Transmission mods below consist of valve body upgrade to Sonnax valve set and Suncoast billet low stall TC - these were done about 80K miles ago, no problems from the tranny until now. When I floor the throttle to engage kickdown, I can feel what seems to be a downshift, the engine will accelerate to near redline but no power - almost sounds like I'm gonna float the valves. Adjusted the front bands to spec, no joy; tried a bit tighter, no joy, put it back to spec. The front band adjuster is nowhere near bottoming out. The tranny has not been overheated, and I do a fluid/filter change every year. Any thoughts?

 

Have you tried an apps reset? No idea if it'd help but it's worth a try.

 

Sounds like some clutches are just about toast. Could be the band as well I guess. 80k on it, might be worth it to tear it apart and have a look.

 

Is this happening in OD or drive? At what speed are you trying this?

If it is happening coming out of OD to drive could be direct clutch pack has problem. They have a habit of loosing seals with pressure upgrades. No band applied in drive direct clutch pack and forward clutch pack only.

Might be time to replace the gov sensor and transducer. That is a typical symptom of one of them gone bad also.

 

Hi Jim, you need a scanner to look at the apps voltage at idle and WOT with the key on and engine off. First pull the APPS and look at the sensor voltage on the back of the APPS. That is your APPS idle voltage. Then with the scanner on your truck with the key on and engine off verify the voltage displayed matches that of the voltage on the back of the APPS sensor. If it doesnt the adjust the throttle stop screw untill the match is made. Just as a note, remove the screw completely first and buff off the loctite from the threads first. Then set the stop to the correct voltage. Once set then back the screw back out and apply ONE DROP of loctite to the screw and reset and reverify the correct setting. Next do the same to the WOT throttle stop. It should read 3.50 volts wide open. Use the same proceedure to set the WOT stop settings. Once the correct settings are attained the you need to reset the TV cable. The cable should have 1/4 inch free play before the throttle arm moves the cable. Drive and verify 3000 to 3100 RPM full throttle shifts from 1st to third. Adjust the cable accordingly.

APPS sensors wear between 50,000 to 75,000 miles on the 03 to the 04.5s. They sometimes can be readjusted to meet the specs needed. Beats a $500.00 APPS replacement unless the adjustment cant be made to spec. This adjustment WILL NOT affect idle. The computer on the third gens accept the specs even when when way out of the posted voltages every time the key is turned on. In other words the APPS is reset at every key on.

I now have 185,000 miles on the original APPS sensor and have had to bring it back into spec four times now.

 

Thanks guys! Managed to borrow a Snap-On scanner - the APPS checked out OK, but the trans fluid pressures were way out of whack - when the desired pressures were around 875, actual pressures were around 550. Replaced the governor pressure solenoid and sensor, and she's back in championship form! BTW, Tim, your mod package is the heat - I've dropped the pan twice a year now for the last 3 years, and it's STILL clean as a whistle after 155K miles. For comparison, my buddy has an 04.5 (bone stock) with 170K, and I've cleaned metal gook out of his pan every time we've done his filter changes.

 

Just curious on the mod package you did from Tim?


Thanks,,Tim

 

Tim -
I'm away from home and don't have a copy of the writeup with me. Did a search for "Tim Holt mods", and pulled this off a thread by gdh11. Hope this helps - if you need more, drop me a PM, I'll be back home on Wednesday.


Modifications made to the 48RE included a Superior VB kit for the 99 up
A500/618. (Superior Part #K500-618-L)

The kit was installed as per instructions except for the following.

1)Do not drill the Pressure Regulator valve wall as per kit as
a Sonnax Pressure Regulator valve is used instead. (Sonnax part
#2271-02K)

2)Do not drill the Valve Body casting for the manual valve
that comes in the kit because a Sonnax valve is used instead.
(Sonnax part #22771-09)

3)Replace the 4-spool lockup valve with a Sonnax 4 spool
convertor valve. (Sonnax part #22771A-01)

4)I also delete or remove the cooler line check valve as the
Sonnax PR valve moves the check valve into the VB where it belongs. The
original check valve is located in one of the cooler lines where the
lines go from the metal to rubber line at the fender well and its part of the coupler.

5)Replace stock torque converter with ATC/Repco part #CR70X-S1
I use this 99 up Superior Kit on ALL models RWD OD Dodges with the
incorporation of the Sonnax valve set.

1) This keeps the convertor charged at full throttle and lube flow
at max.

2) It also allows for extended idle in park. The Sonnax manual valve
with the Pressure Regulator valve achieves this goal.
These modifications are highly recommended with any rebuild and
Required for all diesel applications in my shop. The above modifications work extremely well for lockup and are PERFECT for a lower stall convertor like this one. The convertor is well suited in the 305 HO '03 and '04 models and the new 325 hp 600 ft lbs torque for the '04.5 models.

Bobby at AXIOM in Charlotte NC (256)767-3141 can help you order these parts. Tell him George from Affordable in Sanford, NC gave you his info. This is all information passed to me from Tim Holt, we have him to thank on all of this work and research. Great tranny mods for a VERY reasonable cost compared to the rest of the market. Price it out and you will be amazed.

DISCLAIMER - I am not at all affiliated with AXIOM technology or do I have any interest in any of the companies. Just trying to help you save lots of money that would be wasted on overpriced competetive parts that do the same thing. Take it for what it is worth.

 

Thank you, I appreciate the info.


Tim

 

My 06 has done this a few times at partial to WOT at lower speeds, 35-45 MPH could this be my problem as well? I normally roll into the throttle when I reach a certain location on the pedal it will automatically dShift and cause the symptoms described above. The highest I run Smarty is on #3 stock TM
50K miles.

I allways drive in Tow/haul as it shifts and drives better, I have also just ordered the TS shift enhancer thinking this would repair the problem (I haven't received it yet)

Not meaning to hijack thread I thought this problem was mine only

 

Can you please post some info from your install of this part and some real world driving. I am considering getting one of these as well.

 

dfranks -
the only way I know to check is to have the rig hooked to a scanner during a road test, and check the ECM anticipated/desired fluid pressure against actual. Keep in mind, the pressure differential does not guarantee that the governor pressure solenoid and sensor will fix the problem - it's just the most common failure and the cheapest, quickest remedy. Cost me ~$130 US in parts, 6 qts of fluid and a filter, and about 30 minutes from lift to road. Parts can be had cheaper via aftermarket, but since the OEM lasted over 130K, I went with that.
Hope this helps.

 

Thanks Jim, I might just take it in to the dealer and have them do the TSB on it.