Looking for thoughts about rebuilding my 42RLE

defenderu

defenderu

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I have decided just to rebuild with a local shop. So many different reviews on full packages. 03 wrangler and had large chunks in fluid.

Two shops same warranty 2/24k

1. First shop said they would rebuild and upgrade parts including shift kit and a new upgraded body(?). Said he would upgrade other stuff as well. $3,100

2. Second shop said they don’t think you can really beef up a 42rle but that they weld the tabs(?) to make it stronger. $1,875.

What do you guys think??
 
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I'm in the process of rebuilding my 42RLE. The parts add up... I've spent a lot of time trying to bridge the gap between "good stuff" (components made or remanufactured in USA) and "the best" stuff (like ATS diesel valve body and torque converter) I think I'll have around $1200 in parts in it when I'm done and will have a transmission that falls somewhere between a $1800 rebuild and the $2800 ATS one. Knowing my parts cost and how much time you'd spend on the rebuild even if you were familiar with the model does make me wonder how thorough an inexpensive rebuild actually is. I'm trying to build mine to last a long time. I'd wonder if a rebuilder is just trying to get it down the road and out of the warranty period.

I'm finding there are a lot of nuisances to the transmission. I'm confident enough in my skill set, the tools I have access to and the available information to feel that I can complete the repair successfully. It's not easy and I'm several weeks in with several more to go due to the limited time I have to mess with it. So far, a lot of the time I've spent is on research. I still have some unanswered questions.

From what I'm finding, there are a number things you can do to make the transmission work better (shift kit, correct clutch clearances, properly re-worked valve body with symptom remedy valves from Sonnex or TransGo) but from what I can find there doesn't really seem to be much to make it actually stronger other than more aggressive clutch friction material (Raybestos stage 1 red material is the only one I was able to find) Supposedly ATS diesel's torque converter clutch is "beefier"
 
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NickG said:
I'm in the process of rebuilding my 42RLE. The parts add up... I've spent a lot of time trying to bridge the gap between "good stuff" (components made or remanufactured in USA) and "the best" stuff (like ATS diesel valve body and torque converter) I think I'll have around $1200 in parts in it when I'm done and will have a transmission that falls somewhere between a $1800 rebuild and the $2800 ATS one. Knowing my parts cost and how much time you'd spend on the rebuild even if you were familiar with the model does make me wonder how thorough an inexpensive rebuild actually is. I'm trying to build mine to last a long time. I'd wonder if a rebuilder is just trying to get it down the road and out of the warranty period.

I'm finding there are a lot of nuisances to the transmission. I'm confident enough in my skill set, the tools I have access to and the available information to feel that I can complete the repair successfully. It's not easy and I'm several weeks in with several more to go due to the limited time I have to mess with it. So far, a lot of the time I've spent is on research. I still have some unanswered questions.

From what I'm finding, there are a number things you can do to make the transmission work better (shift kit, correct clutch clearances, properly re-worked valve body with symptom remedy valves from Sonnex or TransGo) but from what I can find there doesn't really seem to be much to make it actually stronger other than more aggressive clutch friction material (Raybestos stage 1 red material is the only one I was able to find) Supposedly ATS diesel's torque converter clutch is "beefier"
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This is really helpful and makes sense as to why the other guy is so expensive. He told me most of his cost is in parts. I assume you are right the other place just probably wants to make it work while the expensive place wants to do an actual full rebuild with all new parts.

If you are that high in parts i wonder what the cheaper option would even really be changing.
 
Months back I thought I needed a rebuild and looked into multiple remanufured options.

I wonder how much the fancier parts truly benefit the 42RLE when considering the 4.0l’s power limitations. That ATS transmission was very expensive last time I looked.

My local builder said that they can throw in a billet torque converter housing (for added rigidity) for like $100 to $150 in parts cost. I would have gone that route. I believe he reams something out (valve body?) but I can’t remember why. Other than those items, he will only do a stock rebuild if u want their one year warranty iirc. The builder has a great reputation in my area and seems to be very comfortable on what to do with a 42RLE.

I read that the trans go kit does very little if anything useful but I can’t confirm or deny that.
 
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The symptom remedy valves for the valve body require reaming out the bores for the new valves. It’s basically how rebuild the valve body anyway. The bores wear and you need to resize them and use larger diameter valves. Both Sonnex and TransGo have offerings in this department.
 
I'd do Best Buy if that's on your radar. Skip the expensive local quotes, it's just a contractor that doesn't want the job. If they rebuild it they'll do a shit job because they never wanted it in the first place. You don't need to upgrade anything, I wouldn't pay extra for it, if they want to throw it in that's fine.
 
pagrey said:
I'd do Best Buy if that's on your radar. Skip the expensive local quotes, it's just a contractor that doesn't want the job. If they rebuild it they'll do a shit job because they never wanted it in the first place. You don't need to upgrade anything, I wouldn't pay extra for it, if they want to throw it in that's fine.
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I was considering Best Buy and I think they are a legit option.

However, I learned of an excellent local rebuilder who I will go with if I need work done. My local guy recommends doing an oem rebuild and is cheaper than other options.

Be careful speaking generally as if all rebuilders will do a shitty job or that they don’t want the job. That’s an ignorant and disrespectful position to take and is the opposite of helpful.
 
Mikee024 said:
I was considering Best Buy and I think they are a legit option.

However, I learned of an excellent local rebuilder who I will go with if I need work done. My local guy recommends doing an oem rebuild and is cheaper than other options.

Be careful speaking generally as if all rebuilders will do a shitty job or that they don’t want the job. That’s an ignorant and disrespectful position to take and is the opposite of helpful.
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My local guy only does transmissions and has been around 25 years. I have to think he will do a decent job.
 
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I see that the OP decided to go with a local guy. Kudo to him.

To add some information for folks using the search function and happened upon this thread...

I'm up to $1600 in parts for mine. My goal isn't to get the transmission working again inexpensively. My goal is to re-build it in such a way that it'll go another 80-100k miles. I've spent extra on things like Raybestos stage 1 friction discs and new Raybestos steel discs, as well as new clutch hubs, the input clutch hub and front planetary set. I think a good bit is due to hard parts that are more worn than they should be. At this point I'm pretty certain the trans was swapped out with a "rebuilt" one that originally had twice the miles my LJ has on it. This is partly calculated comparing the actual 80k mile on I bought that had a ruined planetary set. I've also got all new bushings, pistons, thrust, tapered and Torrington bearings.

Note that the Best Buy transmission warranty is notes: "Vehicles that have been modified outside of factory specifications are void of warranty"

I'm not saying their transmission is a bad deal, because it seems to be a pretty decent value. I'll note that a lot of the bullet points are things you should do anyway (reman pump and torque converter) and some of the "custom" stuff is just symptom remedy / repair parts made by Sonnex that should be considered standard practice. The stators originally had four steel rings. There is some debate about using Teflon ones... part of the reason Teflon seals are used is they're more forgiving than steel rings and the surface doesn't have to be as true/circular. I'm not sure what they update with the solenoid pack. All I know is you can buy reman ones, or you can buy new ones from Chrysler. I bought a new one.
 
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NickG said:
Note that the Best Buy transmission warranty is notes: "Vehicles that have been modified outside of factory specifications are void of warranty"
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I wonder what that entails since it’s such a broad clause. May not be a problem or it could be a major problem.

I’d probably have them clarify that in writing or have it in writing that they are good with my set-up. Especially, since I believe they ask for vehicle details when you purchase from them.
 
Some more of my new parts came in today. Noticed something I hadn’t while shopping. The new front planet has 4 gears rather than 3. I’d be willing to bet this is the “reinforced planetary” Set some of the rebuilders are advertising.

I know the front planet is known for failures. The used transmission I bought with no second gear for $50 suffered a front planet failure. I also saw it quite a few times while researching things.

8A613587-6234-468D-9CAA-7815EB210B23.jpeg
 
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NickG said:
Some more of my new parts came in today. Noticed something I hadn’t while shopping. The new front planet has 4 gears rather than 3. I’d be willing to bet this is the “reinforced planetary” Set some of the rebuilders are advertising.

I know the front planet is known for failures. The used transmission I bought with no second gear for $50 suffered a front planet failure. I also saw it quite a few times while researching things.

View attachment 321647
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I’m a dummy on this stuff but wouldn't that mean that’s a 4-pinion instead of 3-pinion setup? My apologies if I’m misusing terminology. Seems like it would make the front planet more stiff and reduce chances of failure.
 
I’m just figuring this stuff out myself.

4 pinion… I guess that’s what you’d call it.

It’ll be taking the same stress/force that was in the 3 planetary gears and spreading it out to 4. This means less force on the teeth, the shafts the gears rotate about, the thrust washers, and the assembly overall. Surly this would be beneficial so far as increased strength and a longer service life. Does this make it bombproof? I doubt it. But I bet it’ll help reduce the odds of a failure.
 
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