have put a serious beating on my truck 4 wheeling, stood the truck on it back wheels (2004. 5 QC Long bed DRW), pulled 8,000lbs frequently, used it for sled pulling and drag racing (illegally), burnout competitions, back to back pulling, and also the truck seems to always have the accellerator pedal to the floor where ever I go. Upon disassembly of my stock 48re I have found that all the shafts and other hard parts are in ready race condition other than they are not strong enough for the power I will be building this year.



SO recap torque converter (I will sell you the brand new in box banks I bought 6 month ago as I have decided i will be building above 1200 lbft of torque so cannot using banks must run ATS)



valve body (buy complete beginners need not mess with)



Overdrive unit needs new roller bearing regardless of mileage and upgraded clutches



also remember to adjust rear band at time of valve body replacement. rear band is used for reverse.



Also I suggest adjusting the front band every 15,000 miles if you want to make it last longer than no maintenance. The front band is adjust without dropping the transmission pan. there is adjuster located above the shift linkage mounted on the drivers side of the transmission near one of the transmission lines. procedure is back off nut then run the threaded rod like piece in and torque to 72 in lbs (keyword inch lbs, not ftlbs) then back off 1 and 3/4 rounds tighten jamb nut. as the band wears you are compensating by adjusting for the wear.







!@#$%^&*() = ATS took 1 week with their head up their butt before they decided to ship the parts I have not yet recieved. PATC lists parts on their website for one application dodge but when I recieve it it turns out to be another application (happened with many of the parts in the 2 different orders from them) also they have been opening up clutches and packaging the with the steels that have oil from the machining process still on them so I have been recieving contaminated clutches that all I can do is throw in the trash. not to mention the one clutch that had a manufacturing defect that had to be thrown away.

 

[Hoefler]

I just wrecked my 2005 7 days after having the transmission built with a Suncoast 3disk TC and dbl sided flex plate, transgo kit / X-treme red alto / kolene steels,... has 3yr unlimited miles / tow weight warranty if interested PM me, or direct email tomconnolly at gophertortoise dot org. Also have intact the Laramie Quad cab med slate, nav radio/ 5. 9L Cummins / Manual transfer case / 3:73 front and SRW / accident took out L ft and rear quarters driver door and bent frame Repairs will take 2 months and I need to work so I replacing with 2007 6. 7L 6spd auto. Not a scratch on me! Was hit by a F150 both trucks moving 40mph they were'nt as lucky.

PM sent. Oo.

 

[firemansdiesel]

my mom got ****** off at me when she brought my truck home after hitting a deer. cuz when I saw the damage she did to my truck about 140 miles from where she was supposed to be with my truck and hit a deer I knew the truck was safe and I knew she wasn't hurt. So the first thing I said was the truck and not her and she was fired up. But she wasn't where she was supposed to be, hit a deer tip toeing across the highway cuz she wasn't paying attention (playing with the sirus radio trying to find a station) looked up and there it was right there in the middle of the 8 lane highway. I knew she couldn't pay for it and she didn't have insurance either. All my money was being spent on performance and I didn't have money for non functional crap. the crappy thing about it was she told my sister and neither she or my sister would tell me what happened. Do you wanna tell me who told me what happened? When she got home with my truck it was dark out and I couldn't see but the great dane started sniffing it really hard for about 10 minutes even crawling underneath it so I got the flashlight and I blew up. lesson learned no matter how safe you know you truck is and the conditions of the incident always say are you ok and then after that is said its ok to start throwing a fit.





SORRY i hijacked your post above but as to the answer to your question about you trans: I have a 2004. 5 I had banks 6 gun with speedloader on it. when the 6 gun with speedloader worked I had a top speed of 70mph at wide open throttle. This was cuz I was slipping either the torque converter or the Overdrive unit on the transmission. AT the time I had that setup I went to the dealer and had them look at slippage when the automatic transmission (48RE in dodges 2003-2007. 5) when 4th gear was applied. I took the tech for a wild ride he noticed slippage and we talked about it. then a few days later I went to pick it up and he claimed nothing was slipping when the entire time the banks was picking up on it and going back to stock power levels. I finally destroyed the 48re when I added more power, had a expensive long distance tow bill and here the transmission sits next to me in my kitchen waiting on parts. I have found my problems I have been having the entire time, so heres all you have to do if you will run 6 gun with speedloader or even a big hoss kit but only tow a boat and drive unloaded with no abuse from competition sled pulling or drag racing with more power than the banks stuff can provide:



Overdrive unit needs to be upgraded with better quality clutches and replace the big like 3inch (cant find in the pile of parts) roller bearing that is located in the the overdrive housing. this roller bearing is notorious for going bad and making alot of noise. Lets see thats pretty much all that the OD part of the trans will need but I reccomend you having a company other than ATS or PATC do this for you as I am dealing with them right now on parts!@#$%^&*() = see below for additional details. you also have to have a aftermarket torque converter and valve body for your useage of the truck. Don't let anyone talk you into changing the input shaft, intermeddiate, or output shafts. FOR YOUR CURRENT USEAGE YOU DO NOT require these expensive items. I personally have put a serious beating on my truck 4 wheeling, stood the truck on it back wheels (2004. 5 QC Long bed DRW), pulled 8,000lbs frequently, used it for sled pulling and drag racing (illegally), burnout competitions, back to back pulling, and also the truck seems to always have the accellerator pedal to the floor where ever I go. Upon disassembly of my stock 48re I have found that all the shafts and other hard parts are in ready race condition other than they are not strong enough for the power I will be building this year.



SO recap torque converter (I will sell you the brand new in box banks I bought 6 month ago as I have decided i will be building above 1200 lbft of torque so cannot using banks must run ATS)



valve body (buy complete beginners need not mess with)



Overdrive unit needs new roller bearing regardless of mileage and upgraded clutches



also remember to adjust rear band at time of valve body replacement. rear band is used for reverse.



Also I suggest adjusting the front band every 15,000 miles if you want to make it last longer than no maintenance. The front band is adjust without dropping the transmission pan. there is adjuster located above the shift linkage mounted on the drivers side of the transmission near one of the transmission lines. procedure is back off nut then run the threaded rod like piece in and torque to 72 in lbs (keyword inch lbs, not ftlbs) then back off 1 and 3/4 rounds tighten jamb nut. as the band wears you are compensating by adjusting for the wear.







!@#$%^&*() = ATS took 1 week with their head up their butt before they decided to ship the parts I have not yet recieved. PATC lists parts on their website for one application dodge but when I recieve it it turns out to be another application (happened with many of the parts in the 2 different orders from them) also they have been opening up clutches and packaging the with the steels that have oil from the machining process still on them so I have been recieving contaminated clutches that all I can do is throw in the trash. not to mention the one clutch that had a manufacturing defect that had to be thrown away.

Thanks for the info. I thought the valve body took care of the overdrive unit? It seems the more I add on. I should just buy the whole transmission.

There is a Suncoast authorized dealer 20 min. from me. So I will be going through them. ATS is an hour and half away. To far to leave my truck for acouple of days. Thanks for the Banks offer, but I would rather go with one co. w/ all the parts I need. Instead of mix matching the transmission.

 

[Tryingit]

Since you baby the truck why don't you save your money until the trans is on it's last leg. The banks has built in safeguards that should keep the trans going for years to come. Ours trans can handle a bit more horse power than stock. I've been using a quadzilla standard box on the 60hp setting for over a year. I tow around 6-8 times a year with a 11K fifthwheel for thousands of miles. And yes on occassion I turn up the box to 100hp and will race off from a stop light. I do however change the trans fuild every 25K. The way you use your truck your trans should last you many more years. So save up the money and when the time comes do it right.

 

[osiris]

i have the PDA on SL for about 18K miles then my tc took a dump i would do it now before it gets really expensive i just did a VB and TC see how that holds up so far so good

 

[PSInt]

Have you looked at the Suncoast website lately ??? They offer an Allison 6 speed Auto for the Dodge now. I just glanced at it briefly... . might be worth a look.

 

[Tryingit]

Gorend Bros have the whole transmission for the same price as your Tc/Vb. I've put about 25K on my truck with a module and towing an 11K 5th wheeler several times a year. I have 52K on the truck and the trans still acts just like new. Not a hiccup. I think it has a lot to do with the way you treat your truck. I occassionally switch it to the 100hp setting and race from a stop. I also change the transmission fluid every 25K. Personally I'm gonna wait until the trans fails before spending that kind of cash on a new rebuilt trans. My wife might go for the 4k (doesn't know better) with a damaged trans. But I'm not man enough to ask for 4K to replace a perfect working one.

 

[cclark746]

yes i believe it is still in testing, they told me it would be in between 8k to 10k. now, wait say you buy a totally rebuilt transmission for 6k sure you can make the 48re hold up but it will never be as reliable and have the smooth shifts like the allison, and you gain 2 gears so you must gain MPG. I am saving my money and that is gonna be the ultimate transmission hands down.