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32RH (3 speed) versus 42RLE (4 speed)

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cthusker174

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I own a 99 TJ with the 32RH which at least seems to work just fine. I'm not into off roading so the 3 speed tranny is all I need IMO. Runs fine, shifts well and always seems to work the way it's supposed to.

Having said that have a friend who owns a newer TJ with the 42RLE. He claims the tranny in his Jeep is far superior to my 32RH? He suggested mine is just a big repair bill simply looking for a time and place to breakdown.


To be honest that rather bothered me but I don't know enough about either tranny to take exception. Heck he could well be correct but I don't know enough about these transmissions.

I'm just asking the experts on here to verfiy his claim or say he's full of hot air... and why!

Since this seemed to be a technical question I put it in technical section......
 
#3 ·
cthusker174 said:
I own a 99 TJ with the 32RH which at least seems to work just fine. I'm not into off roading so the 3 speed tranny is all I need IMO. Runs fine, shifts well and always seems to work the way it's supposed to.

Having said that have a friend who owns a newer TJ with the 42RLE. He claims the tranny in his Jeep is far superior to my 32RH? He suggested mine is just a big repair bill simply looking for a time and place to breakdown.

To be honest that rather bothered me but I don't know enough about either tranny to take exception. Heck he could well be correct but I don't know enough about these transmissions.

I'm just asking the experts on here to verfiy his claim or say he's full of hot air... and why!

Since this seemed to be a technical question I put it in technical section......
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Your friend is an idiot. The 32rh is a far better transmission than the 42rle. The 32rh is hydraulically controlled, except for the torque converter lockup. The 42rle is electronically controlled and extremely prone to overheating. The overheating can be alleviated by installing a cooler if you get to it in time, but a lot of people aren't aware of the issue until it's too late.

As far as offroad usefulness goes, automatics are better in practically every way than a manual, so you're good to go there. A good upgrade for your 32rh is to get a deeper pan, which also comes with a spacer to move the pickup down for the new pan. This will keep the transmission from starving for fluid on steep climbs and triggering the safety shut off. If you do a lot of deep water or mud, you can also move the vent higher on the transmission.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Oh man can't wait to chat with him this weekend armed with some of these posts! I also did not "dis" his Jeep tranny nor say anything negative. He just launched into the crap that my 3 speed auto tranny sucked and he was sure glad he didn't have it in his jeep. Obviously he doesn't know WTH he's talking about which won't be the first time!

This should be interesting and I thank you guys who know this stuff backwards and forwards....
 
#6 ·
Your friend is wrong. I'll take the 32RH over the 42RLE every time. I've had several of both. More durable, easier to work on and cheaper to replace (where I live).
 
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#7 ·
biffgnar said:
This is one real downside to the 32RH IMO. Water intrusion happens a lot more often than it should. Even without serious water crossings.
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I've got extremely lucky with mine. I sunk up to the doors once in mine at a river crossing and I just stayed on the gas, hoping the pressure would keep the tranny from sucking any water in. It was deep enough that I could feel the rear end starting to float up.

Another time, our trail that normally has timid creek crossings had got flooded so bad that it turned into huge rapids. I stayed on a guy's butt as he crossed and parted the water so it wasn't as bad for me. It sucked for him because he was in a pretty low cog buggy and got completely soaked :laugh2:
 
#8 ·
cthusker174 said:
I'm just asking the experts on here to verfiy his claim or say he's full of hot air... and why!
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There's no way to win an argument like this, they are just different transmissions. You are both Jeepers, the best thing to do in this situation is give your friend a PBR and tell him you're sorry his wife is cheating on him and then ask what mod he is planning next.
 
#9 ·
Yep the 32RH you have is well known as one of the very best automatic transmissions to have ever come out of Detroit. Ford actually tried to buy the manufacturing rights for it from Chrysler years ago but Chrysler wanted too much $$$ so Ford gave up with that idea. Purely hydraulic, it's far more reliable than the 42RLE that relies on a computer to control it and there are bugs in the software, especially in the 2005-6 model's computer. I had the 32RH and now have the 42RLE and I'd much rather have my 32RH back. Yes 4-speed sounds better than 3-speed but the 42RLE's disadvantages, especially with its Overdrive ratio that is too steep which drops the engine rpms down too low, make it one of the least loved transmissions to have ever made its way into a Jeep.
 
#10 ·
Jerry Bransford said:
Purely hydraulic, it's far more reliable than the 42RLE that relies on a computer.
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What is the evidence of this? Most transmission shops have no idea what a 42RLE is because they've never seen one. I thought this was one of the transmissions that won KOH a few years back, you know the competition that only two even finished in the stock class this year?

The complaints about the overdrive are strange too, the first thee speeds on both transmissions are almost identical, just gear the 42RLE like you would a 32RH and they would be EXACTLY the same, just turn off the overdrive. For some reason people gear for the overdrive forcing themselves to use it, maybe that's why they hate the transmission?

Jerry, you do realize that if you swapped in a 32RH your first, second and third gear ratios would be almost the same?
 
#11 ·
pagrey said:
What is the evidence of this? Most transmission shops have no idea what a 42RLE is because they've never seen one. I thought this was one of the transmissions that won KOH a few years back, you know the competition that only two even finished in the stock class this year?
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Anecdotal results here on JF over the years clearly leans toward more issues with the 42RLE. Non-scientific sure and subject to some biases, but if you look at a big enough window it has to tell you something.

You are correct that the Savvy/Currie LJ ran the 42RLE. And I while I believe it was not internally upgraded in any real way, I believe it was rebuilt before each race and ran with supplemental cooling, as is always discussed when we get in to the reliability of this transmission. That rebuild, which is typical for race cars, makes it a bit of apples to oranges when it comes to a discussion of reliability versus our use, although the few hundred miles it has to last (pre-running and race day) are not easy miles.

Keeping the 42RLE cool is the biggest key for us. Granted I live somewhere relatively flat so my miles have been easier than some, but I'm at 164k miles and counting with no real issues with mine.
 
#13 ·
jjvw said:
Am I correct that there is no good way to swap the 32RH into a late-TJ? I recall something about the torque converter lock up not working. If my NV3550 ever gave out, I would consider an auto if there was a decent swap available.
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It'd be difficult since there's no single lockup output signal from the 2003 and newer computers that could be used to lock up the 32RH's torque converter.
 
#15 ·
jjvw said:
Would that signal (if there were one) be triggered by speed/rpm?
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Most likely but I think engine vacuum may be part of the decision too... like when you step on the gas vacuum decreases which would seem to be a good time to tell the torque converter to unlock. But that's just a SWAG.
 
#16 ·
For those interested in the subject, the attached pic is info straight from the FSM. The easiest way I could see getting the TCC to operate on a later TJ would be to install a manual switch, the problem with that of course being one would have to remember to switch it on and off while driving. I can imagine automatic operation could be achieved by piggyback installing an older PCM wired up with the appropriate feeds to operate as a TCM, guess it depends on how badly you want the lockup to work automatically.
 

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#17 ·
cthusker174 said:
I own a 99 TJ with the 32RH which at least seems to work just fine. I'm not into off roading so the 3 speed tranny is all I need IMO. Runs fine, shifts well and always seems to work the way it's supposed to.

Having said that have a friend who owns a newer TJ with the 42RLE. He claims the tranny in his Jeep is far superior to my 32RH? He suggested mine is just a big repair bill simply looking for a time and place to breakdown.

To be honest that rather bothered me but I don't know enough about either tranny to take exception. Heck he could well be correct but I don't know enough about these transmissions.

I'm just asking the experts on here to verfiy his claim or say he's full of hot air... and why!

Since this seemed to be a technical question I put it in technical section......
Click to expand...
The 42RLE is by far the worst automatic transmission I have ever owned! It wants to up shift when climbing a grade, can't make up it's "mind" which gear it wants to be in when trying to force it into passing gear and OD is way too high.

That being said, I still can't believe there are no programming upgrades for the 42RLE as jeep owners are more likely to spend on aftermarket goodies.
 
#18 ·
TJTurbo said:
That being said, I still can't believe there are no programming upgrades for the 42RLE as jeep owners are more likely to spend on aftermarket goodies.
Click to expand...
Jeep changed the programming in their PCMs several times during the TJ model run and did not co-operate in anyway with aftermarket vendors. What works for one year is not guaranteed to work for another. Take a look at the limited progress that the forced induction guys have made and they are really only messing with one part of the programming (that has nothing to do with transmission control). While it was always unlikely given the way Jeep handled things, at this point it's completely out the window. The newest TJ is 12-13 years old, the 42RLE was only used for 4 years in TJs and in the bigger picture TJ production runs weren't particularly big. It's a small market that's getting smaller every day. It's just not economical for anybody to do the work.
 
#19 ·
My opinion of the 42RLE in my jeep markedly improved after I installed 5.38 gears to better match my 35" tires. I suspect that many complaints about the 4 speed auto involve jeeps geared too tall (numerically low) for the tire size being used.
 
#20 ·
biffgnar said:
Jeep changed the programming in their PCMs several times during the TJ model run and did not co-operate in anyway with aftermarket vendors. What works for one year is not guaranteed to work for another. Take a look at the limited progress that the forced induction guys have made and they are really only messing with one part of the programming (that has nothing to do with transmission control). While it was always unlikely given the way Jeep handled things, at this point it's completely out the window. The newest TJ is 12-13 years old, the 42RLE was only used for 4 years in TJs and in the bigger picture TJ production runs weren't particularly big. It's a small market that's getting smaller every day. It's just not economical for anybody to do the work.
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I see your point, but at the same time there is still a fairly large market for TJ owners. I wish I knew more about programming because at some point we are all gonna need a good PCM and won't be able to get one. I have a feeling in the not too distant future someone will figure out how to run a vehicle with a smart phone and we will have an app for that! 😁
 
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