Hello to all my wiser bombers...I bought my 2005 cummins QCSB in July bone stock. I now have added an intake, 5" TB exhaust and an adrenaline tuner with the pulse. I am beginning to worry that I wont be able to keep my foot out of the skinny pedal and that my trans is not long for this world. I drained the atf at 100 K and it was dark. There were no shavings or metal in the fluid or on the magnet but, there was a substantial amount of grey "sludge" (about 1/8 inch over the whole of the pan).

I want to build a trans that will support towing and play but, as I am not able to afford a built trans, I want to build it myself. What have you all put in yours? what components were absolutely necessary and what were the items that you would change if you had to do it over?

My HP goal is below 600 HP (maybe on the next one I'll go crazy!)
I tow up to 8K (about 15-20 x per year) and lighter loads often.
The truck is my daily driver

Here are some things I need clarified:

Billet flex plate or stock?
Torque converter - brand and # disks?
Valve body or shift kit with new middle plate?
what rebuild kit?
what type of bands?
Billet input or no?

Is there anything I forgot? let me know...I need honest answers because I can only afford to do this once.

thanks a million.
Bill

 

The gray substance is Typically aluminum dust that has fretted off from the accumulator piston bore wear and servo piston bore wear.This is normal wear for 100,000K that is why it wasn't on the magnet. My opinion is to stay below 450 HP for what you tow and for use as a daily driver it will work well.
Billet input is always good!!
I would get the best TQ converter you can get!
I would do a shift kit instead of a valve body.
Or how about a 5600 six speed manual hahahaha.
I like your signature Jesus loves black smoke hehehee.

 

Thanks for the feedback brother. I was considering the 5600 conversion but, not sure if I can pull it off myself...I am blessed to be mechanically inclined but, cursed in the sense that I HATE paying for labor if it is something I could do. I am going to price out a 6 speed conversion as well and see what upgrade gets me the biggest bang for the buck.

thanks for letting me know about the gray sludge...I am guessing that when I changed the ATF at 100K it was the first change due to the amount of sludge and the color of the fluid. is there anything I should be worried about since the atf was in there for so long. also there is a gooseneck in the bed that was definitely used.

 

Gray dust is steel dust no aluminum and the 48RE is known for that with stock steels. However, 1/8 inch is way more than what you will ever see from the steels wearing so its probbaly sludge from not having the fluid changed.

Quite possibly it is friction material mixed with the steel dust but either way if you had that much your trans has some BIG problems. Definitely total rebuild time.

With that many miles and the power level you want a full rebuild is in order. With the weight and power this is what I would do:

HD rebuild kit with high energy clutches.

Single disk billet TC

Billet input shaft

Billet servos and accumulator

Billet band strut, anchor, apply lever

5 clutch upgrade to direct clutches

Rigid front band with upgrade material on both front and rear band

Shift kit



You can switch to a manual but a donor truck is almost needed for the harnesses and such. Plus, the NV5600 is going to be an expensive trans to source and, they will break if you beat on them too much, parts are $$$ when they do break.

You have many choices for auto builders and options. The auto has a much better OD ratio for DD and lighter than max towing. A built auto will run away and hide from a manual in all the ways that count.

All kinds of ideas and solutions out there, just some more to chew on.

 

If its steel how come it's not on the magnet? I have never seen a sold steel automatic.

 

Clutch steels wear. They leave the gey sludge. The black color is impurities in the fluid the steel particles have attracted. Look at what builds up on the magnet, when it gets thick its a grayish silver color.

The particles are very small, not all of them will pass by the magnet, and once the magnet is coated they don't stick as well. Attraction on small particles is a lot less than the larger ones so they tend to stick on other surfaces due to impurities in the fluid they have attracted.

The OE clutches in the Dodge transmissions have always done this.

 

So to state my issue again...
I have a 48re that is fully functional BUT I know that I might get into a breakdown situation if I don't strengthen it. The truck was a "commercial" truck before I bought it with 98K. It came with a gooseneck in the bed but not wiring in the bed (so who knows what the truck was used for, how hard it was worked or not worked. When I bought it it was clear that it was sound but not babied. The fluid clearly was not changed in 30K intervals because it was pretty dark and smelled slightly burnt.

Here is the plan:
Rebuild the internals with a heavy duty master rebuild
upgrade the TC
Shift kit for now (VB later as I assume it can be changed while trans is on the truck)
upgrade to heavier flex plate (maybe billet if I can get the cash)
Deep pan
Billet input (again if I can get the cash)

Anything I am missing diesel brethren? Thanks for the input so far...as a Diesel rookie I am still learning. Any good advice on a rebuild manual for the 48re? I think I am going to try it myself.

thanks
bill

 

https://www.dieselbombers.com/5-9-li...bout-48re.html

 

Thats a good start, and yes your on the right track. You can either develop your own plan and build to it, o,r pick a builder and tell them what you want.

Loyd Mills at Mid-Atlantic Diesel is a good source. Tim Barber in Virginia Beach is another.

Call DTT, Goerends, Garmons, and whomever you would like and get there build recs.

 

Built up my 48RE about 6 months ago (10,000 miles). The only thing I wish I had done besides all the goods was possibly the Allison electronics upgrade. I have billet flexplate, 3 disk billet converter, billet input, 5 forward clutches, and all the billet servos/ pistons and covers. All this stuff and it still goes to a neutral feeling when flooring it from a cruising speed. Ive had my butt whipped by S10 blazers, Monte Carlos....you name it. They walk off and leave because I cant get the power to the ground. Ive heard this is due to the electronic governor not being able to deal with the higher pressures. Definitely do your homework on this before you finish your rebuild. I also totally agree with Cerberus60 on the rigid front band. I bought the carbon fiber wide band from PATC...almost forgot....GET A HEAVY DUTY BAND STRUT. Stock one is complete garbage.