Built 48RFE Trans - Hard Shifts - Tuning?

[Smoked]

About to purchase a 2004 5.9L 2500 good deal overall, and the truck is in pretty damn good shape.

I'm pretty sure a Bilt trans is going to shift pretty firmly.

I am looking at a used 2004 with a supposedly Firepunk 48RE stage 2.

The seller claims the trans can hold 800hp, even though the stage 2 from FP is rated for 1000HP.

The seller has the truck tuned with a smarty JR that I am pretty sure is turned to the highest level.

During my looking over the truck, my dumb butt forgot to put the tuner on it and check the setup, not that I am that educated on the smarty platform.

The seller claims it was a 10k job that the previous owner did but does not have the paperwork and that a local shop did it about five years ago.

Contacted FP gave the prior customer's name, and they can not locate the customer in their database, so they can not confirm what was put into the build.

I guess since I am new to the 48RE game and custom trans, why would you spend so much cash for a trans like that and not tune it properly?

Stock injectors, CAI, etc.

Does it make sense, or am I overthinking things?

I have an agreement to buy the truck and pick it up next weekend; nothing I can not walk away from, though.

A truck drives well, shifts are firm and only violent when the torque converter locks up, etc.

The only real issue I am noticing is the ball and spring on the honeycomb in the valve body sense the shift linkage is pretty damn loose.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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[Corkey]

I am a little iffy about the story being told to you.

If Lavon can't confirm that he didn't build the 48, all you know is that they increased line pressures on a stock converter, you know what I mean.

I would only be relying on receipts from the previous owner to supply.

He could be noticing signs or symptoms of something failing, hints as to why he could be selling.

If the trans did come from FP, I would feel pretty good about it being healthy, as he is very reputable on the 48REs.

I have always been a worst-case-scenario type of person.

If the motor is stock but has a built transmission, the owner was on track to do, in my opinion, the correct start to a build.

You can ultimately build a powerhouse motor, but it does no good during your first test drive because it will likely find its weakest link and blow the transmission.

Yeah, the 48's are much stouter than the 68's for reliability, just throwing out possible situations.

I would only reflect a certain amount for a rig with proof of receipts.

It safeguards you from problems after the purchase, as well as the current owner not screwing you over at the same time.

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[Smoked]

Thanks for the reply, Corkey.

The Trans looks like one of theirs, trans-pans, the color of the body, etc.

I have a feeling this was a build that was started and just not finished.

The only thing I was initially concerned with was the amount of oil on the bell housing; it looked like a rear seal leak, only to discover it was from a faulty valve cover gasket.

The rear seal is good.

I plan to open the inspection plate and investigate more before cash is exchanged.

If this is just a "paint it to look like something job," I should see evidence there.

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[Corkey]

Open the inspection plate, you should see a Billet flex plate.

https://shop.firepunk.com/product/20...ssion-package/

For a reference as to what he claims it is.

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[Smoked]

Thats the plan, Corkey.

I appreciate it.

As to tuning, does anyone have any recommendations.?

I believe this is a 4.5-year motor, and from my understanding, it is electronic tunable.

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[Corkey]

I wish I were more familiar with the 5.9's to help you further.

I'm seriously tossing around the idea of a 5.9 project truck myself.

Whatever you find out with tuning, let us know.

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