[SANDMAN1988]

ALOHA ALL, I NEED SOME MAJOR HELP!!! :help:
I have a 1999 Ram 2500 4X4 with the 8.0L V10 and the 47RE Tranny. It only has about 65,000 miles on it with no towing. The tranny started acting up lately with a 200 rpm variation in OD on a level surface (2000-2200 at highway speeds). Now it feels like I have no 1st gear (sluggish of the line) and it won't go into OD at all (3500 rpm at highway speed). The local tranny shop says it needs to be rebuilt to the tune of $2200 (discounted price) and they'll give a 15,000 mile warranty. This sounds expensive with a short warranty. I don't have that kind of money available so is there something I can do to fix it or at least make it last for awhile longer? I'll be moving to the mainland (Texas) in the next few months and I heard there was a really good heavy duty aftermarket Tranny/Convertor that was about the same price as a rebuild. I have virtually no experience with Dodge trucks (my 1st one) so please, any and all help will be much appreciated. Thanks.
Jonathan

 

[mikeah169]

Sounds like what happened to mine. My first gear went out and at first it was just the selonoids on the valve body then they pulled the pan and found large chunks of crap in their, so it was either rebuild it or buy a new one. I bought one from jasper and theirs is redesigned to fix all the problems the dodge trannys have, plus they use heavy duty materials and it has a 36 month/75,00 mile warranty. When it was all said and done it cost me about $3500. I dont know if you can afford that but to me it was worth it, and the new tranny is doin great.

 

[98QuadCabV10]

I have seen a few 47re trans on e-bay for around $900 - $1300 when I was looking. The higher priced ones are heavy duty and come with a better warrentee. I personally hate e-bay and have never had any luck with it. You could e-mail people that have bought that trans before and see if they thought it was worth it.
You could replace the trans yourself it's not very hard to do. You could even re-build it. I have heard from a few people on here that it is not very complicated if you follow the directions. I can't follow directions so I wouldn't recommend it.
You could also try to diagnosis it your self. First drop the pan as mikeah169 suggested. If there is chunks then you will need it replaced or a rebuild.

 

[SANDMAN1988]

Thank you much for the info. I like the idea of $900-$1300 on ebay as it fits better in my budget (or lack of). I checked Jasper and it's around $2950. I also checked with Dr Evil and their's is about $2400 for the heavy duty one. Any Idea which is better?

mikeah169... I just had the Thuren track-bar installed (right before tranny croaked) to replace the new Skyjacker one that was in there which was hitting my front diff. I love it.

Jonathan