Does anyone know if it is possible to put a 68RFE from a diesel 3/4 ton behind a Hemi 1/2 ton? Does anyone make a bell housing adapter, and how hard would it be to make the TCM work with my ECU? I want to get rid of that weak *** second prime horse **** that they so foolishly carried over from the previous generation, and this is the best way that I can think to do so.

I have contacted Sharadon Performance, and they said that the TCM is the main issue behind the tranny blowing up. This company http://www.transmissionsone.com/45rf...s_from_pat.htm said that there is an aftermarket TCM out for this tranny now. Has anyone had any experience with them?

 

Why does everyone keep say second prime is weak? Where is some more info on this? I always thought the clutches were the weak point? Are there people blowing up planetary gear sets in Rams??

The gears in our truck are a combination of three planetary gear sets working together to create 6 different gear ratios. There is not actually a second prime "gear" in our transmission.

With that said, instead of dumping 1000's of dollars into a transmission swap that may not work and spend the money and just get your trans built up? After it is built, get a TCM flash?

 

With a lifetime powertrain warranty, why would you want to mess with the tranny in an 09 Ram?

Do you know anyone actually blowing them up in an 09 Ram?

 

To confirm my suspicions, I did a quick Google search.

It is not the planetary gear assemblies that are weak, it is the clutches. Specifically, I want to say the 4C clutch is the culprit.

OPERATION



2C CLUTCH

The 2C clutch is hydraulically applied in second and fifth gear by pressurized fluid against the 2C piston. When the 2C clutch is applied, the reverse sun gear assembly is held or grounded to the transmission case by holding the reaction planetary carrier.


4C CLUTCH

The 4C clutch is hydraulically applied in second prime and fourth gear by pressurized fluid against the 4C clutch piston. When the 4C clutch is applied, the reaction annulus gear is held or grounded to the transmission case.


LOW/REVERSE CLUTCH

The Low/Reverse clutch is hydraulically applied in park, reverse, neutral, and first gear, only at low speeds, by pressurized fluid against the Low/Reverse clutch piston. When the Low/Reverse clutch is applied, the input annulus assembly is held or grounded to the transmission case.

If you are stock, this trans will probably never break.

 

I see the problem.

It's the ANNULus gear.... It stinks.....

 

IMO, this transmissions reputation is forever tarnished. I have heard people talking about breaking the second prime on a stock truck. Sharadon performance even says avoid doing WOT kickdowns in their stage II transmission. It is NOT the transmission that is to blame, according to them. It is the ****ty Chrysler TCM programming. In am email, the guy at Sharadon said he built one for a Baja racer, and he used a custom TCM with paddle shifters. After 2k miles of hell, the trans was still mint. I am still looking into a custom TCM to eliminate the weak fake second gear, or apply it in a way that will not blow it up. My warranty is already void, because I put a programmer on it. They will know something is up if they look into it. I just want a tranny that I can have fun with w/o worrying about blowing it up. I really really really like to kick it down in the city and scare mustangs and fart pipers. I'm tired of thinking "will this be the one that blows it up?"

 

Here is the exact email reply from Denny at Sharadon Performance:

The biggest problems with modded trucks is how there modded.

Any MAP manipulation is bad for the trans. Some Diablo tunes are also bad. I can't put my finger on it but it happens.

Any time you can allow the trans to complete the down shift before going WOT the better.

All the problems come from how it shifts with the dodge programing.

I have a customer that races Baja. He has a standalone for the transmission with paddle shifters. He keeps the engine between 4-6000 rpms WOT up and down.

I inspected the transmission after 2000+ race miles and I could still read the printing on the clutches(they were perfect)

So I know it's not the transmission but the programing. I wish I could do something about it.

 

From what I could find, the failure is the clutches, not second prime. Again, second prime is not really a "gear" in the transmission. At WOT, the clutches cannot handle the power and downshifting at the same time.

 

how do we know that this has not been addressed for the 09 trucks already? But like I have always said, when you add a programmer to the truck then you better be willing to shell out the dough when something breaks and dodge says you are to blame. But, and i'm not sure how this would work, if the trans does break then put the stock tune back in and take it to the dealer and try to get it fixed under warranty...always worth a shot. I also think that it would be easier to build up the stock trans instead of trying to make another one work.

 

In these transmissions, the clutches are the "gears". When I refer to second prime gear, I mean the clutches. Gear, clutch, same thing. The trans programming is to blame. I don't care WHAT is breaking, be it a gear or a clutch or whatever. The bottom line is, IT BREAKS. Unacceptable in a $40,000 truck. Chrysler should be ashamed. I will never buy another Chrysler vehicle again due to this BS. Good job, guys. Next time, how about designing a freakin tranny that can hold up to the power being dished out to it. Worthless. Just ****ing worthless. What the hell were they smoking, anyway? Someone needs to die for this tranny issue.