Blown Trans 9,000 miles

[ColoMan]

My 2021 2500 Cummins blew the trans while towing 10k trailer in mountains. Coming back from weekend and doing the 3 mile climb from hwy to house when near driveway hear loud bang and the smoke everywhere. Was able to get into driveway, but stuck with 5th wheel attached. No forward gears only reverse and trans dip stick blew out spraying trans fluid everywhere. The road to house is only 25 mph so not racing it . Very disappointing to say the least, not sure if bad trans or this truck can’t handle towing at 9,500ft elevation . Hopefully dealer will give me loaner while in for repairs. Maybe time to jump ship to 3500? Looked at 2022 and still no Allison trans, come on 6spd is yesterday’s technology.

 

[1996dram]

Sorry to hear about your trouble..... Probably not what you want to hear, but I just towed Teton Pass Hwy 22 from Jackson to Victor... with a 30' 5th wheel and small boat, behind my 2021 3500HO... Don't really see a reason for anymore gears, as I could have easily accelerated if there weren't any switch backs... 10 spd transmissions allow smaller engines to pull heavier loads check out GM's line of 1/2 tons pickups as a good example.... My nephew tows a 4000lb boat with a 4 cylinder Chevy.... But if you want an Allison you want an Allison!

 

[Nd79]

Man that is no fun to deal with. Sorry about your truck. Mine has the 68rfe too and It will always climb in temp when towing heavy at low speeds. I just keep an eye on trans temp in these situations and it'll get up to 200* and if it goes much over that I'll pull over and high idle it for a bit. Do you happen to know how hot your trans was before it let go?

If I were getting a new truck tomorrow and number one priority was transmission durability/longevity it would definitely be the HO with the Aisin. Everyone is waiting for a new trans to come out for the Rams but honestly I think the Aisin is the best (as far as long term reliability) trans you can get in an HD truck today. Even more so than the new 10 speed Allison.

 

[Nd79]

Also, I've never actually had to pull over and let the trans cool with the new 68rfe truck yet.

 

[AH const]

I think you just happened to have a bad tranny, I like the 6 spd I'm actually hopping they keep it and not go to 10 spd. If your truck is under warranty they will be able to fix everything. Thank god it happened close to home not on a mountain!

 

[Brutal_HO]

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.

 

[ColoMan]

The climb from highway to house is 3 miles of switchback and elevation goes from 7500 to 9500 . Trans was getting hot , but it’s a two lane and nowhere to pull over . Temps were hitting 225 near top then boiled over at house hitting 250.

 

[Blackbrush]

68's break pretty often. Aisin's almost never.

 

[Ram25002021]

The climb from highway to house is 3 miles of switchback and elevation goes from 7500 to 9500 . Trans was getting hot , but it’s a two lane and nowhere to pull over . Temps were hitting 225 near top then boiled over at house hitting 250.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

68's break pretty often. Aisin's almost never.

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

 

[McHenry2500]

I just got back from towing our 26' gooseneck loaded down with UTV's in the Colorado San Juan's and never had an issue with my 68rfe. Altitudes were in the 7500-10000ft range but I watched my trans temperature pretty closely. Stayed below 200F.

OP; were you using the tow/haul mode? I have noticed mine doesn't stay on when towing, every time I stopped for fuel or anything I had to re-engage.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

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 would never want an Alison now anyway GM just destroyed the reliability and reputation

 

[ColoMan]

Just got a bad trans , dealer said 270 degrees is when it shuts down and engine light, mine blew all forward clutches at 230. New trans shifts way better than original going up hills. They also flushed lines and new trans cooler. All is good.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Just got a bad trans , dealer said 270 degrees is when it shuts down and engine light, mine blew all forward clutches at 230. New trans shifts way better than original going up hills. They also flushed lines and new trans cooler. All is good.

I was gonna say for a trans 230 is not that bad i have hit close to that in the winter when plowing, glad all is good with the new trans

 

[1996dram]

Glad to hear the fix & that dealer didn't take long for the replacement......

 

[raven_dt]

I opted for the Ford 10 speed in the spring of 2020, thinking that more gears was a better thing. Poor programming, slow shifting and possible torque converter issues have me back in the Ram family 18 months later. I personally think that 8 gears is the optimal number of gears, especially for the diesels. In the Ford 10R140, 8 thru 10 were OD, with 10th being basically unusable except for empty hauling (7.3/3.55). If you had a 3.73 or 4.30 then 9th and 10th came into play and didn't need to be locked out while towing. Most of these issues were masked by the high torque output of the Powerstroke. But then again who wants to lug your diesel around in 10th gear causing low exhaust temps, DPF issues and additional regens??? That's probably why Ram moved from a 3.42 to 3.73 as the standard rear end ratio in 2019. Anything below 45mph and I'd lock out 6th on my old 6.7 3.42/68rfe.

The 6 speed isn't a bad solution for these high torque output diesels. Just hoping Ram gets it right and doesn't rush a new transmission out half baked.

 

[raven_dt]

68's break pretty often. Aisin's almost never.

I put over 20k towing a travel trailer in the Appalachians mountains and never had an issue with my 68rfe.

 

[UglyViking]

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 can't tell if that was sarcasm or not but curious to hear more on this. I went with a 2500 SO in large part because I could tune the trans and I knew that when I eventually blew it (because I've got some power adder plans) that I could get a reputable shop to build something that will last me.

I've heard that the 19+ 68 has an upgraded valvebody similar to the babymaker from Randy's. I don't know how much truth there is to that but it would be great news.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not but curious to hear more on this. I went with a 2500 SO in large part because I could tune the trans and I knew that when I eventually blew it (because I've got some power adder plans) that I could get a reputable shop to build something that will last me.

I've heard that the 19+ 68 has an upgraded valvebody similar to the babymaker from Randy's. I don't know how much truth there is to that but it would be great news.

They basically went through and corrected all the common failure points to accommodate the 850ft lbs the SO puts out including the valve body… the 68rfe has always been a stout trans since they brought it out mid 07 other than the valve body, i have seen them hold up to some crazy power with a simple valve body upgrade now with the new valve body setup they can handle great power and i have yet to hear of any failing even of the guys who have tuned their trucks the OP seemed to have a dud from the factory though

 

[k9crawford]

I wanted to ask the OP if he had experienced any noted transmission slip when this happened? Did the temp climb slowly or did it just jump up?

I recently traded a 2017 1500 and bought a 2021 2500 CTD. When I tow my 9500 lbs toy hauler up the grade to my home it starts slipping in third gear and drops to second continues to slip and get hot 250 to 260 trans temps, engine stays 200 or so. It ends up turning 1700-1900 rpm at 10 to 15 mph while shifting between 1st and 2nd. When the technician did a ride along with the diagnostic system plugged in he asked if the truck would make it to the top of the hill. No MIL and no stored messages. all data sent to corporate.

Dealer has done a lot of work along with field engineers but 4 months down and the truck still can't tow. So far they have, replaced the torque converter, replaced the trans thermostat, replaced the entire transmission and cooling system, replaced the PCM. The wait for parts has really slowed down the whole process.