Bought new 42RLE transmission today from Bullripper

It takes a bit to get to 180°, a good 25 minutes.

Any issues with it shifting hard into 3rd? I've read that ATS diesel's heavy-duty 42RLE has this issue for some folks...affecting the driving experience.

Not sure if this issue comes up with the Bullripper build.
 
Last edited:
Any issues with it shifting hard into 3rd? I've read that ATS diesel's heavy-duty 42RLE has this issue for some folks...affecting the driving experience.

Not sure if this issue comes up with the Bullripper build.

Both the 2nd and 3rd gear shifts are pretty smooth, maybe slightly quicker than stock, but definitely not a hard shift. I believe they put a Transgo stage 1 shift kit in it. It's gotten to the point that I don't think about or notice the trans any more. I'm happy with it. It's still somewhat of a crap shoot when buying a reman trans. Depends on who's building it, and what kind of day they're having, or what kind of night the had the day before. I know that doesn't help, especially when you're shelling out $2600, but my experience has been good, and I'd buy a Bullripper again.

I watched my temps a little closer this morning. The 1st 10 minutes were though town, and the temp hit about 150° While not what I'd call stop and go, I didn't make every light either. The next 10 minutes were on the freeway at 70-75 mph. I had the OD off, as I have 35s and the stock 3.73 gearing. the temp when I got off the freeway was about 165°. The next 15 minutes were in a semi-rural area, with a few traffic signals. I work on the edge of a neighboring town, and hit a couple long red lights in the last mile or so. Temp hit 170°. Ambient temp was 60°.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikeE024
Depends on who's building it, and what kind of day they're having, or what kind of night the had the day before.

Definitely!

We used to say that the builder must have been clipping his toenails the day our buddy's ATV engine was built (in response to the engine failing far too soon).

I know that doesn't help, especially when you're shelling out $2600, but my experience has been good, and I'd buy a Bullripper again.

No man, this is super helpful and great to hear. I already made the purchase and will be going with the Bullripper. Just wanted to ask about the shifting in order to set proper expectations for myself.

I watched my temps a little closer this morning. The 1st 10 minutes were though town, and the temp hit about 150° While not what I'd call stop and go, I didn't make every light either. The next 10 minutes were on the freeway at 70-75 mph. I had the OD off, as I have 35s and the stock 3.73 gearing. the temp when I got off the freeway was about 165°. The next 15 minutes were in a semi-rural area, with a few traffic signals. I work on the edge of a neighboring town, and hit a couple long red lights in the last mile or so. Temp hit 170°. Ambient temp was 60°.

Are you getting the temps from your pan? (sorry if that was already asked and answered).

Also, are you using an external cooler? I wonder if your temps will be even lower with 5.13s.
 
Last edited:
I've posted once or twice here so I get updates. I have a big cooler. I run 140-150 almost all the time. I push 200 when I'm really working things, 3k climb in heat. If you get a cooler your pan temps will be low all the time, under 180 in my opinion. I guess it depends on your cooler. Anything under 200 is fine, nothing to worry about.
 
I've posted once or twice here so I get updates. I have a big cooler. I run 140-150 almost all the time. I push 200 when I'm really working things, 3k climb in heat. If you get a cooler your pan temps will be low all the time, under 180 in my opinion. I guess it depends on your cooler. Anything under 200 is fine, nothing to worry about.

My cooler is disconnected (for troubleshooting reasons) yet the transmission has been running pretty cool 155* on local commutes at 99* ambient temps.

For some reason this transmission boiled/burnt the new fluid while off-roading recently so I’m not taking any chances. Looking forward to receiving the bullripper.
 
Definitely!

We used to say that the builder must have been clipping his toenails the day our buddy's ATV engine was built (in response to the engine failing far too soon).



No man, this is super helpful and great to hear. I already made the purchase and will be going with the Bullripper. Just wanted to ask about the shifting in order to set proper expectations for myself.



Are you getting the temps from your pan? (sorry if that was already asked and answered).

Also, are you using an external cooler? I wonder if your temps will be even lower with 5.13s.

Yeah, my temp sensor is in the pan. I have a PSC cooler installed, but not hooked up yet. I hope to get that plumbed in this weekend or next.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikeE024
I've posted once or twice here so I get updates. I have a big cooler. I run 140-150 almost all the time. I push 200 when I'm really working things, 3k climb in heat. If you get a cooler your pan temps will be low all the time, under 180 in my opinion. I guess it depends on your cooler. Anything under 200 is fine, nothing to worry about.

Agreed. I'll be happy with 200*.

It's those 240*+ temps that I hope to not see moving forward (sounds like it shouldn't be an issue, which is great to know!).
 
Yeah, my temp sensor is in the pan. I have a PSC cooler installed, but not hooked up yet. I hope to get that plumbed in this weekend or next.

Nice. I originally planned to have Blaine install a PSC hydro-assist steering kit in so I had a 14 row trans cooler sent to his address. Given life/budget constraints I likely won't be doing the steering kit but I still desire to have the upgraded cooler installed.

I appreciate you answering my questions along the way. Great to hear you aren't worried one bit about the transmission holding up. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: SoCalGlide
1st 10 minutes were though town, and the temp hit about 150° While not what I'd call stop and go, I didn't make every light either. The next 10 minutes were on the freeway at 70-75 mph. I had the OD off, as I have 35s and the stock 3.73 gearing. the temp when I got off the freeway was about 165°. The next 15 minutes were in a semi-rural area, with a few traffic signals. I work on the edge of a neighboring town, and hit a couple long red lights in the last mile or so. Temp hit 170°. Ambient temp was 60°.

Drove around longer tonight to see how hot the transmission will get if I let it get up to temp.

Ambient temp: 94*

On average, the gauge was at 175* at highway speeds and 210* on side streets in town.

Hopefully that means my transmission will last until the replacement shows up (as long as I keep up adequate air flow/cooling).
 
I have run mine well over 240 a few times with no damage to the transmission or fluid. You have nothing to worry about at 210. Keep in mind 240-260 is not a serious enough condition to trigger a warning light of any kind or log any code. Jeep felt it wasn't important and changing the shift schedule to cool the transmission was enough. If those temperatures could cause damage it seems like Jeep would throw a P0218 but who knows?
 
I have run mine well over 240 a few times with no damage to the transmission or fluid. You have nothing to worry about at 210. Keep in mind 240-260 is not a serious enough condition to trigger a warning light of any kind or log any code. Jeep felt it wasn't important and changing the shift schedule to cool the transmission was enough. If those temperatures could cause damage it seems like Jeep would throw a P0218 but who knows?

I’m not worried one bit about 210*. I’m just trying to assess how hot it will get if I have to make a road trip before the bullripper arrives.

For context, I got an overheat warning and the system went into limp mode recently when I cooked my transmission while off-roading (P codes 700/701).

I had to wipe the burnt char off my dip stick when checking to see if water was in the system since the transmission fluid was boiling (no water was in the system). My new fluid smells horribly burnt. I was potentially in the 550* plus range from what I read online. The flash point is 388* according to the msds but I didn’t see a call out for the boiling point. I got a general answer regarding the boiling point for atf and it said 550* to 600*.

Since that incident I’ve taken baby steps to see how damaged my transmission is. First I just hoped to get home, then I hoped to be able to drive it locally. All has been well so now I’m hoping I can drive it on the highway for hours since I’m moving soon. I’ll install the bullripper when it arrives but it will be about a month.
 
Last edited:
I was potentially in the 550* plus range from what I read online. The flash point is 388* according to the msds but I didn’t see a call out for the boiling point. I got a general answer regarding the boiling point for atf and it said 550* to 600*.

Sounds like you've got your head on straight, some folks get freaked out at lower temps which obviously wasn't the case for you.
 
Sounds like you've got your head on straight, some folks get freaked out at lower temps which obviously wasn't the case for you.

Yea my situation is far from normal. lol

I didn't have the temp sensor hooked up to the pan before because I was offroading locally and don't yet have a port on the side of the pan for the sender (the current coupler at the drain port causes the sender to hang pretty low out of the pan).

Now that the transmission overheated, I won't be offroading so I hooked up the sender for the first time this past week after removing the skid plate. That's why I've been asking all these silly questions (just hoping to get a baseline on what you guys normally have for temps). I learned yesterday that my transmission simply takes a while to warm up and once it's warmed up I definitely need airflow or the temps might eventually increase to ugly levels. I have no plans to push it other than for long-distance highway driving. I'll hook the cheaper external cooler for a little added insurance before I make the long drive.

Thanks again for putting up with my input and questions in this thread, and I apologize if I caused the thread to get off track. Your input has been super helpful. 🙂
 
  • Like
Reactions: pagrey
I would not be able to tell you anything - because I did not get mine from Bullripper :)

My memory is failing. This is the second or third time I've said this and I always forget you got yours elsewhere. Doh!
 
Last edited:
My memory is failing. This is the second or third time I've said this and I always forget you got yours elsewhere. Doh!

No worries. Mine was from ATS diesel and it was not a good experience. But there are alteast 2 other people on the forum that have good experiences. Like everything it comes down to the person doing the rebuild and how much attention they put in and how much they care.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris