Hey guys,

New to the site - very cool - FULL of information!!

Wanted some opinions here...

The patient:
1996 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 club cab
V-10
47RE Transmission (i believe)

218,500 miles

Bought from second owner (a friend of mine) that had the truck since it was 63,000 miles old.

regular maint thru it's life, was used as a truck for his business and crew - it was worked HARD - hauled weight, often ooverloaded and earned it's pay.

What I am looking at is the transmission. Was having the ever popular TC shudder on lockup when engine was at low rpm in OD and you would give it a bit of throttle and you would feel the shudder. And no, there is no engine miss.

Added some friction modifier (about 6 ounces) to the existing fluid and it eliminated about 90% of it. Read about that in some of the TSB's.

The fluid does not smell burned - I am positive that it has not had a service or band adjust in the last 5 years. my buddy that I bought it from thinks it is still the original transmission but I find that really hard to believe that it has lasted 215k plus miles....?

Pulling the boat I could have swore that it was slipping a little between gears but it was also a 100 degree plus day and I was NOT a happy camper leaving the boat dock.... So who knows. Smelled fluid again after - still no smell of burned.

So, here is the question- Considering taking it in to a local trusted transmission shop to have the tranny serviced and the bands adjusted. I have mixed emotions on this $175-$200 investment - it's time that is for sure, but I am afraid of making it worse as I have heard storied of that....

The truck is looking to go on a four hour boat towing trip mid Aug so I do want it to have a clean bill of health - I am not expecting the world out of a 200,000 plus truck here but really wanna get past 300,000 just to say I did it.

Advice on the tranny service suggestion?

Thanks guys - sorry so long-

~Brian

 

mine did the same thing, shuddered on take off, i ignored it and just romped it to get past it, i've hauled travel trailers with the tc slipping, the 47re's are hard to kill but if you get it serviced and this is just my opinion you should be ok, if you plan on keeping her i suggest the megaviper tranny it'll cost you a little more but bullet proof i'll post that link unless someone else on here beats me to it, my laptop battery is dying rapidly.

 

Hey ZcarBri, buy the sure cure kit from sonnax and they'll be no more shudder to worry about. 47re's are some tough suckers, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they're hard to kill...IMHO.

 

Thanks guys!

So what is this Sure Cure Kit from Sonnax... I am on the website, is it an entire rebuild kit?

You happen to know the part number or kit that I want to look into?

It's supposed to go to the shop this coming wednesday.

The friction modifier made a difference, but I am not sure it was enough quantity wise - somehow 6 ounces to 17 quarts seems low to me...

Thanks for the advice!

~Brian

 

Aims did a great write up on the sure cure kit install. It's the second post on the thread. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...smissions.html

The sure cure kit is a "shift improvement kit" and, in general, is suppose to clean up your shifts and stop torque converter shudder. I just installed one in my tranny during my rebuild and let me tell you it's pretty sweet.

 

Thanks!!!

I will look into it, I did find the kit - looks like it's around $120 or so...

At first I thought that this was a shift kit, but it looks like the transmission has to be out and split for this one, but I will do some homework on it - thanks for the link!!

I wonder what my shop would charge to put this in - I am thinking that I don't wanna know

 

All you have to do is drop the valve body to install this kit. If your having the tranny fluid drained and filled, then it's just one more step to do this install. once you drop the pan, however, you will loose more fluid. That could be a plus in your case. It took me an hour to do mine, and that was my first time. I'm guessing that they'll charge you about $100 to install it. BTW welcome to the DF. You'll find that there are A LOT of knowledgeable members who are ready to help when need be. These guys are life savers!!!

 

Wow - That is a great write up from Aims - it does not look that intrusive, and since they are going to have the damn thing apart anyway... I will check. Looks like a worthwile upgrade.

Thanks again for the advice - I do appreciate it.

Nice to know it's just dropping the valve body....

 

Hey J415-

Did you do anything with the intermediate shaft pilot and end plug or is that a different part of the kit (the sure cure kit)...

I am reviewing the instructions with the Sonnax kit...

Thanks!

 

Yes, I installed it on mine since I was rebuilding the tranny. Installing that part isn't necessary but is recommended. It is suppose to help supply the Over Drive unit with more fluid so that it doesn't over heat by giving it a bigger passage to go threw. Hope that helped.