It finally happened!
 

Welp, my worst fears about my Durango has occurred. This morning as I was pulling into the parking garage, I put the D in reverse and what happens? No reverse. I was able to swing around in drive and was able to get out of the garage and luckily the dodge dealer was only a mile down the road. Limped it to dealer and when they dropped the pan, parts fell out. So my tranny is TOAST.

As my D is still in near mint shape, I hate to give this boy up as the cost from dealer will run me $4600 for reman tranny replacement and an additional $800 for 4core radiator (max cooling package that came with R/T).

Talking with wifey, we decide to keep this D a little longer so I have a valid excuse to do some serious upgrading now regarding the tranny. I do not want to simply put in another tranny without any mods as I know the trannys for 1st gen sux!

As for you guys that already went thru this pain that I am starting out on, I like some recommendations on where to find a better tranny, one that is beefed up. If you have part numbers and such for a tranny and the high performance upgrade parts, please submit them to me so I can get some prices. I have a mechanic that can install the tranny but does not work on the tranny itself. Does Mopar have a high performance tranny already built up where all I have to do is install it?

Please let me know asap as I am now without transportation and need this resolved ASAP.

Man, 2007 is such a pain on finances! Wifey getting new car, baby on the way, and now my D is down! What a life!

RE: It finally happened!
 

[:@]Sorry to hear that Ken. Dan at thefastman does trannys doesn't he? I would go with him if you're looking at that amountof $$$ already. Heck if you live close enough to SLC go through hydra's guy. Also I am sure you could get a cheaper 4 core if you go aftermarket.
If you just have Dodge do the tranny then go with a larger TC, valve body, and a shift kit at the least. That should give it a better chance this time around.

RE: It finally happened!
 

Unfortunately I live in the Dallas Fort Worth metro area. I'll check with fastman to see if he has any prebuilt custom trannies. The only good thing if I have to fork out the bucks thru the dealer, is they will warranty it for 3/36 . I will have to check at other places to see what warranties they offer.

RE: It finally happened!
 

Youu COULD get that through AAMCO (I don't trust their work though) for a lot cheaper. I think about an extra $200 so about $2000 and then the price difference between the TC and whatever the shift kit and valve body are. Good luck with this and I hope you find a good shop for cheaper than that. You should be able to get a killer build for that kind of $$$.

Oh and another thought comes to mind. NV4500 and some fabrication. Make it a stick and give me lots of info and picsbecause if/when this goes again I'm gonna do it. [&:]

RE: It finally happened!
 

Welp Mean, I called fastman and will stick to his products. He charges $1700 for a rebult 46re + $700 for core deposit + Shipping. I estimate with $200 possible s/h, about $2600 initial cost and my personal mechanic will charge me $600 to do the swapout so total cost is $3200 and if my core is in good shape, I'll get back my $700 and then total cost will be $2500. Much cheaper than the $4600 from dealer. I can care less about the 3/36 as I know it'll probaby break down after the 3/36 is over. But I trust Fastman as he got a good rep on this forum and other dodge forum and this tranny will be custom built, beefed up and bullet proof! I even bought a 52mm throttle body from him for an extra $225 so I got most of my mods done on my wish list! Now for the cold air intake and exhaust mods are the last two on my minor mod list and if my D last for a couple more years, my last upgrade will be adding a supercharger.

Now waiting for dealer to refill the fluid on my tranny so I can drive it out and hopefully it will make it to my mechanic's shop so we can get this swapout underway ASAP!

I thank you to everyone for their input on this.

RE: It finally happened!
 

Not too shabby. I wish I would have known about him before I got my initial rebuild. So his reman includes the larger TC, valve body, and shift kit???

RE: It finally happened!
 

Get the trany from Dan@thefastman. Have him do a modified valve body for sure including a shift kit. TRUST ME! Next make sure you get a new Torque Convertor oversized. They should defanetly hook you up. Get it out of the dealer because they will not do any of this type of work. Also get the cooling system forward and reverse cleaned or replace the radiator and trany cooler. Don't forget that part.

RE: It finally happened!
 

I'll ask him about it. Not sure if some of what you mention is already in his tranny build.

thanks Hydra!

RE: It finally happened!
 

+3 on the Fastmans trannys. I just wasn't here to post the info quick enough.

Spend the days until the tranny arrives polishing and shining up the truck, then when it get here... you are back on the road looking good and moving fast.

IndyD

RE: It finally happened!
 

Pretty much my truck is sitting in the shop garage at my buddie's place awaiting for the tranny to arrive. Dan said the person that is building the trannies is a little slow this summer so I may not get my tranny for about 7-10 business days. This being said, my wife had no choice but to move up the schedule to buy a new car so she got one and I ended up driving it until my D is fixed! I wanted to drive our old car, but wifey wants to wait until the tags come in and I finish accessorizing the car with tint, vent visors, etc. What a wife! https://dodgeforum.com/micons/m16.gif