ATS 42RLE Transmission Packages, 2007-2011 3.8L Jeep. On the Trail or Street, the ATS 42RLE is backed by a 5 Year / 500,000 Mile Warranty. The ATS 42RLE is engineered to hold the power and abuse Jeep owners can throw at it. Substantial increases in clutch pack surface area, line pressure and shift quality provide the reliability Jeep owner's demand.
42RLE Transmission:
The 42RLE transmission that is used in the 2003 to 2011 Jeep was never designed to handle the abuse of aftermarket add-ons such as oversized tires, extreme off-roading, increased power levels, higher gear ratios or towing. The small 42RLE factory transmission also has a very low volume cooling system, the low cooler flow does not allow adequate transmission fluid circulation through the torque converter to properly cool the torque converter during normal driving much less stressful situations such as four wheeling or hauling any additional weight over stock.
The primary hydraulic pump of the transmission is not big enough to support the increased pressures and lubrication that is needed to keep the clutch packs and gearsets alive at higher power levels.
Other design limitations of the 42RLE plague the ability of the transmission to handle much power over stock. The stock torque converter is manufactured using stamped steel parts that make up the lock-up porting of the converter. The converter cover will deflect under power causing the converter clutch to slip under load creating excessive heat and clutch material to shed from the lock-up piston.
The combination of heat and debris from the converter clutch causes transmission failure as the material from the torque converter is flushed into the transmission.
The ATS modified 42RLE has been redesigned to correct all these problems and handle increased power levels of larger displacement engines, supercharged or turbocharged engines, larger tires, or heavy towing. We understand the real-world abuse that this transmission is asked to do in modified applications, so we came up with the fixes for it.
ATS has developed a combined technology utilizing recalibration of the hydraulic circuits inside the transmission, including revamped accumulator rates, reprogramed clutch to clutch apply and release timings, and line pressure rise rate to perfectly match the torque output of the engine. These enhancements, along with other key hydraulic modifications which ATS makes, must be done to ensure the clutch packs have the correct apply and release rates when commanded on or off. As well, the transmission hard parts have many limiting weaknesses which do not allow for increased power levels over stock. Specifically, the light duty shafts and hubs must be addressed.
All these areas are addressed in our transmission to allow for increased power levels and reliability. Here are some of the modifications we do to the 42RLE transmission so it will handle the extreme use that you're looking for.
TruLok Torque Converter:
• Billet torque converter cover
• Heavy Duty Carbon Composite Lock-Up Clutch
• Harden Pump Hub
• Harden Turbine splines
• Stall Speed is better matched to Engine torque curve
• Torrington bearings construction for better thrust load
Inside the Transmission:
Pump Assembly:
The pump body is redesigned to utilize an oversized pump gearset, this provides for increased cooling and lubrication to the torque converter and transmission gearset. This redesign also eliminates the common pump problems that causes premature transmission failure due to excessive heat. The main pressure regulator circuit is modified to enable a broader range of pressure that can be commanded from the TCM. This allows the pump to lower line pressure when the engine is at low loads and more responsively raise pressure above stock to react with increased engine torque and horsepower levels.
Rotating Clutch Drum Assembly and Clutch Packs:
Clutch modifications are generally one of the most impactive and important items that can be upgraded in any transmission. In the case of the 42RLE transmission, there is little room for additional clutches so modifications must be done to pressure plates providing increased clutch surfaces. All clutch packs are replaced with High performance clutch plates and steel separator plates providing the best friction surfaces available. The problematic Over Drive clutch pack has an increased clutch count maximizing its ability to hold torque.
Valve body:
The valve body is considered the nervous system of the transmission; the valve body is responsible for converting the electrical signals from the TCM into hydraulic actions. The 42RLE uses a non-synchronous, clutch-to-clutch design. This means that the shifts from gear to gear must be timed perfectly thereby releasing and applying a friction clutch to achieve a flawless shift.
Because of the sensitivity of the hydraulic circuits, we heavily modify many areas of the valve body. Hydraulic oil flow is ported to certain clutch packs where additional pressure is needed. The accumulator piston seals have been redesigned to ensure hydraulic pressure integrity.
The accumulator plate is made of high-grade material to compensate for the additional pressure that the accumulator pistons and springs exert during heavy power situations. Also, the ATS 42RLE valve body can be purchased separately and installed in a stock transmission for increased transmission capacity.
Planetary Gearset:
The main planetary gearset is reinforced to prevent the pinion deflection that causes gearset failure.
Case and Pan: (ATS Deep Transmission Pan Included in Stage 2 and 3)
The main transmission case does not require a lot of conditioning aside from a few small hydraulic modifications to allow for proper oil flow. At higher power levels, the transmission case does need to be strengthened. This is a simple fix that is taken care of with the optional heavy-duty cast aluminum transmission pan, which was designed in part to act as a girdle, thus eliminating the flex in the case.
The heavy-duty aluminum pan will clear aftermarket skid plates and the cooling fins allow the transmission to run cooler and it has an oversized drain plug on the side so it can be accessed for easy service.
ATS Co-Pilot Transmission Controller:
The ATS Co-Pilot for the Jeep 42RLE (2007 to 2011 only) is a MUST, it commands line pressure and internal clutch timing within the transmission to improve the reliability of the 42RLE transmission by adding holding force of the clutch packs and converter clutch. Any Jeep that has over sized tires or a modified engine NEEDS the assistance of the Co-Pilot Transmission Controller to increase the line pressure of the transmission to adjust for higher power levels or oversized tires. The Co-Pilot will work on any transmission stock or modified, when used in conjunction with an ATS transmission or valve body maximum line pressure is achieved providing the best in transmission performance and reliability. The 42RLE is plagued by small clutch packs, weak hard parts, a constant slip torque converter lock-up, and inadequate line pressure. Typically, these issues can result in the failure of the stock transmission with just a mild tune or larger tires. The Co-Pilot addresses these concerns.
What is the ATS 42RLE Co-Pilot?
The Co-Pilot consists of a controller and wiring harness. The harness plugs into the TCM connector on the main computer located in the engine compartment. The harness is completely plug and play for easy installation. The controller mounts in the cab and allows the driver to view critical transmission and engine inputs such as line pressure and commanded engine load. To view the different sensor inputs all you do is depress the up or down arrows. These changes can be made on-the-fly or with the vehicle stopped.
What Does the ATS 42RLE Co-Pilot Do?
The Co-Pilot controls line pressure, clutch timing and more aggressively applies the converter clutch under high torque situations. Line pressure is limited in a stock 42RLE to 90 PSI. Unfortunately, this is not high enough to reliably prevent clutch slippage at higher power levels. The Co-Pilot senses throttle position to quickly take control of line pressure when it is needed. However, when the vehicle is driven lightly, line pressure is near stock for comfortable shifts and lower transmission temperatures. This is all done automatically in the controller. Line pressure is increased more dramatically, and lubrication pressure is increased with the addition of an ATS Valve Body. While the ATS valve body installation isn't necessary, it will increase the performance of the Co-Pilot to its fullest potential. We recommend installing one of our modified valve bodies to fully address all the internal hydraulic issues with the stock 42RLE Valve body. The Co-Pilot has a huge advantage over TCM programing on 2007 to 2011 Jeeps because of the way the factory TCM is designed. We have found when aftermarket tuning for higher line pressures are done to the ECM/TCM to command higher line pressure in the transmission many if not all aftermarket TCM tuning will cause a radical pressure variation that spikes line pressure causing lots of problems. For this reason, you will find TCM tuning is not desired on the 3.8L and when TCM tuning is used many tuners do not allow for full line pressure increases like the Co-Pilot does, the Co-Pilot utilizing its dynamic closed loop control addresses this with an averaging circuit that provides a very smooth and controllable line pressure rise to 155PSI. Clutch timing is programmed into the Co-Pilot to increase clutch pack life. On any 42RLE transmission, clutch timing is optimized to reduce wear on clutch packs, efficiently transfer power and increase reliability. The torque converter lock-up apply on a stock 42RLE leaves a lot to be desired. The factory TCM will command lock-up at a very low apply rate when at light throttle, this causes a slipping condition that damages the converter clutch especially when behind a modified engine or when running over sized tires. The ATS 42RLE Co-Pilot will more firmly lock the converter clutch during apply, this allows the inherent torque of the 3.8L engine to be used for better efficiency and performance.
Modes Available in Co-Pilot:
Setting 1 (down or all the way to the right) This mode shows you what the position of the TPS is. No Lights=0 percent and 5 lights=100 percent
Setting 2 (Two positions from the right) This mode shows you what the actual transmission line pressure is No Lights=70 PSI line pressure and 5 lights=155 PSI Line pressure.
ATS Auxiliary Transmission Cooler: (Included in Stage 3)
The ATS 42RLE Auxiliary Transmission Cooler Kit is designed to work with your factory-installed transmission cooler. The lower the temperature of the oil in your transmission, the better. With added cooling to combat the heat, you can minimize the risk of the most common transmission failure: overheating.
Features:
• Auxiliary cooling that enhances factory transmission cooler
• Extends transmission lifetime
• Lightweight cooler, heavyweight performance
• ATS limited warranty
• Fits all 2007-2011 3.8L Jeep Wrangler JK with automatic transmissions
Application:
2007-2011 Jeep 3.8L Pentastar
