Should I be afraid of the RE47 transmission?

[flagmanruss]

I'm stock except for the exhaust. I don't tow very much... but when I do, we put 600 miles on in a day. I don't know how heavy the 28' Tahoe TranSport is but I found one year listed as 7000 dry weight / GVW of near 10,000 (a second listed GVW of 12,000). Truck (see signature) has Tow Package which includes a transmission cooler. I haven't been able to add guages yet. Note: I've discovered 4.10 is the wrong gear ratio with stock tire sizes but I own the truck now. As I posted previously, I pretty much have to use OD on flat & downhill, kick the OD out & drop speed if the truck is unhappy on a grade (no issues except loss of cruising speed). I'd like to bump the power just a bit to improve the ability to hold speed on the hills. I'm assuming it is better to plan a transmission upgrade BEFORE the transmission goes South!Russ

[JOHNFAK]

Hey RussMan - I have been up and down this path for the last 12 months.Its hard to say what to do as obviously spending $3k to upgrade new clutch packs and increase line pressure and add some upgraded internals + TC will mean you have a tranny that will last longer and perform better. CAT has a tranny builder he uses in CA that will do a rebuild for like $1200. (Tranny internals only). Only bad part is the shipping - but since he has 900k miles seems like a awesome deal.If you just want to do a mild upgrade - which may be the way to go - then consider a (*) Used Edge Mileage/EZ - JAcob has them for like $200(*) Used Smarty - $400 (*) USed edge juice with attitude - don't tap Vp44.That way on your truck your only adding around 60 HP and more timing. That shouldn't do too much to the tranny as long as your not romping it. Then consider a valve body - around $300-$400.I know funds are tight for you - so I would seriously consider the edge EZ. Then add a tranny temp gauge.If you baby it - that should give you a little more get up and go and less downshift and small increase in mileage.If you want to go above that - then its a new TC + VB - probably run you $900 + install ...... but then you could consider tapping the VP44 for +120 HP. EGT's then an issue towing.

[Mopar1973Man]

Well it always best to upgrade the weak links before adding power to the truck... What really got me scratchin' my head is the fact you got 4.10 gears and it should pull like no ones business and easy. I've haul backhoes, pickups on flatbed trailers, firewood, and always been able to pull at least 55 MPH without much issues...

[flagmanruss]

Oh, I got plenty of power... with the 4:10s it's just screaming at 65... with OD off. So I kick the OD on on level or downhill (still need power on towing this flat front obstruction). I'm lugging right around 2000... +/-. With OD on, it's nice & quiet but does not have the balls on a moderate grade. I often can't hold speed or RPMs. If I get dragged down to 60 or below, I'll kick the OD off, drop to 55 & climb the hill. I know this is not recommended... but it's the reality of this combination. Yeah, another reason I'm not happy with the salesman who sold it to me (NEW). I really could not afford to buy this truck... a "do over" is out of the question. I really don't want to blow the tranny out on the interstate... I'm going to have to save up for each phase of the project... Towing was much less complicated with a gas 454, though I wonder how it would have handled this load.

[JOHNFAK]

Dunno.Sounds like my truck when I was stock. I had power - but always had to downshift on small grades.I added by 3x disk and my edge (tapped) and barely had to downshift on small grades. Just had higher EGT's.I would "think" with the extra HP -> you would find the smae - less downshift ..................... ask CAT - he'd know best given he tried it all.

[Terry C]

You don't need to worry about the 47RE. If you want to help it out put a valve body and a converter. You can do that for about $1700. A good rebuilt is $3200 and up. You would be surprised how much better the truck is with a decent torque converter and valve body.

[98whitelightnin]

You may try putting some bigger tires and staying in overdrive while towing but that may put you even further behind.

[Mopar1973Man]

You may try putting some bigger tires and staying in overdrive while towing but that may put you even further behind.

Nothing against you WhiteLightning... But that right there is what kills most transmission in the diesel realm this includes Fords and Chevy's... I watch hours of videos where transmission shops shake there head at the owners putting over sized tires on to correct a gear ratio problem (usually 4.11:1 ratio) and what happen is it increases the ability to hold torque (no slippage of the tires). So the the next weak point will be the transmission. Majority of all transmission failure is cause from oversize tires being added. Like now with my truck its really easy to spin the tires that great that mean less damage to the trans and clutch for me... Now another one to look at. Take your stock tire and weigh it. Now take a a oversize tire and weigh it. You'll find like I did going from 265/75 R16 to 235/85 R16 I lost over 20 pounds of rotational mass from each tire for a total of 80 pounds reduction gaining MPG's of about 1-2 MPG. Now take your taller tire and look at the amount of torque it will require to twist it. Place a tire/rim on the ground standing up and shaft in the middle (no crank). Now try twisting the shaft with you bare hands. Now take a small tire and do the same thing and you'll find the smaller tire requires way less effort to move. Really if you want to correct the ratio problem correctly I would change gears out of the diffs... But really 4.10 gears should be excellent for towing. CajFlynn is running 3.73 gears and got the best of both worlds towing those massive boats... Much heavier that a normal travel trailer...

[flagmanruss]

My old & long gone Chevy C30 / 454 had 3.73s 16.5" smaller rubber than what I have now... it was a towing fool, even before I built the engine. I had an underpowered 1/2 ton (1987) GMC with a rediculious 3.07 ration (must have looked good on the EPA smog dyno). A former friend put a ring & pinion in it... went as far as we could in that housing... maybe a 3.55 & the truck was much more driveable. Interestingly the MPGs were about the same, maybe a touch better as the transmission shifted up much sooner. My ex got it & wrecked it soon after while I kept the C30. I'd have been much better off with the 3.73 or 3.55 ratios but I didn't know squat about diesels when I bought the truck. Apparently neither did the truck salesman. I don't have the cash flow to do the tranny this year... If I get the other things done, go easy on the go pedal... get the tranny done next year.Russ

[Dave3500]

If you want to go above that - then its a new TC + VB - probably run you $900 + install ...... So what TC + VB is in this price range? All the TC's I've checked out in Diesel Power, websites, & the like seem to start at around $1200. Are we talkin' stock stuff here for the replacement?Thanks,Dave

[flagmanruss]

The 47RE isn't "broke"... truck only has 50K miles... but the stock 47RE just doesn't have the track record for durability under HD use... I'm guessing either trailer is over 7000 minimum... could be way over. I'm thinking to prevent destroying it... out on the road somewhere... so I'd be looking to beef it up... TC + VB, what ever else it needs.

[JOHNFAK]

If you want to go above that - then its a new TC + VB - probably run you $900 + install ......So what TC + VB is in this price range? All the TC's I've checked out in Diesel Power, websites, & the like seem to start at around $1200. Are we talkin' stock stuff here for the replacement?

Thanks,

Dave

http://revmaxconverters.com/about/shop/47re-stage-3-torque-converter

Billet TC - 850 ft lbs torque - $399

http://revmaxconverters.com/about/shop/47re-b-towing-hd-valve-body

Towing/HD valve body $349

Thats $750 - and probably good for our trucks with a high end chip (quad/edge/tst) ~350HP. It may slip if you fully romp on it - but then you can go up from there.

--- Update to the previous post...

Oh - and you can save another $250 if you wanna do the VB work yourself. Its really just this.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/260112093302?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=176449365032&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=L*F%3F&GUID=956c3fe912c0a02684525252ffe59436&itemid=260112093302&ff4=263602_304662

So $400 for TC and $100 for shift kit - means $500 it can be done

[Terry C]

If it was me I would really look at a reputable transmission builder and preferably one that builds 47REs for diesels to get advice. It really sucks to have to do a job twice and loose what you paid the first time.

[JOHNFAK]

Dunno.

DG/DTT/Suncoast etc all reputable - but they all use the same parts as other tranny stores.

HD frictions, Kolene steels, gaskets, seals, sealing rings, billet intermediate band, billet strut and anchor, aluminum 4 ring accumulator piston and 5:1 ratio lever, etc.

So you get what comes in a $500-$700 kit for the price of $3500-$4000.

But you get a great install and a great warranty. So I get that.

Speak with Cat - he tows all the time - 900k miles. Now I believe he has

300k miles on his Revmax Torque Convertor

and similar miles on his $1200 build from a LA tranny shop.

So for $2000 he has the same tranny as the $3500-$4000 goerand.

He'd have to spend another $1500-$2000 before he was out of pocket.

just a thought.

[Mopar1973Man]

Good point... Caj has a lot of miles on that TQ Conv...