Is the 32RH a good transmission?

Well they hold up behind 1000 hp dragsters, but that 2.5 is more of a 30rh and a 2.5 couldn’t pull 4th gear on anything but a downhill grade.
Is the 30RH terrible? Maybe I have my RH’s mixed up.
I replied to a similar post from you elsewhere yesterday but, again, yours is the 30RH. The 32RH only goes behind the 4.0 engine. And while a 4th gear is often a good thing, it's not always a good thing... take the 42RLE 4-speed transmission. Its 4th gear/overdrive drops the rpms down so low most people are close to or are lugging the engines with it.

Since you're complaining about your engine rpms, what size tires are you running and what axle ratio is in your axles? I gave you a photo of where the tag is so you can figure out your ratio. Not to mention if you had the 32RH behind the 4.0 you'd have an entirely different opinion of the 32RH.
this is the only place I’ve posted. Not sure where the other reply would be. My engine runs basically at 3k rpm’s everywhere. That’s highway speed and in town speed, it’s the set shift point for the transmission. 3k rpm’s with stock exhaust is loud and drones. I wish I had a 4th gear so highway 55+ driving was at a lower RPM.
I have stock gears and 31’s. I know the 2.5L mated to the 30RH sucks. So I’m complaining yes, but I fully aware I have the dreaded 2.5 auto setup.
 
3k rpms is absolutely fine, don't worry about it... the engine doesn't mind a bit. I'd try a different muffler to get rid of the drone. After converting from a 5-speed with 4.88 gears with 35's to the 32RH with the same 4.88 gears, I was probably turning 3200 rpms on the highway for years. I used ear plugs and didn't worry about the engine lol.

Yeah I saw a similar "32RH sucks" comment made by someone who didn't know they had a 30RH either yesterday. Just coincidental I guess.
 
3k rpms is absolutely fine, don't worry about it... the engine doesn't mind a bit. I'd try a different muffler to get rid of the drone. After converting from a 5-speed with 4.88 gears with 35's to the 32RH with the same 4.88 gears, I was probably turning 3200 rpms on the highway for years. I used ear plugs and didn't worry about the engine lol.

Yeah I saw a similar "32RH sucks" comment made by someone who didn't know they had a 30RH either yesterday. Just coincidental I guess.
Glad to know the engine is fine. Crazy an engine can run for 200k miles at 3k rpm’s. That’s a robust engine.
In terms of the 32rh sucks when they have a 30RH, there are lots of idiots that own jeeps, myself included.
 
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Glad to know the engine is fine. Crazy an engine can run for 200k miles at 3k rpm’s. That’s a robust engine.
In terms of the 32rh sucks when they have a 30RH, there are lots of idiots that own jeeps, myself included.
We have six stage air compressors being turned by 17,000+ horsepower motors for 35+ years at ~3000 RPM... I guess I never considered 3000 RPM a problem, other than being noisy 🤷‍♂️
 
We have six stage air compressors being turned by 17,000+ horsepower motors for 35+ years at ~3000 RPM... I guess I never considered 3000 RPM a problem, other than being noisy 🤷‍♂️
My skepticism comes from my lack of trust in Chrysler not that 3k rpm’s is bad. I’m glad the community has had great experiences with the engine and tranny.
 
My skepticism comes from my lack of trust in Chrysler not that 3k rpm’s is bad. I’m glad the community has had great experiences with the engine and tranny.
The 2.5 and 4.0 engines both share a pretty much bulletproof reputation. Chrysler has made many fine engines, not all for sure, but the 2.5 and 4.0 right up there at the top.
 
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My thought is that since the red numbers on the tach don't even start until above 5000rpm, the motor ought to turn 3000 rpm almost forever. Anecdotal evidence seems to prove me right...again. :ROFLMAO:

Jerry, the slant-6 was a pretty bulletproof motor too, just not an impressive performer.
 
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I have the 32 RH in my 2001 Sahara. I do not recall the code it threw right after I bought it. Something related to the torque convertor not letting go or something like that. I was told I could drive forever with that "problem".

I had the tranny rebuilt at 153,000 miles. Cost me $2,000. It was running fine when I rebuilt it. I just hate the CEL being on.
 
AFAIK the only CEL the 32RH will throw is for the torque converter lockup, and maybe the NSS.
 
I have the 32 RH in my 2001 Sahara. I do not recall the code it threw right after I bought it. Something related to the torque convertor not letting go or something like that. I was told I could drive forever with that "problem".

I had the tranny rebuilt at 153,000 miles. Cost me $2,000. It was running fine when I rebuilt it. I just hate the CEL being on.

You paid 2000$
I thought the code was a number, but I can't recall.

Do you think I should have kept driving and not rebuilt it?

Hard to answer that question. I personally don’t fix anything unless it’s catastrophically broken. I’ve chased enough oil leaks and creaks that I’m done fixing the minor problems.
 
Do you think I should have kept driving and not rebuilt it?

100% I would not have, but it's water under the bridge. The torque converter lockup helps with efficiency & heat but I drove with mine not working for a long time. The NSS may or may not throw a code (can't recall) but also only affects safety at startup, nothing to do with operation.

Replacing the lockup solenoid is a little involved, you have to remove the valve body but it's actually pretty easy. But hey, now you've got a fresh transmission with a warranty.
 
You paid 2000$


Hard to answer that question. I personally don’t fix anything unless it’s catastrophically broken. I’ve chased enough oil leaks and creaks that I’m done fixing the minor problems.

My dad always told me wait until it does not work then you will know what to fix.
 
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100% I would not have, but it's water under the bridge. The torque converter lockup helps with efficiency & heat but I drove with mine not working for a long time. The NSS may or may not throw a code (can't recall) but also only affects safety at startup, nothing to do with operation.

Replacing the lockup solenoid is a little involved, you have to remove the valve body but it's actually pretty easy. But hey, now you've got a fresh transmission with a warranty.
Torque converter lockup solenoid.

I've had that issue on and off over the years. I reset the code and drive another 6 or 8 months before it comes back.

sounds like it's fairly common though, in your rebuild adventures did you see anything that gave any clues why?
 
Torque converter lockup solenoid.

I've had that issue on and off over the years. I reset the code and drive another 6 or 8 months before it comes back.

sounds like it's fairly common though, in your rebuild adventures did you see anything that gave any clues why?

I had (at least) 2 problems. First was that the wiring in the harness was all shorted out, which affected several other things (NSS, reverse lights, pretty sure something else too). The second problem was that the insulation on the wires INSIDE the transmission had somehow worn bare. My theory is that the wires, which are routed over top of the valve body, must have come into contact with some part of the rotating assemblies and had the insulation rubbed off over time. It was only 1 wire, and what I experienced was that if you plug in the TCC plug one direction it would work, and it would blow a fuse in the other direction. That's because in one polarity the wire that was contacting the transmission/case was the ground wire anyway so no problem. But the other polarity had that wire as the +12V, so it shorted & blew the fuse.

Having now worked on several different automatic transmissions (despite being "incompetent" on the matter), the 32RH is somewhat unique in that the rotating components are more or less open to the lower part of the transmission. Take the AW4 found in Cherokees. All the drums & ring gears & clutches...anything that spins is "enclosed" into the upper section of the case. I just watched a video on a GM transmission, same thing. The 32RH (aka 904) dates back to the 60s so maybe this is a design consideration that evolved over time as transmission got better. IDK.

But there are tons of 32RH's out there with lockup converters and while the solenoids do die from time to time, I've never seen mention of this specific problem, which is why it's just my theory. There was some evidence of my trans having been opened up prior, so maybe they routed the wire badly when they put it back together. Who can know. If yours is intermittent, I would replace the solenoid next time I planned to change the trans filter. One thing it helped me with is being much more aware of when the lockup happens. I never knew what that RPM drop was, now I'm very much in tune with it, which is a good thing with these money pits. :)

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My code would come back after about two or three hours of driving

I would guess either a short in a wire somewhere that caused the PCM to want to turn on the TCC but something in the circuit prevented the solenoid from firing, or maybe the solenoid itself. I suppose it's possible that the issue was actually in the torque converter, did you actually see the RPMs tick up when the CEL came on?

In my head you were driving with the TC locked up, then something happened and you got the TCC related CEL. Either the RPMs changed or they didn't...if they did, then something killed the power to the solenoid (or the clutch slipped or something). If the RPMs didn't change.....well I would have to think about that harder than I want to this morning. But this is all on a trans you already had rebuilt and now is working ok?

Also $2k seems to be on the low side for a rebuild job these days, $2500-$3k is what I found. $2k will get you a rebuilt unit with a minimal warranty from some place on the internet that has warehouses of these things, not sure if I would trust them. $1500 will get you a used unit with 100k+ miles on it and virtually no warranty. For $350 and a couple days of your time you can rebuild it yourself, without any prior expertise and nothing in the way of specialty tools.