just keep a heads up, if that fluid looked like an 8 year old girl poured a bottle of glitter in it, well atleast i can tell ya thats a thrust washer that wiped out.. atleast i can say that happened to me when the toque converter dumped its thrust washer.. good times..

 

its a 42RE. Unless you have a 4.7 *it has a different trans*, you very well could end up with the same problem. the 42/44/46 RH/RE are basically the same design.

I was thinking of maybe trying to find a cheap 42RE at a junkyard somewhere when i get the money, looking it over really well and installing a shift kit. Im not about to tear apart a transmission, I'd never be able to put it back together. That way, once my original transmission starts to screw up, i'd already have a replacement at hopefully around 1/3 the price of a full rebuild.

 

the fluid didnt look that bad... just a little brown. definately no glitter in it.

 

Thats the best way to go about it. I had a rebuilt one put in for $1200 which from what I have heard is low. But im sure you could get a decent one of out a totalled dak for half that.

 

you can do a rebuild yourself, with a good shop manual, and some snap ring pliers, puller, some some other various special, but easy to acquire tools. these units are cake to rebuild, just take your time. i did a rebuild on one out of a 99 grand cherokee.

 

^ Hes right, if you have time, patience, the right tools, and some mechanical ability, you could do it.

 

I do have a 4.7.

And yeah man, get yourself a good rebuild book, and build her up yourself.

 

Oh I thought you had a 5.2 so you have a 45 rfe, which is supposed to be a better tranny, so you shouldn't encounter the same problem but still its a Dodge transmission.

 

im going to be keeping an eye out for a 42RE. if i find one that isnt totally destroyed and at a good price, i'll buy it. Then i'll buy a rebuild book and a master overhaul kit, and a shift kit and hopefully i'll have plenty of time to get it all together. This will all eventually work into my plan of a 360 swap someday. I'd feel more comfortable with a built 42RE like varsis did, than i would with a stock 42RE thats already been through who knows what. I'd also like to keep a 42RE for simplicity's sake instead of trying to swap in a 360/727 combo. you'd have to deal with electrical nightmares, custom driveshaft, etc... I would also probably rebuild the rear end or at least install a stronger, limited slip diff like a truetrac at the same time.