68rfe valve body upgrades

[CorneliusRox]

Anyways, back to OP. You'd be surprised how decent these transmissions are when you get rid of major cross leaks, add some fluid capacity, and tuning. It doesn't feel like a billet 48RE, and that's a good thing for everything but racing IMO.

 

[raychem]

I've got the BD kit. I haven't used the others, and I don't have a lot of experience rebuilding 68RFE's.
I have done a decent amount of design and validation work in my professional life though, and I was just saying that their described validation is really not applicable.

I bet the D&J ones work, I bet they work better than OEM at the time of install. I'd be curious to see long term performance.

You do have me curious about my valve body now though! Next time I drop the pan, I'll likely pull the VB and hit it with some dye pen to see if I can find cracks. I really haven't had any noticeable issues though.
Most of the reading I've done recommends swapping the solenoid pack out every 100k or so, but I've never seen anything about needed to swap the whole VB.
What's your experience with the solenoid pack? I decided not to spend the ~$300 on a new one since mine didn't seem to have any issues. Whenever I eventually run out of clutch material and have to open it up, I'll toss a new one in.

The way I see things is based on experience. Once it bites me in the a** I don't do things the same. Even though this was on an 08-09 truck. I did have a VB give me all kinds of problems. I went a little nutty on this particular job since most of the stuff for the 68's was new at the time. Had to buy from the dealer at the time with new VB and new pump. I did not have spare VBs laying around like I have for 47s and 48s. This solved the problem and became a standard replacement on these transmissions. Not so much the case as much with the newer VBs but you better have them check out. They are still prone to have issues.

I just see it as your spending 4k-6K on a transmission and another 500 is not really much more to spend and have less headaches. Every Ford transmission gets a new front pump when I build them. I don't care of the one on there is good. I rather spend another 500 for a new pump then have to drop a transmission again due to pump problems. I waste more time and money dropping a trans again due to something that can be avoided than for a legitimate reason.


As for the OP..... pay to play! If you are going to tune then 30hp MAX for longevity. The 6.7 makes much more TQ than a 5.9 even on the smallest tune hp for hp and search for one that addresses the TCM. There are some bolt on parts from Sonnax such as the accumulator plate and such you can do. Those transmissions are time bombs so just understand what you are in for.

 

[CorneliusRox]

The way I see things is based on experience. Once it bites me in the a** I don't do things the same. Even though this was on an 08-09 truck. I did have a VB give me all kinds of problems. I went a little nutty on this particular job since most of the stuff for the 68's was new at the time. Had to buy from the dealer at the time with new VB and new pump. I did not have spare VBs laying around like I have for 47s and 48s. This solved the problem and became a standard replacement on these transmissions. Not so much the case as much with the newer VBs but you better have them check out. They are still prone to have issues.

I just see it as your spending 4k-6K on a transmission and another 500 is not really much more to spend and have less headaches. Every Ford transmission gets a new front pump when I build them. I don't care of the one on there is good. I rather spend another 500 for a new pump then have to drop a transmission again due to pump problems. I waste more time and money dropping a trans again due to something that can be avoided than for a legitimate reason.


As for the OP..... pay to play! If you are going to tune then 30hp MAX for longevity. The 6.7 makes much more TQ than a 5.9 even on the smallest tune hp for hp and search for one that addresses the TCM. There are some bolt on parts from Sonnax such as the accumulator plate and such you can do. Those transmissions are time bombs so just understand what you are in for.

I do agree. If i find myself stranded one day, I'll probably throw the kitchen sink at it and tell others to do the same, but for now I'm at 190k on an OEM build with a BD seal kit, AFE pan, and H&S tuning.
I was approaching this as a 'what can someone do quick, with the transmission still in the vehicle' attitude. Those valve body solenoid packs come off really easily, the full VB isn't much work either. I think I could probably swap this DNJ plate in 2-3hrs being out of practice and not knowing socket sizes off the top of my head (M6 for pan, T25 for VB?).

If you were going to rebuild one, what's you typical strategy?
Billet input, triple disc TC, stacked red altos, and the VB plate, solenoid pack? I don't ever plan on getting crazy with a 68rfe like a 48re.

 

[raychem]

I do agree. If i find myself stranded one day, I'll probably throw the kitchen sink at it and tell others to do the same, but for now I'm at 190k on an OEM build with a BD seal kit, AFE pan, and H&S tuning.
I was approaching this as a 'what can someone do quick, with the transmission still in the vehicle' attitude. Those valve body solenoid packs come off really easily, the full VB isn't much work either. I think I could probably swap this DNJ plate in 2-3hrs being out of practice and not knowing socket sizes off the top of my head (M6 for pan, T25 for VB?).

If you were going to rebuild one, what's you typical strategy?
Billet input, triple disc TC, stacked red altos, and the VB plate, solenoid pack? I don't ever plan on getting crazy with a 68rfe like a 48re.

The quick things would be the bolt on parts and I will always install a new solenoid pack when I build them. The solenoids do go bad at times too. But that is really unpredictable. Bolt on for the vb to help a bit and prevent a bigger failure such as the accumulator plate failing. I mean you do have 190K on a stock trans. Clutch height is finite and once you get to a critical point in a clutch pack you are on borrowed time. You have had good luck with your unit. They are great as a stock transmission and especially after 13 when I think they really nailed down the setup for them as well as some increase in engine power.


As far as building one. I will do a stock rebuild on them with a few upgrades internally such as converter, rear sprang that likes to fail and tell customers they are good for 450hp and that is. Anything more than that is Revmax. I do not like those units at all.

Being serious now. If you are going to spend all that money to build a 68 that is still not fool proof do a 48 conversion. Any one that wants to make power a 68 is not for them. 48 conversion and be done with it. They are easy to rebuild and there is parts galore for them too. Best of all they are proven. Spending 8k for a fully build transmission is not muck more for a fully build 48 with a controller. I have used a PCS controller for the ones I have done.

I get the 6 speed argument and I will not argue with that. More gears is better. But so is a properly configured truck making some good power that 4 gears can not handle.

 

[JWhite]

Alto has their G3 clutches available for the 68rfe. They're a great clutch

 

[CorneliusRox]

The quick things would be the bolt on parts and I will always install a new solenoid pack when I build them. The solenoids do go bad at times too. But that is really unpredictable. Bolt on for the vb to help a bit and prevent a bigger failure such as the accumulator plate failing. I mean you do have 190K on a stock trans. Clutch height is finite and once you get to a critical point in a clutch pack you are on borrowed time. You have had good luck with your unit. They are great as a stock transmission and especially after 13 when I think they really nailed down the setup for them as well as some increase in engine power.


As far as building one. I will do a stock rebuild on them with a few upgrades internally such as converter, rear sprang that likes to fail and tell customers they are good for 450hp and that is. Anything more than that is Revmax. I do not like those units at all.

Being serious now. If you are going to spend all that money to build a 68 that is still not fool proof do a 48 conversion. Any one that wants to make power a 68 is not for them. 48 conversion and be done with it. They are easy to rebuild and there is parts galore for them too. Best of all they are proven. Spending 8k for a fully build transmission is not muck more for a fully build 48 with a controller. I have used a PCS controller for the ones I have done.

I get the 6 speed argument and I will not argue with that. More gears is better. But so is a properly configured truck making some good power that 4 gears can not handle.

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.
Agreed, clutch material only lasts so long. Looking at my values, I know I'm getting pretty close to end of life, but I'm kind of curious how far I can get it.
As for the 48re argument, I do agree. That's why I have the 12V with a built 47re. I love it, it loves boost launches and locked shifts, it's fun, it has it's place. I need a solenoid based 6spd in my 4th gen as comfort and ease of driveability are key. I need it set up so the wife can tow the 5th wheel if she wants, or anyone could drive it without knowing what the OD and TC lockup switches do on the dash.

I would honestly be happy doing a stock rebuild if it held up like this one, but if there's simple upgrades like what you were saying, I might as well toss those in.

Alto has their G3 clutches available for the 68rfe. They're a great clutch

I've always had good luck with Alto, if they have parts available, they go into my transmissions. :Cheer:

 

[diesel_importer]

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.
Agreed, clutch material only lasts so long. Looking at my values, I know I'm getting pretty close to end of life, but I'm kind of curious how far I can get it.
As for the 48re argument, I do agree. That's why I have the 12V with a built 47re. I love it, it loves boost launches and locked shifts, it's fun, it has it's place. I need a solenoid based 6spd in my 4th gen as comfort and ease of driveability are key. I need it set up so the wife can tow the 5th wheel if she wants, or anyone could drive it without knowing what the OD and TC lockup switches do on the dash.

I would honestly be happy doing a stock rebuild if it held up like this one, but if there's simple upgrades like what you were saying, I might as well toss those in.



I've always had good luck with Alto, if they have parts available, they go into my transmissions. :Cheer:

I would research the Alto clutches in 68RFE trucks. I know they've been the go to for lots of 47/48 trucks, but I know some builders don't prefer them in these.

 

[raychem]

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.
Agreed, clutch material only lasts so long. Looking at my values, I know I'm getting pretty close to end of life, but I'm kind of curious how far I can get it.
As for the 48re argument, I do agree. That's why I have the 12V with a built 47re. I love it, it loves boost launches and locked shifts, it's fun, it has it's place. I need a solenoid based 6spd in my 4th gen as comfort and ease of driveability are key. I need it set up so the wife can tow the 5th wheel if she wants, or anyone could drive it without knowing what the OD and TC lockup switches do on the dash.

I would honestly be happy doing a stock rebuild if it held up like this one, but if there's simple upgrades like what you were saying, I might as well toss those in.



I've always had good luck with Alto, if they have parts available, they go into my transmissions. :Cheer:

If I were you, A nice TC either single disk or triple, New VB, solenoids, pump, rear sprag (the $450.00 one), and the Sonnax OD drum would be a nice setup. That new Sonnax drum looks to address the OD clutches burning up which is a common failure point in these transmissions. I have not used one yet so I will not comment on it. Sonnax also makes a C2 apply piston which is relatively inexpensive. That should be some nice upgraded for the unit and give you some longevity. Heck, you have 190K on your unit now and it is stock. Pretty dam good if you ask me.

I would research the Alto clutches in 68RFE trucks. I know they've been the go to for lots of 47/48 trucks, but I know some builders don't prefer them in these.

Alto red are great clutches.... If you like to replace them often. I have seen them go 80K and I have seen them last 10K. This is why some builders don't like them. They have little heat capacity as compared to stock Borg Warner or Raybestos clutch units. They have great friction coefficients but what good is that is they cant take heat. If you are building an all out racing trans than yeah why not. But if you are towing constantly I would never recommend them. Raybestos has GPZ clutch packs which are good and have better material than factory clutches but I rarely use them.

All clutches slip when they are applying. They have to force all the fluid out between the clutches before they apply. There is always slip involved which introduces heat into the clutch pack. This is one reason why more is not also better.