Shop 68RFE Parts →
The 68RFE is a six-speed built on the same case family as the 45RFE and 545RFE, scaled up and put behind the 6.7L Cummins starting in the 2007.5 model year. It is a decent transmission that Chrysler asked to do a job it was never quite sized for. Factory torque rating landed around 660 lb-ft, which was fine on a stock truck and became a problem the moment somebody hung a tuner on it or started pulling a gooseneck at 22,000 pounds.
Most 68RFE trucks come in with the same story. Slipping on the 5-6 shift under load, a flare between gears, or the truck dropping into limp mode on a grade and refusing to leave third. When you pull the pan you find the same thing almost every time: the overdrive clutch pack is cooked and the fluid smells burnt.
2026 Cost Ranges — The Short Answer
Here is what the market actually looks like this year. Ranges are wide because a rebuild on a bone-stock 2011 with 140,000 miles and a rebuild on a deleted, tuned truck that grenaded a planetary are two very different jobs.
| Path | 2026 Cost | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Independent shop rebuild | $3,800 – $6,200 | Unit out, disassembled, all frictions, steels and seals, new converter, R and R. Typical 12-month/12k warranty. |
| Dealer rebuild or reman install | $6,500 – $9,000 | Same work at dealer labor rate, factory reman unit, longer coverage on the part itself. |
| Reman unit, you install | $3,200 – $5,200 | Rebuilt exchange unit with converter, freight and core charge included. No labor. |
| Full DIY rebuild, parts only | $1,150 – $2,900 | Master kit, clutch module, converter, valve body work, plus whatever hard parts you find damaged. |
| Built rebuild for towing or tuned power | $6,000 – $11,000 | Billet input shaft, extra overdrive clutches, upgraded converter, valve body work, deep pan, cooler. |
The single biggest cost driver is not the transmission. It is whether the truck is stock. A tuned, deleted 68RFE that has been slipping for six months usually needs hard parts, and hard parts are what push a $4,200 job to $7,500.
Parts vs Labor — Where the Money Actually Goes
Book time to remove and reinstall a 68RFE from a 2500 or 3500 is roughly 7 to 9 hours on a two-wheel drive and 8 to 11 on a four-wheel drive with the transfer case and crossmember in the way. Add 4 to 6 hours on the bench for teardown, cleaning, inspection and reassembly. Real-world total labor is 12 to 16 hours. At the $135 to $185 per hour most independent shops charge in 2026, labor alone is $1,600 to $2,900 before a single part goes in.
| Line Item | Typical 2026 Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Master rebuild kit (frictions, steels, gaskets, seals, bushings) | $380 – $780 | Kit quality varies enormously. Cheap kits use thin steels that cone under heat. |
| High-energy overdrive clutch module | $260 – $520 | The single most worthwhile upgrade on this unit. |
| Torque converter | $450 – $1,400 | Never reuse the original after a burnt clutch pack. |
| Pump assembly or pump rebuild | $390 – $850 | Needed far more often than people expect. See below. |
| Valve body, reman or rebuilt | $450 – $900 | Cheaper to replace than to chase bore wear on a bench. |
| Solenoid pack | $240 – $480 | Contains the pressure switches that throw P0871 and P0872. |
| Billet input shaft | $500 – $950 | Only if the truck makes more than stock torque. Stock shafts twist at the splines. |
| ATF+4 fluid, 17 to 20 quarts | $150 – $260 | ATF+4 only. There is no substitute that behaves the same at temperature. |
| Filter kit and pan gasket | $35 – $75 | Two filters on this family. Do not reuse either one. |
What Actually Fails on a 68RFE
1. The Overdrive Clutch Pack — This Is the Big One
The 68RFE leaves the factory with four frictions in the overdrive pack. That pack carries load in fifth and sixth, which is exactly where a Cummins is making torque going down the highway with a trailer behind it. Four frictions is not enough surface area for that duty cycle. The pack overheats, the frictions glaze and then delaminate, and the material goes straight into the filter and the valve body bores.
Symptoms show up as a flare or slip on the 5-6 shift under throttle, then a general loss of overdrive, then limp mode. Codes you will typically see are P0731 through P0736 for incorrect gear ratio, P0871 or P0872 for the overdrive pressure switch circuit, and eventually P0700 telling the engine module the transmission module has a stored fault.
Any rebuild worth paying for adds frictions here. Going from four to five, or five to six with thinner steels, is the difference between a transmission that lasts 60,000 miles and one that lasts 150,000. A high-energy friction clutch pack module costs a few hundred dollars and is the highest-return item on the entire parts list.
2. Low/Reverse Clutch and the Overrunning Clutch
Second most common. The low/reverse pack takes abuse in stop-and-go towing and every time somebody rocks the truck out of a hole. When it goes you get delayed or absent reverse, a bang into reverse, or a slip that feels like the truck slipped into neutral for a second. If the overrunning clutch has failed alongside it, you also get a no-move condition in first with the truck perfectly happy to drive in second.
Inspect the overrunning clutch and sprag at every teardown. It is a cheap part relative to the labor of going back in for it.
3. The Pump
Under-discussed and expensive to ignore. The 68RFE pump wears at the bushing and at the gear pocket, and a worn pump drops line pressure, which starves every clutch pack in the unit. A truck that burned an overdrive pack because the pump was 30 psi low will burn the new pack too. Symptoms are a whine that changes with engine RPM, low line pressure on a scan tool, and shifts that get progressively softer as the fluid warms.
Always measure line pressure before and after. If the shop rebuilding your unit never put a gauge on it, they guessed. A replacement 68RFE pump assembly runs a few hundred dollars and is not optional on a high-mileage unit.
4. Torque Converter Clutch Apply and Shudder
The converter clutch on a 68RFE is worked hard because Chrysler locks it early and holds it. Lining wears, the apply circuit leaks past a worn bore, and you get a shudder that feels like driving over rumble strips at 45 to 55 mph under light throttle. Once converter debris is circulating it goes everywhere. This matters for cost more than for parts: it means the fluid, the cooler and the cooler lines all have to be cleaned out properly, and a quick cooler flush is not enough. A pulse-machine flush or a full cooler and line replacement adds $150 to $450 to the bill.
5. Valve Body Bore Wear and Accumulator Damage
Clutch material and aluminum from a failing pack score the valve body bores, particularly the pressure regulator and switch valve bores. Once a bore is worn, line pressure control becomes erratic and the truck develops harsh or inconsistent shifts that no rebuild kit will fix. The accumulator piston and its cover plate are a known weak point on higher-mileage units and can crack, causing a pressure leak that looks exactly like a burnt clutch pack on a scan tool. Reman 68RFE valve bodies exist precisely because bore repair on a bench is slow, specialized work.
Rebuild Parts, Shipped Same Day
Master kits, high-energy overdrive modules, pumps, valve bodies, solenoid packs, sprags and filter kits for 2007.5 through 2024 68RFE units. If we do not stock the hard part you need, our sister catalog at Core Transmission Parts almost certainly does.
Shop 68RFE Parts → Browse Core Transmission Parts →Shop Rebuild vs DIY — An Honest Comparison
A 68RFE is not a beginner rebuild. It is a large, heavy unit with a lot of clearance work, and setting the clutch pack clearances on the overdrive and low/reverse packs correctly is essentially the whole job. Get a clearance wrong by fifteen thousandths and you will be doing it again.
| Factor | Shop Rebuild | DIY Rebuild |
|---|---|---|
| Out-the-door cost | $3,800 – $6,200 | $1,150 – $2,900 in parts |
| Time | 3 to 7 days at the shop | Two full weekends if nothing surprises you |
| Tools required | None | Transmission jack rated 1,500 lb minimum, clutch spring compressor, dial indicator, snap ring pliers, line pressure gauge |
| Warranty | 12 month / 12k typical, up to 3 years | Parts warranty only |
| Biggest risk | Shop reuses your converter or skips the pump | Clutch clearance errors and reassembly sequence |
If you go the shop route, ask three questions before you authorize the work: does the quote include a new converter, does it include the pump, and how many frictions are going into the overdrive pack. A shop that says it reuses the converter if it checks out, on a unit that burned an overdrive pack, is telling you it plans to put clutch debris back into your fresh rebuild.
When a Reman Unit Beats a Rebuild
There is a clear break point and it comes down to three things.
- Hard part damage. Once you are buying a planetary, a drum, an input shaft and a pump, the parts alone approach the price of an exchange unit. A rebuild needing three or more hard parts is usually the moment a reman wins.
- Downtime. A reman ships as a complete assembly. Your truck is on the lift one day instead of five. If the truck earns money, that difference is real dollars.
- Warranty that travels. A quality reman 68RFE carries multi-year coverage that follows the part. A local rebuild carries whatever the shop stands behind, and if that shop closes you have nothing.
The counter-argument is control. A reman unit is built to a spec somebody else chose. If your truck is tuned, deleted, or tows at the top of its rating, a standard reman with a four-friction overdrive pack will fail the same way the original did. In that case a rebuild you specify — extra overdrive clutches, billet input shaft, upgraded converter, corrected line pressure — is the better long-term buy even though it costs more up front.
Rough rule: stock truck, high mileage, no hard part damage, needs it done fast, buy the reman. Tuned or heavy-tow truck, or hard parts already damaged, build it properly and spend the money once.
Upgrades Worth Doing While It Is Apart
Labor is the expensive part. Anything you add during the rebuild costs you parts price only. Anything you add later costs you the whole removal and reinstall again.
- Extra overdrive frictions. Non-negotiable on anything that tows. Roughly $300, buys you the life of the transmission.
- Billet input shaft. Only if the truck makes more than stock torque. Stock shafts twist and break at the splines under tuned power.
- Deep aluminum pan. Adds three to four quarts of capacity and drops fluid temperature 10 to 20 degrees under sustained tow load. Also gives you a drain plug, which makes every future service trivial.
- Reinforced accumulator plate. Cheap insurance against a known crack point.
- Thermal bypass valve upgrade or delete. On 2019 and later trucks the factory thermal bypass restricts cooler flow and keeps fluid hotter than it should be under tow load.
- Auxiliary cooler. Heat is what kills these units. Every 20 degrees of sustained fluid temperature reduction roughly doubles fluid life.
FAQ
How many miles should a 68RFE last?
A stock, unmodified truck that is serviced on time and does not tow heavy commonly goes 180,000 to 250,000 miles. A tuned truck pulling a heavy trailer on factory fluid intervals can be on the bench before 100,000. The transmission is not the variable here. The duty cycle is.
Can I just replace the overdrive clutch pack instead of a full rebuild?
Technically yes, and shops do it. The problem is that debris from the burnt pack is already in the pump, the valve body and the cooler. If you only replace the pack you are betting the contamination did not damage anything else. On a unit with a known burnt pack, plan on a full teardown, a valve body, a converter and a proper cooler flush, or plan on doing the job twice.
What fluid does a 68RFE take and how much?
ATF+4, and nothing else. A pan drop and filter takes about 7 quarts. A full rebuild with converter and cooler lines takes 17 to 20 quarts depending on year and cooler configuration. Fill capacity is one of the most commonly botched items after a rebuild, and an under-filled 68RFE will aerate and burn a pack in short order.
Is the 68RFE weaker than the Aisin AS69RC?
Yes, meaningfully. The Aisin is a heavier-duty unit with more clutch capacity and it was the option behind the high-output engine on 3500 trucks. That does not make the 68RFE a bad transmission, it makes it a transmission with a lower ceiling. A properly built 68RFE with the right clutch counts and a good converter handles a lot of truck.
Why does my truck stay in limp mode after a rebuild?
Usually a stored code nobody cleared, a pressure switch fault inside the solenoid pack, or a speed sensor disturbed during the removal and reinstall. Scan for stored transmission module codes first. P0700 on the engine module is only a pointer; the real code lives in the transmission module.
Does a rebuild need an adaptive relearn?
Yes. The transmission module adaptives should be reset after the rebuild so the module relearns shift pressures against fresh clutch clearances. Skipping the reset gives you harsh or lazy shifts for the first several hundred miles while the module fights old adapt values against new hardware.