My transmission recently decided to commit suicide on me, so I decided to pull everything and do some upgrades and rebuilds. I've found a lot of information online, but I still have a couple questions.

I was planning on just rebuilding my transmission, but after closer inspection I noticed a crack in the housing of the transmission. Great. So i'm thinking I need to swap my transmission but with all the upgrades i'm doing to my engine, i'm thinking it would be a good idea to beef up my transmission too, so I was wondering what type of upgrades I could do to my transmission and what model transmission it is? Any ideas about my transmission issue either?

My truck is a 1997 Ram 1500 360 4X4 automatic.

A list of my recent/future purchases:
Harland Sharp Roller Rockers
.030 over bore
Headers
Hughes plenum repair kit
6" RCD lift
Flowmaster muffler
Cold air intake
4.11 gears

I was also told to look into getting a cam and I was wondering what all was involved with it, what else I'd have to buy with it, and any recommendations. Any help would be greatly appreciated along with any other recommendations. Thanks

 

Trans is a 46RE. Various parts from its meaner brethern (47RE, and 48RE) are direct swaps. (can't swap the whole trans though, as the bellhousing bolt patterns are different.) On page six of MonteC's trans thread, in the faq section, is a list he gave to another member that regularly towed a 7K pound trailer, taking some hints from that list should give you a pretty durable trans. One area you should NOT cheap out on, is the torque converter. An 80 dollar 'stock replacement' is only going to leave you with the T/C being the weakest link. Again. Spend some good coin, and get a real one.

I have an annotated list based on MonteC's,that gives part names and costs. (costs may be outdated by now.) If you would like a copy, PM me your email address, and I will send it off to ya.

 

Or take a look at PATC. They have some beefy transmissions. http://www.transmissioncenter.net/dodge.htm