How to tel if a tranny is/was modded?

[StewB 0]

I have a 2006 DRW quadcab with the 48re tranny in it. I bought the truck from used car dealer in town and he had no idea of the history of it. The truck was obviously used to pull a lot because it's equipped with a gooseneck ball mount and had a fifth wheel hitch as well as air springs in it at one time. Other mods that were removed by the PO are a boost gauge and egt gauge (the boost sensor is still there with about an inch of hose with a screw in it and there are two non-factory holes in the manifold right where an egt probe would have been). Anyway, I've had it about a year now and got a Mini Maxx tuner on it so I'm wondering how to tell if the tranny was modded before. The mods I'm sure of are a Mag-Hytec pan on it big enough to take a bath in and an extra tranny fluid cooler on front of the radiator. Those mods lead me to believe that there must be more mods inside like maybe the torque converter, the valve body, etc.This is my first Dodge Cummins so I'm not familiar with the 48re at all. How do I go about determining what additional mods if any were done to the tranny?Thanks,Stew

[CSM 673 2 Vehicles]

You can pull the pan, and check for a shift kit or non stock parts. However, the best way would be to take it to a trusted trans shop and have it pulled and checked out.

[Rogan 41]

Yes, CSM is about on the money. Unfortunately, it's quite difficult to tell without pulling it all apart..Mine is supposed to be a 'built' trans, but I've no real way of knowing, afaik.

[98whitelightnin 179 4 Vehicles]

A stock trans and built trans drive completely different, stock truck will take of when the convertor locks and one with a built trans pulls hard through all gears without the launch at lock-up.

[Wild and Free 1,171]

Yep pretty tough by looking at it, one can pull the small cover off the bottom of the flywheel housing and see if the converter is painted or plain metal. If it is painted it is an aftermarket. Other than that shift points and shift firmness are an indicator but unless you are very familiar with a specific truck it would be hard to know.

[StewB 0]

Thanks for the tips. When I get a couple minutes to rub together I will have to get the cover off to see what kind of converter I have. It would be nice if the PO upgraded it.Stew

[JOHNFAK 85 1 Vehicles]

Would have thought band strut and anchor would be easy enough to tell in the VB .... But not sure exactly if they are stamped different

[Wild and Free 1,171]

That is great info too John, that one skipped my mind but he would have to drop the pan to tell.

[StewB 0]

Well, the TC is medium blue and looks to have a billet cover. I found a thread that talked about Recon TC's made by Transtar. They look to be exactly the same color as mine so I'm guessing that's what I have.

There are several levels they sell from a stock replacement to one that will withstand well over 1000 ft-lbs. All have billet front covers and all strongly suggest doing a VB upgrade. The nearest upgrade from stock is single disc and up to 750 ft-lbs, and I assume the PO at least went that high. The next level is a triple-disc option.

Based on how much money the PO spent on other upgrades I'm also assuming he went the distance and upgraded the VB as well. I recently had the tranny flushed so I will have to wait awhile before I drop the pan to check the VB.

Of course that is all pure speculation.

I have to say, before I knew better I "tested" my H&S tuner on the 200 HP setting and don't recall any slippage. Gunned it at about 20 mph and it slammed me into the seat and scared the wits out of my two daughters! Reminded of my Z-28 days in high school.

Recon TC's may not be top of the line, but since I got this truck at a great price even without upgrades I can't complain. Given that I don't race and very seldom romp on the gas pedal, I think it will do fine for towing my travel trailer.

Stew

[JOHNFAK 85 1 Vehicles]

A stock trans and built trans drive completely different, stock truck will take of when the convertor locks and one with a built trans pulls hard through all gears without the launch at lock-up.

Except my trans is built and when it hits lockup you better not be picking up spilt tacos off the floor - certainly launches after lockup

[JOHNFAK 85 1 Vehicles]

Well, the TC is medium blue and looks to have a billet cover. I found a thread that talked about Recon TC's made by Transtar. They look to be exactly the same color as mine so I'm guessing that's what I have.

There are several levels they sell from a stock replacement to one that will withstand well over 1000 ft-lbs. All have billet front covers and all strongly suggest doing a VB upgrade. The nearest upgrade from stock is single disc and up to 750 ft-lbs, and I assume the PO at least went that high. The next level is a triple-disc option.

Based on how much money the PO spent on other upgrades I'm also assuming he went the distance and upgraded the VB as well. I recently had the tranny flushed so I will have to wait awhile before I drop the pan to check the VB.

Of course that is all pure speculation.

I have to say, before I knew better I "tested" my H&S tuner on the 200 HP setting and don't recall any slippage. Gunned it at about 20 mph and it slammed me into the seat and scared the wits out of my two daughters! Reminded of my Z-28 days in high school.

Recon TC's may not be top of the line, but since I got this truck at a great price even without upgrades I can't complain. Given that I don't race and very seldom romp on the gas pedal, I think it will do fine for towing my travel trailer.

Stew

Sounds like you got lucky considering it's aftermarket and it's not slipping with over 400hp

Definately a nice addition for towing considering the extra cooling also you found.

You could check line pressure without dropping pan to see how much % over stock you are running