Blown Trans 9,000 miles

[12_cummins]

I had an issue with my '21 3500 SO 68rfe a few days ago. I was making a 120 mile trip with a loaded enclosed trailer, not sure on the weight but I would say for sure under 10,000 lbs loaded. I had gone about 50 miles with the cruise set at 72 mph, no issues with shifting to this point at all. Truck has 8600 miles. Pulling on flat ground at the time of the issue, heard a very loud bang, cruise kicked off, lights on the dash flashing and dinging, check engine light came on, now stuck in 4th gear. Truck slammed from 6th to 4th. Pulled over and tried to get truck to reset, nothing. Drove the rest of the way 70 miles at 55 mph in 4th to the nearest dealer. They are saying that the valve body is bad. Waiting on parts to arrive next week.

 

[raven_dt]

I doubt we'll ever see the Allison. It's 90% probable that it will be the ZF Powerline 8-speed.

I'd love to see it, not so much for the gears, but the other features like skip shift and no load 2nd gear starts.

I'm not really keen on skip shifts or 10 speeds after owning a 10R140.

 

[gimmie11s]

I had an issue with my '21 3500 SO 68rfe a few days ago. I was making a 120 mile trip with a loaded enclosed trailer, not sure on the weight but I would say for sure under 10,000 lbs loaded. I had gone about 50 miles with the cruise set at 72 mph, no issues with shifting to this point at all. Truck has 8600 miles. Pulling on flat ground at the time of the issue, heard a very loud bang, cruise kicked off, lights on the dash flashing and dinging, check engine light came on, now stuck in 4th gear. Truck slammed from 6th to 4th. Pulled over and tried to get truck to reset, nothing. Drove the rest of the way 70 miles at 55 mph in 4th to the nearest dealer. They are saying that the valve body is bad. Waiting on parts to arrive next week.

No the 19+ 68rfe has almost no fail rate….

Right. Except for the guy above, and OP, and all of the other 19+ guys posting recently.






OP, sorry to hear! You probably just got a bad one... it happens. Although i wouldnt say the 68rfe is an "almost no fail rate" trans--it IS a very stout trans... you just got unlucky.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Right. Except for the guy above, and OP, and all of the other 19+ guys posting recently.






OP, sorry to hear! You probably just got a bad one... it happens. Although i wouldnt say the 68rfe is an "almost no fail rate" trans--it IS a very stout trans... you just got unlucky.

Less than a handfull is part of the almost no failure rate but thanks for playing kiddo

 

[k9crawford]

Well, I've received the first email that acknowledges corporate want's to do a buy back on my truck. the dealer and field engineers had performed another test tow and another data check and have no idea why it continues to over heat the trans with the trailer. It will still be two weeks or so to get more information from the " Reacquired Vehicle Team " The delays have been extremely frustrating. I have spent the entire summer with out a truck that could tow my trailer and now look at spending the upcoming winter with out a truck for the snows. At least corporate has acknowledged the truck has a problem and has worked to solve it. Glad to see that the issue appears to be uncommon.

Has anyone with buy back experience had any luck trying to get corporate to expedite a replacement order?

 

[gimmie11s]

Less than a handfull is part of the almost no failure rate but thanks for playing kiddo

Your new nickname is Mr Anecdote. Everything you say is pure opinion with 0 basis in fact. "Less than a handful"... hahahahaha

Thanks for playing? lmao... you are a moron.

 

[Blackbrush]

No the 19+ 68rfe has almost no fail rate….

to the OP any more than 6 speeds are a waste and if your temps were getting that hot you need to stop and pull over also when going at a low rate of speed you may need to hit the - button to get the revs up to keep everything cooler, when things are luging they get hot quick

I'll bet the OP will differ with you.

3 failures in this short thread alone fanboy.

 

[Gondul]

I'll bet the OP will differ with you.

3 failures in this short thread alone fanboy.

That doesn't work the way you seem to think it does....

 

[Lary0071]

Well, I've received the first email that acknowledges corporate want's to do a buy back on my truck. the dealer and field engineers had performed another test tow and another data check and have no idea why it continues to over heat the trans with the trailer. It will still be two weeks or so to get more information from the " Reacquired Vehicle Team " The delays have been extremely frustrating. I have spent the entire summer with out a truck that could tow my trailer and now look at spending the upcoming winter with out a truck for the snows. At least corporate has acknowledged the truck has a problem and has worked to solve it. Glad to see that the issue appears to be uncommon.

Has anyone with buy back experience had any luck trying to get corporate to expedite a replacement order?

I have a neat story of my 2005 5.9 HO. I had it 3 years, had a warranty Cummins replacement, and 7 transmissions replaced by me out of warranty. I typically got 4K to 5K miles on them. I tried everything up to and including a BD Diesel full billet $10K race transmission. Around 4K it was junk as well. I firmly feel that there was more to the story. I bought a new case and had a shop build the trans with a new case and a new performance valve body. All builds used Alto-Red clutched and Kolean (spelling?) steel plates. I tried rebuilding, building new case, and final straw was having a trans shipped from BD Diesel in Canada to me. Not one lasted longer before I smoked overdrive first and and soon after it would cease to move. I think it was a computer issue of some form?

That 2005 ended my RAM owning days until 2017. My wife was supper stern about no RAM trucks after seeing the money that I poured into that thing. Finally, in 2017 I got a 1500 Rebel 5.7 with the ZF. She was not happy, but that turned out to be a GREAT truck. I would have kept it forever... but we bought a fifth wheel that grossed at 14K lbs. So then came the 2019 2500 Hemi. Another fantastic truck with a ZF transmission. Loved it, but the payload thing killed me emotionally knowing that my Grand Design had just under 3K pin weight and I had 3100 payload. So then the 2021 3500 S.O. Dually. I never loved it, it did not have a sunroof or the blind spot that the 2500 had. I also felt that for $72K I should spend more and get the 360° cameras and all the cool tech... spend more and load it. And I really did not like the Granit Crystal. So now the 2022 S.O. fully loaded out Lim Longhorn in Patriot Blue. I think this can be one that I keep for more than a year or so. Lets just knock on wood and hope that the transmission is built Ford tough! Ford does make reliable transmissions based on my experience. The trans in my 2021 S.O. worked very well and did not get hot pulling equipment or the camper. I really pray that the 2022 works great and lasts longer than I care to own the truck.

The point of all that jabbering is that your truck sounds like my 2005.... something isn;t right and no one could find a way past it. Hardware could not fix it. Running the truck with a live scanner could not see it. Modifying valve bodies and pump pressures could not beat it. Aftermarket clutches and additional clutch stacks couldn't get me past it. So I did one final rebuild and traded the truck in. I feel sorry for the person who got it next.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I'll bet the OP will differ with you.

3 failures in this short thread alone fanboy.

That must mean they are all bad then……

 

[ColoMan]

Update, got the new trans put in my 2021 and first time towing 11,000lbs . Made it across Vail and Eisenhower pass no issues temps 210 on trans . Last 3 miles of switchbacks at 25 mph to house damn thing starts to overheat again. Hit 240 and climbing and trans slipping in 3rd just like the earlier post by K9Crawford. Engine and oil temps 205 ish . Disgusted and back to dealer and no check engine lights.

 

[superjoe83]

Update, got the new trans put in my 2021 and first time towing 11,000lbs . Made it across Vail and Eisenhower pass no issues temps 210 on trans . Last 3 miles of switchbacks at 25 mph to house damn thing starts to overheat again. Hit 240 and climbing and trans slipping in 3rd just like the earlier post by K9Crawford. Engine and oil temps 205 ish . Disgusted and back to dealer and no check engine lights.

That is going to happen with any torque converter automatic towing heavy loads slow uphill with the converter unlocked.
Your best bet is manually downshift to 2nd or first and keep the RPM up, my Aisin will lock the converter in 2nd with tow haul on, im not sure if the 68 will do that or not, but would be worth trying to see if it will.

 

[ColoMan]

Had it in tow mode , and had it locked so it wouldn’t go higher than third so basically it was shifting from 2nd to 3rd, speeds varied from 15 mph to 25mph climbing , definitely not normal. Neighbors have bigger RVs and tow up and down the mountain we live on. K9s earlier post is very similar to the issue I’m having and they don’t have a fix.

 

[k9crawford]

Just noted that I never updated on my issues. Corporate could never find a fix or even identify a specific fault. Just the symptom of the overheat and apparent slipping. Ram was working a buy back but the offer was looking about 8 to 9,000. less than purchase price. With used truck prices what they are, I traded it in on a 2021 Silverado duramax. I received 4,000 more than purchase. While there are things I don't like as much, Turing radius is terrible, I can pull up my grade with no hot trans. I believe it's a torque converter lock up issue but the two different field engineers were unable to come to any conclusion of what was causing the temps. If Ram ever has a different trans I'll reconsider.

 

[Dunn08]

Had it in tow mode , and had it locked so it wouldn’t go higher than third so basically it was shifting from 2nd to 3rd, speeds varied from 15 mph to 25mph climbing , definitely not normal. Neighbors have bigger RVs and tow up and down the mountain we live on. K9s earlier post is very similar to the issue I’m having and they don’t have a fix.

Try locking out 3rd as well. The post above is correct saying this will happen towing slow speeds with a heavy load up a grade with an auto and a TC that won’t lock. My 2012 3500 with the 68rfe would overheat pulling my toy hauler up steep slow grades at altitude until I tuned the tranny and enabled the Torque converter to lock in 2nd gear. NEVER overheated again. Without the TC locked it will slip.

Even locking 3rd out probably won’t help since your TC won’t lock in 2nd, unless the newer 68’s do. If your tranny is shifting back and forth between gears like that lock the higher gear out.

You can always try stopping and going into 4 low, will take a little longer but might get you home without a tranny boiling over.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Sorry you guys are having so much trouble.

My HO/AISIN pulls my little 16K setup up either side of Wolf Creek Pass or any other steep grade at about 10° over normal flat cruise temps.

Considering the AISIN software is caveman compared to others, not sure why RAM can't get it sorted out.

I suffered through 16 years with a 48RE and swore I'd never go through that again. I looked for 6 months pre-covid for a decent used AISIN truck before I said F it and ordered new for that reason.

 

[Dunn08]

Sorry you guys are having so much trouble.

My HO/AISIN pulls my little 16K setup up either side of Wolf Creek Pass or any other steep grade at about 10° over normal flat cruise temps.

Considering the AISIN software is caveman compared to others, not sure why RAM can't get it sorted out.

I suffered through 16 years with a 48RE and swore I'd never go through that again. I looked for 6 months pre-covid for a decent used AISIN truck before I said F it and ordered new for that reason.

Towing real heavy for the first time next week with my 22 H/O Aisin. Do you know if the TC locks in 2nd? I’m sure I’ll be able to feel it, it was nice on my 12’ though to see it on my mini max.

Being able to tune that 68rfe completely changed the transmission. It ended up being bulletproof for 9 years of heavy towing before I traded her in recently.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Towing real heavy for the first time next week with my 22 H/O Aisin. Do you know if the TC locks in 2nd? I’m sure I’ll be able to feel it, it was nice on my 12’ though to see it on my mini max.

Being able to tune that 68rfe completely changed the transmission. It ended up being bulletproof for 9 years of heavy towing before I traded her in recently.

Yes, TC locks in 2nd.

EB will also pull you down to around 11-12MPH depending on tire size before it drops out of 2nd and unlocks, 900RPM as I recall for the 20+ HO. Unfortunately, EB shuts off in 4LO (some of us have 2-LO lockouts.)

 

[gimmie11s]

That is going to happen with any torque converter automatic towing heavy loads slow uphill with the converter unlocked.
Your best bet is manually downshift to 2nd or first and keep the RPM up, my Aisin will lock the converter in 2nd with tow haul on, im not sure if the 68 will do that or not, but would be worth trying to see if it will.

In February we got caught in the middle -- yes right in the middle -- of a 6 mile 6% grade going uphill. There was an accident at the top of the pass that effectively locked up traffic for the entire hill climb.

We were towing our 14k 5er. It took us 40 minutes to climb 3 miles up that grade, never going more than a couple mph... IT WAS ALL STOP AND GO.

I was VERY worried about the trans and temps. Interesting enough, my trans temp gauge never went above 195* even though the truck stayed in 1st and occasionally 2nd gear. Normal towing temp on the flat surface is 165-175* so yes, trans temp was up, but I was impressed it never went above 200 on what I would consider an AWFUL situation for the transmission that I likely will never encounter again.

That circumstance alone justified the extra cash I handed over for the HO/Aisin package.

 

[GPurcell01]

Looks like my father's 2500 is now added to this list. He's towing a trailer full of rip rap concrete and it threw a check engine light and went into 4th gear limp mode.

Nothing crazy - cruising 70mph on a flat highway and trans temp is at 173*. Pulled over and shut it off for 15 minutes which got it out of limp mode but the check engine light is still on.

Looks like I'll be going up tomorrow to read codes with the tuner. I suspect valve body. Truck has 13k miles on it.