Dynamic

I would recommend the test that Bob Georend described, but use a Digital Multimeter to perform the test instead of a bulb. A bulb requires too much current to illuminate. A multimeter requires virtually no current to register a reading. Place the positive lead of the meter on the brown wire (terminal 6 at the transmission connector - refer to the wiring diagram posted above), and the negative lead to a good ground. Make sure that the circuit is active (you're backprobing at this point). You should see battery voltage on that circuit until OD is commanded on, at which point you will see the voltage drop to near zero as the PCM provides a ground for the solenoid.

The oil in my Ford runs between 10-12 degrees hotter than the coolant, pretty much no matter what I'm doing with the truck, so I think you're in the ballpark. I set all of my oil temp warnings (my 6.4 Powerstroke, my 392 stroker Hemi, the late model circle track car I drive) at 230 to get my attention and alert me that things are getting hot, for whatever reason. That then allows me to monitor it closely and see what's going on before things are too out of hand Just my $.02...

You'll need the Superior kit and also the other parts I listed. Just get any decent quality aluminum pan. Mag-Hytek is a very good pan, but spendy. B&M actually makes a pretty nice pan that I've used a fair bit, and won't break the bank. You can order those from Summit racing. Just stay away from the Derale steel pans. Not a good product, in my opinion... Even if you only tow once a year, you need to build the transmission for the task...

Yes, pulling the pan and valve body. The Superior kit would involve disassembling the valve body.

My website is www.dynamictransparts.com. If I were going in there, I would replace the servo, accumulator piston, strut and anchor, like you referred to, as well as the pan itself. I would also install a Borg Warner HD governor solenoid and a new transducer as preventative maintenance of sorts. If you aren't up for a full custom valve body, which would be my recommendation for best performance and functionality, I would install a Superior Shift Correction Kit, with a few specific deviations from their instructions. This would definitely be my second choice, but the Superior kit is far better than the Transgo in the 4-speed Dodges.

While it is impossible to give you much of a diagnosis without being able to feel the shudder, I can say that you can get some driveshaft-related vibrations with a 2-piece driveshaft, especially when towing. Axle wrap, as well as the different drive line angles come into play any time you put a load into/onto the back of a pickup. I can't say that I deal with it on a very regular basis, though. You can try some spacers on the carrier bearing. That won't hurt anything. I know Ford had some issues with that back in the early days of the Super Duty body style, and they were shimming the carrier bearing to take care of it.

DTT uses a TCS servo, accumulator piston, strut and anchor...same as I (and many others) do. I have not had good experiences with their voltage regulator, and there are far better ways to deal with the excessive governor pressure code that can set in the 24 valve 2nd Gen trucks when raising line pressure. Just my opinion... Also my opinion: a custom valve body gives you the best of all worlds. You don't have to make compromises like you do with a "shift kit" or "recalibration kit" of some kind. I can see a few compromises that would have to be made with the components shown in their picture.

Yes, you definitely want to use a torque wrench on the flexplate bolts!

I have had zero problems with either DPC or Goerend when it comes to any rattling noises. I'm not saying that it's not possible, but I haven't seen it, and I use a TON of both. I have, however, had quite a few customers do their own installs and not get the flexplate bolts tight enough and have them start rattling. It's a little bit of a chore to get them tightened and torqued to spec.

What is your transmission configuration? Mods? Converter? Stall speed...?

No typo... I mean that the front of the torque converter will be protruding from the bell housing about 3/4-1" when the converter is fully seated.

There is no oil available at the TCC solenoid until after the 1-2 shift. You have to provide oil to the solenoid from the forward clutch apply circuit. It's not a very hard modification.

Third Gen trucks are quite a bit easier to get the transmissions out of than Second Gen trucks, that's for sure!

The only one I can think of (there may be others) off the top of my head would be a Powerglide. Those have a rear mounted pump.

Yes, when you're installing the converter you're lining up three things; the input shaft to the turbine hub, the stator support to the stator, and the inner pump gear to the converter hub. Whether you get 3 distinct "clicks" or "clunks" may or may not be the case. Just feel for them to line up. When the converter is in all the way, the front cover will be sticking out of the bell housing about 3/4" - 1" or so.

Not that I've ever experienced, but I can't say I've spent much time trying. I suppose it's possible, but it doesn't sound easy or convenient. BTW, a TH400 does not have a rear pump...just FWIW.

A lot of good info here... I, personally, consider anywhere from about 150-180 degrees F to be an ideal operating temperature for an automatic transmission. Many run cooler than this, which is really no problem. Some run hotter than this, which is not a big problem (to a point, obviously), as long as the cooling system is able to bring it back down when the "heat-inducing" conditions are removed. When you're working the transmission, it's going to make heat. There's no getting around it. As long as that heat can be managed, life is good... I am a big proponent of leaving the OEM heat exchanger in place. It is technically called the "torque converter cooler" by Chrysler, and that's exactly what it is. When you're working your converter hard, the fluid temps coming out of it can be downright scary! The heat exchanger does a fantastic job of knocking that temp down to where the air-to-fluid cooler (auxiliary cooler) can manage it effectively. Does the heat exchanger heat cool fluid? Yeah, some... But not enough to worry about, and the benefits when the fluid is hotter than the coolant cannot be overstated. I highly recommend placing the temperature sender in the pan, as many have mentioned. The Low/Reverse servo pressure tap is where it ends up a lot of times, but there's not really any fluid circulating there. It just kind of gives you a reading of the temperature of the case right there. Better than nothing, yes, but not ideal. Plus, if you put a billet servo piston in the Low/Reverse, the sender will interfere with its operation. I have found, through a bunch of recent 3rd Gen testing recently, that the OEM temp sensor in the transducer seems to read high...sometimes by quite a bit. If you have a scanner or monitor that is simply pulling transmission temp information off of the data stream, I would verify its accuracy before I got too worked up about anything. A recent customer was concerned about his 190-200 degree indicated operating temperature (Edge CTS2). Testing this info against a known good gauge (and also an infrared heat gun) showed that it was reading about 25-30 degrees high. A new transducer brought things much more in line, but it still read high. Take it with a grain of salt until you verify its accuracy. Running a deep pan is never a bad idea, although don't look to it to solve an overheating issue. More fluid is a bigger heat sink, and does tend to lower operating temperatures with all other conditions being equal. But it you have a heat issue, more fluid will have a small effect on things. The main reason that I like to run an aftermarket pan is to strengthen the case, as @jlbayes mentioned. The bottom of the case on a 46/47/48 RE transmission is wide open, and case flex can be a pretty big deal when the torque numbers reach the stratosphere. A good aluminum pan really helps...probably more than you would think. There are many good pans on the market. I have used Goerend, Mag-Hytek, LPW, B&M, and probably others as well. All are good quality pieces, and do their job well. I will say that I have never been very impressed with Derale pans. No offense to those who have them, but they are really quite flimsy when compared to an OEM pan, and offer no additional case rigidity, as was mentioned. I have been through some ugly wars with Derale pans trying keep them from leaking as well.

Finding a decent truck in the Spokane area is a painful experience. Pretty much everything you find is absolutely beat to crap, to put it lightly. When I bought my last truck, I ended up finding it in California, flying down there and driving it home. I'm very glad I did...

I just made up a fresh batch of transmission cooler thermostat delete kits, and they're ready to ship. I'm having trouble with the shipping module on my website, so it's best to call the shop to order one. Here is a link to the kits: https://dynamictransparts.com/dodge-transmission-parts-47re-48re-68rfe/dodge-transmission-parts/3rd-Gen-Thermostat-Delete-Kit

As much as I'd love to build you a transmission, if you're only 1-1/2 hrs from Firepunk, I'd just have them build you one. Lavon seems to be a standup guy, although I have no personal connection with him. His prices are a bit higher than mine when comparing apples to apples, but he has a larger shop, a crew, and more overhead than I do, so that stands to reason. After all, at the end of the day, there are only so many ways to build these things. I will tell you that the best way is not found in a box kit of any kind, so as long as whoever is doing the work knows what they are doing, you will be fine.

There is no way for a 47RE to "think" it's in Neutral. There is no gear selector feedback to the PCM on a 47RE. The PCM unlocks the converter for the 3-4 upshift, and then relocks it after the shift. The problem is that the shift will typically complete before the converter actually unlocks, which is fine and good, but then you still get that annoying converter unlock/relock sequence after the shift is already complete. EDIT: I went back and read the original post. Very interesting.I stand corrected. I've been working on these trucks since they came out, and I had no idea the PCM monitored the Park/Neutral switch for torque management control. They added the range sensor to the 48RE in the 3rd Gen trucks, and I assumed that was when they started monitoring Park/Neutral, along with the other selector positions. Learn something new every day... Yep, there it is...Connector 1, Terminal 6, Black/White wire from PNP switch to PCM. I guess in my transmission-only world, I've had no reason to know this...! Cool...

Lots of boost means you can burn lots of fuel! This thing fuels hard and makes a ridiculous amount of power with the tuning I'm running, and I have NEVER been able to make it smoke even a little bit. The boost is nearly instant.

Yes. Compounds from the factory.

Diesel Power Products for the win! Those guys are great. I do a lot of work for/with them. Cooper, Bryan, Ben, Tyler...all great guys. And don't forget Lenny over at Dynomite Diesel. Another really good guy there, and an injector guru... Give me a call if you need anything from me...

Not likely... Besides, the stock injectors will make a ridiculous amount of power, so I'm good there. Gotta love the common rails...! The Ford Super Duty is a very nice truck. I've owned 3 of them; a 7.3, a 6.0, and now a 6.4. They are very roomy, quiet, comfortable to drive, and very stable when towing heavy. And the power of this 6.4 never ceases to amaze me. This thing makes power at an exhaust temperature that my Cummins would have only dreamed about...