IF you look at how HARD Jeff beats on his transmission you might figure it's worth it....
ATS Diesel 42RLE transmission
- Thread starter CybrSlydr
- Start date
IF you look at how HARD Jeff beats on his transmission you might figure it's worth it....
I just feel dumb not catching that was the name of the company and not a diesel transmission.
I remembered they have the 300hp model and the 400hp. Cool.
For what it's worth ATS is 25 miles from me , I have known folks / businesses who have used their transmissions and diesel hot rod parts.
At the end of the day the happy vs. pissed ratio is about 20% happy - 80% ready to burn down their shop.
I would much rather have Mr Blaine recommend a slush box supplier he has used and was happy with. Now he may tell you to fuck off , however he would bring a honest assessment to the table . Honesty is not a value highly valued by our friends in Arvada.
Just my 2 cents worth.
At the end of the day the happy vs. pissed ratio is about 20% happy - 80% ready to burn down their shop.
I would much rather have Mr Blaine recommend a slush box supplier he has used and was happy with. Now he may tell you to fuck off , however he would bring a honest assessment to the table . Honesty is not a value highly valued by our friends in Arvada.
Just my 2 cents worth.
I have no direct experience with ats.
I was in a similar boat a year ago. I daily drive mine and was tired of not having confidence in my transmission. Started having solenoid D shift codes and going into limp home mode. Every local shop I spoke with said pass on the ats. According to them there are only a few improvements that can be made and they are readily available from sonnax. I had a local guy rebuild mine with those parts and a bull ripper torque converter. Still had the same code. In the end it was the a rebuilt tcm from @Wranglerfix that was needed. Mines and 04 for reference.
Heat is the enemy. I think a rebuilt unit from a reputable company with a trans cooler and good parts would service most with stock power plants well.
I was in a similar boat a year ago. I daily drive mine and was tired of not having confidence in my transmission. Started having solenoid D shift codes and going into limp home mode. Every local shop I spoke with said pass on the ats. According to them there are only a few improvements that can be made and they are readily available from sonnax. I had a local guy rebuild mine with those parts and a bull ripper torque converter. Still had the same code. In the end it was the a rebuilt tcm from @Wranglerfix that was needed. Mines and 04 for reference.
Heat is the enemy. I think a rebuilt unit from a reputable company with a trans cooler and good parts would service most with stock power plants well.
And even then the sonnax stuff tends to be minor improvements, at least on the 32RH.
I mean, people like to think these things are black boxes of satanic wizardry, but it's really just clutch packs applied by fluid pressure that holds/allows planetary sets to turn or not. So if you're a performance shop claiming to make it better, I want to know what specifically are you doing to make it better? Frictions that hold better? More pressure to apply the pistons harder? (and is that even possible/what other compensation must be made?). Planets that can handle more torque? I legit want to know. And based on this thread, maybe they aren't anything I can't do with off the shelf parts, and possibly even worse than what I would do?
Unfortunately, I agree. While refreshing my tow rig, I went with ATS for several things at once, including a 68RFE to Allison swap. I thought I was pressing the easy button. But it has been anything but easy. I won't bore anyone with the details unless asked but a year later I'm still sorting through the issues my truck came back with and their post sale customer service is not good.
Two take aways from that experience: 1) Don't use that company 2) If you want it right, do it yourself, even if that means buying tools and acquiring new skills.
I stuck with the 6spd out of a 06 for the diesel conversion. Had it rebuilt byba local shop thats now 3k Miles away.
I'm curious to how long it will last since it's right at the upper threshold for the Tq the diesel puts out.
I'm curious to how long it will last since it's right at the upper threshold for the Tq the diesel puts out.
I wonder if their TC is junk or worth installing for engines running 50%+ more power than stock.
NV 5600? I considered a manual when I bought mine in '08. At that time, Dodge derated the 6.7 CTD if you got the manual, for that reason.
In my case, about 10% over stock power, their normal "conversion" torque converter failed, or more accurately wasn't functioning well from the start. After much ado, they replaced it with their "5-star" converter which works better but locks up pretty abruptly under load. The trans tune also needs some adjustment. I've given up on ATS and I'm working with a local tuner who I trust for that.
I did not have a good experience with ATS. I know @NashvilleTJ and couple others on the board have. If you read reviews it is 50-50 good/bad. Most auto trans places are this way. I think it all comes down to the specific person doing the rebuild and how much they care about their work, how much they care to do it right and very importantly how willing they are to take care of you if issues arise. For my orange jeep I wanted no trouble on the trans front so I went with a trusted name in the SoCal area per the wizard's recommendation. I know that this time it will be done 100% correctly and in the rare case that any issues come later, I will be fully taken care of. Can't ask for anything better.
The golden goose has said that something like 2 out of 3 cases aren't fit for a rebuild on the 42rle. I know everyone is in love with autos but no thanks for now!
FWIW, Bullripper’s original TC was defective and it took my installer to convince them (they listened to him right away and said he knows his stuff). The second TC they sent had a billet housing for more rigidity.
Both TC’s came from a company called Precision (Bullripper’s supplier). My installer said Precision is his TC supplier as well.
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Yea, my installer didn’t go for Bullripper’s claim that their (Precision) TC is HD. He asked me what makes them HD and I told him BR said that they braze the fins…he said that’s been standard since the 90s. That’s why I sprung for the billet version. Maybe this was a wise call since I later added boost…or maybe it didn’t matter.
I consider Bullripper’s TC marketing claims to be mere puffery.
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An automatic is great for 1 thing only crawling in giant rocks . In every other scenario they are a real compromise . The costs are high for everything , the reliability is only fair , and just wait till you go down the electronics , cooling rabbit hole . I have never been concerned what temperature my AX - 15 is operating at. Every large town is filled with automatic transmission repair shops , yet most of them are happy with just throwing frictions , steels in , and calling it rebuilt.
The case and bushings are never touched , ( or available ) .
Cooling rabbit hole? Add a temp gauge (I believe the 42RLE actually has a PID for that) and an aux cooler. Now you’ve reached the bottom of the rabbit hole.
Shops don’t touch the bushings when the do a rebuild? Then my rebuilds really are better than a shop…
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