Dynamic

Yep. That's what I do... https://dynamictransparts.com/dodge-transmission-parts-47re-48re-68rfe/dodge-valve-bodies/dynamic-hd-towing-valve-body A stock 47RE valve body will lock the converter (with an external switch) in 2nd gear. (It will not lock in Manual 2nd.) However, once it locks, the 3-4 timing valve will stroke sending oil to the 2-3 shift valve, and it will immediately command an upshift to 3rd in addition to the lockup. In other words, it will not stay in 2nd... You don't have to do anything with the relay to wire a lockup switch, but you do have to run your ground through a resistor in order to prevent a code.

Every valve body I build (47RE or 48RE) will lock in any forward gear (with external switch) and allow both locked 3-4 upshifts and locked 4-3 downshifts. There is a signal that needs to be removed from the TCC lockup valve (and an exhaust hole added) to allow manual 2nd lockup. Forward clutch oil needs to be provided to the TCC solenoid (and 2nd gear oil that was previously there removed) in order for there to be 1st gear lockup on a 47RE VB. A 48RE VB has the capability to lock in any forward gear from the factory. A signal needs to be removed from the 3-4 timing valve to prevent immediate upshift to 3rd when lockup is commanded in 2nd gear. The lockup timing valve needs to be modified to allow a locked 4-3 downshift. All of these are accomplished easiest with a custom separator plate. I have the plates I use laser cut here locally. The plates I designed also allow boost valve operation in 2nd gear and higher, but that's another topic entirely...

Codes will set (and thus 2nd or 3rd gear starts) when too much pressure is seen by the PCM on the governor circuit. You can have high line pressure, as long as you keep it out of the governor circuit. DTT uses that voltage regulator thing (don't get me started on those...) to skew the voltage to the transducer so that the returning signal does not exceed a certain threshold and set a code. This kind of works...most of the time, but doesn't solve the problem of the transducer being subjected to high pressure after the governor pressure solenoid pulls wide open. There needs to be a pressure relief on the governor circuit to limit the pressure that the transducer sees. That is actually the solution to the "limp mode" issues and higher gear starts.

I'm not sure I'll be much help as there are literally hundreds of things that could have been done wrong. I just wanted to get a feel for how thorough of a build this was. In your PM you indicated that your build was identical to the 392 build that I did. If that had been the case, it will require a LOT of tuning, like mine did. But it doesn't sound like there is much similarity between yours and mine at all, other than they're both Hemis. Retrace your steps, I would say, and reevaluate your setup.

Oh boy... There's a lot of specifics missing in this whole scenario. That's pretty tame camshaft, so it shouldn't give you much trouble. Where did you set the intake centerline when you degreed it? What was your deck height set at? What pistons were used? Combustion chamber size?

What are you using to read codes? A generic OBD2 reader will not read many transmission codes.

You need to find out if there are any codes in the PCM causing it to default to max governor pressure. You could also have a power issue to the transmission.

You'll want to retrace your steps and find your mistake. The Direct clutch, Low/Reverse band and OD Direct clutch are used to give you reverse. Given that you're seeing 200 psi at the L/R servo, I would not suspect the problem to be there, as long as the band is properly adjusted.

The pressure tests you ran were just fine. Line pressure is dependent upon throttle position, and it looks like yours is tracking just fine. The governor pressure code set because of the high line pressure at WOT. No surprise there. The 3rd gear starts with that much line pressure are also no surprise.

This is where it would be very helpful to know whose valve body we're dealing with here. The wide pressure curve (100-205+ psi) and the lack of boost valve function, makes me think that it could very well be a Goerend VB. But I guarantee you that Dave Goerend would not intentionally send a VB out the door that exceeds 200 psi up top for an application like yours. That's way too much line pressure, and you run the risk of killing the Belleville in the forward clutch and over-travelling the forward piston, not to mention the governor pressure code you're constantly getting. All of the other readings you took pretty much line up with what I would expect as pressure goes up and down with throttle setting. It almost seems like a Goerend VB was installed, but someone either changed the PR spring (fairly unlikely), or wound up the spring that came in it trying to "help things out" (I've seen this more than a few times). *stepping onto soap box*... When a guy has no idea what is going on with the balance signals that actually determine line pressure (the spring is only a small part of what's going on in there), he needs to leave things alone...especially with a Goerend VB, a BD high pressure VB, one of my high pressure VB's, or any equivalent VB, because I can assure you that it's not stock. ...*stepping off of soap box* If I were in your shoes, I would take a look at the PR spring setup and see how much preload it has. If it looks to be wound up a bunch, I'd back it off until your idle line pressure (in gear, idle, no throttle applied) reads about 80 psi. This should put you at appx. 180-185 up top, which is just about right. I would also feel a lot better if it had a pressure relief valve of some sort on the governor circuit to protect the transducer from those high pressures. Make sure that you have a Rostra HP transducer in there as well.

Oh boy... Yeah, let's not start cranking on the VB adjustments! That's a bit of a slippery slope, but I digress... I don't really think you have a line pressure issue per se, but it would be nice to know what kind of curve you have, what kind of "shift kit" was used, and to make sure that your boost valve is functioning properly when lockup is commanded.

It sounds like these guys are way over their skis on this deal. They don't seem to know what they built, or how it works. This is why I rail against "box builders" so openly. When guys just start simply ordering and assembling random parts just because they are supposedly "better than stock", you end up with a conglomeration of stuff that the "builder" often doesn't understand the function of. All they know is that the instructions said to put the blue spring in the 3rd valve from the end, and to drill hole "A" to .100", and hole B to .125", etc. They have no idea the function of that stuff, so when it comes time to diagnose something that's not right, blank stares ensue... Rant over. My apologies... Stepping off of soap box... What is your line pressure, and what does the curve look like from idle to WOT? What does line pressure do when the TC locks up and/or when OD engages? I don't mention disconnecting the alternator as a "nothing to lose" type of operation. I build 200+ 4 speed Dodges every year, and the 2nd Gen trucks are notorious for this type of thing. I'll bet I see this at least 20-25 times a year. If you've got a converter cycling issue, the likely cause is a bad alternator, and disconnecting it is the quickest, down and dirty method for tracking it down. Same with setting the TV cable. Setting it by adjusting the WOT 1-2 shift is the simplest way to get your TV cable right, especially with Lord knows what done to the valve body. Every "shift kit" that I know of modifies the TV regulator in some way, rendering any manual kind of irrelevant.

I haven't been much help here because, to be honest, I don't have a real good grasp on what exactly it is that you're feeling. It's always tough (often impossible) to offer good advice based on an "it kinda feels like this" description. I'll offer this because I see it quite often on the second gen trucks: Have you tried disconnecting the alternator and seeing if it still does it? Drive it so that you can get it to act up, then pull over, leave the truck running, and disconnect the small two-wire connector at the alternator. Drive it again under the same circumstances as was making it act up before and see if it continues to act up. If it quits doing it, you have a bad alternator. If it still does it, it isn't the alternator, and you can move on to search elsewhere. I've seen guys get really hung up on this and waste a lot of time here. If that's not the problem and you are having converter slip/chatter issues, you'll need to find out why (obviously). First of all, whose converter and VB were used in the build? (I'm sure it's listed somewhere in here, but I'll just ask.) Was it a triple or a single disc converter? What kind of pressures were/are you seeing? What is your WOT 1-2 shift point set at? I have, WAY more than once, seen people opt for a single disc converter during a build based on the whole "can't put a triple disc converter on a stock input shaft" myth, only to have the same slip/chatter issues as their stock converter had due to a poorly configured valve body.

What do you mean by "shudder" in the TC? Are you talking about a chatter as the converter clutch slips, or are we talking about the 2nd Gen rapid lock/unlock scenario? "Busy" doesn't even begin to describe it! LOL...!!

The dipstick hits a shelf in the pan right under where the dipstick come into the case. For some reason Chrysler either used a dipstick that is too long (or a tube that is too short) in the 2nd Gen trucks. The 3rd Gens do not do this. A deep pan will fix it, or grind a little off of the end like Russ did. Keep in mind that the lower your dipstick sits in the pan, the less fluid you will have when it reads "FULL".

You can't apply the band by blowing air into the pressure port. The air will simply exhaust out of the valve body, as you are seeing. BTW, 5 discs in the OD brake is stock on a 48RE.

The band simply does not wear that much unless something is drastically wrong, and 1/8" would be WAY too tight, and you'd likely have a pretty good tie-up on the 2-3 shift. 5/16" is really what you're after there. With a 3.8:1 band lever, this is appx. 2-1/4 turns out. You'll never lose a band anchor at that setting, your pin will contact the lever nearly perfectly perpendicular eliminating side loading of the pin, and your 2-3 will be nice and clean, assuming the correct direct clutch clearance and servo return spring rate for the line pressure that you're running. You should be adjusting your bands every 30K miles. Some guys like to cheat the band on the loose side to compensate for the fact that they don't have enough servo return spring rate for the line pressure they have. A loose band setting will preload that spring a greater amount for more spring rate to get the band off quicker. It's a bandaid for an improper setup, and you really need quite a bit more spring rate if you're running any real pressure. It also puts the apply pin contacting the lever at a pretty good angle, which will side load the pin and wear your servo cover egg-shaped, which will in turn exhaust direct oil. The other down side of running that loose is that the band anchor can fall off.

Haha... Not that loose... If you're setting the band loose enough that the band anchor falls off, you need to reevaluate your setup.

If you're getting a TPS code, you need to start there. While the 1st - 3rd gear shifts are hydraulic in nature, the PCM generates the governor signal electronically based on several inputs, with the TPS being one of them. The other question that needs to be answered is why did the band anchor fall off? How worn out is your intermediate band?

The 24 valves are notorious for killing the engine when dead cold, and with too tight of a converter, typically after some sort of build with a poorly built converter or one with too low of a stall speed (very common). When you put the transmission in gear (any gear; 1st, reverse, 2nd, 3rd, 4th...), and the converter is full of cold, thick fluid, it will pull the idle speed down faster than the pump can fuel the engine to bring it back up. Once the fluid warms up a bit, this symptom typically goes away.

Yeah, you'll want a good valve body and converter for sure, and a billet input shaft would be a good idea as well. The stock input shaft will hang in there (with good VB calibrations) to about 400-425 hp. I'd lean toward a billet shaft where you're at. I would also make sure you have a billet accumulator piston, reinforced band strut, and at least a billet intermediate servo cover (if not a full billet servo). A billet Low/Reverse piston would be a nice add as well, but you'll have to pull the OD to change that. There are also some internal setup changes I would recommend (better clutches, band, increased clutch count, etc.), but again, you'll have to go all the way in there to make any changes there. With a 62mm turbo in a 2nd Gen, you'll want a stock stall speed converter. I absolutely would NOT let anyone talk you into a low stall or you'll have a smoky pig off of the bottom. I've got a 2nd Gen in the shop now that I'm working with Dynomite Diesel on that we had to build in a super hurry due to a completely unexpected broken stock input shaft. (It is the tow rig for a pretty serious pulling truck, and they needed to get to a big event.) I only had 2 days to get the build done, and the only converter we could get our hands on in that time frame was a low stall billet triple. It's a great converter, and I use them all the time, but with the compounds that this truck has on it (62mm small turbo), it is an absolute pig out of the hole. We have a stock stall from DPC on its way as I type this...

Your pressures, while somewhat on the low side, should work. It sounds like you could have a broken rear band or something broken in the servo. It would be tough to give an exact diagnosis without actually looking at it, but either way, you're looking for a problem with the rear band/servo in my opinion. FWIW, there are no electronics involved in either Reverse or Manual Low. Both are 100% hydraulic in function.

I was just giving you a hard time. You're right in Firepunk's backyard, so you're probably right. Shipping would be a bit spendy, I would imagine. I ship them all over the west coast, and a few to the Minnesota/Wisconsin area, but none as far as Ohio.

Depends upon where you shop! LOL You'll definitely want a billet flex plate if you're shooting for those numbers.

Don't get me wrong, Transgo has some products that do work really well (Ford E4OD/4R100, Ford 5R110, Allison 1000 to name a few), but the 4-speed Dodges are not one of them. The 4-speeds really just need so many refinements and a "shift kit" will not address them all.