Dodge Ram Transmission Problems

cumminsman · January 2008

I just rebuilt my tranny 30,000 ago. Everything has been working fine. Plowed snow and reverse started slipping. Forward gears all work fine. I need suggestions where to start. Low range reverse clutch band> Convertor locks up fine in Low and 2. Valve body issue?

firefighter4 · January 2008

yes. put a good after market torque converter in it

firefighter4 · January 2008

morethan likley reverse was not rebuilt. this common not to rebuild them, now it needs rebuilt

lynn32 · January 2008

My trans went out and I am having it rebuilt about 1500.00 damage.What are some things I can do to prolong service from this dodge transmission.I was told they dont last.99' Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 automatic w/overdrive

iholman · January 2008

I have a 2001 ram 1500 with the 46RE tranny. In the past, maybe 2 yrs or so, my truck would randomly turn the overdrive off. It would stay off for awhile, then randomly turn back on on its own. I never thought to much of it until yesterday when it turned off in the morning, and then my tranny temp light came on. I turned the truck off, let it sit, then turned it back on and drove the truck. The OD turned back on on its own 15 miles up the road. The this morning, the samething, only the tran temp light keeps coming on and the overdrive wont turn back on. The OD button on the shifter workes, except when the truck turns the OD OFF on its own. Do I need to replace the OD solenoid and the TC solenoid before my truck decides it has had enough. I have 94400 miles on it.

gtrply · January 2008

my 98 dodge drives fine daily around town but when i'm on the freeway at apx 70mph for 20-30 mins the overdrive kicks out and the tranny temp light comes
on .. whn I turn the truck off and let it sit for a few all is well again..
i had this problem a year ago and took to the mech. and was told tht i needed a new trans cooler which is located in the radiator [600.00 bucks] including new filter screen oil ect it work o.k for a while but the problem still exist anyone ever have this problem ??

iholman · January 2008

i just went through this exact same thing with my 01. in the past three days, i have flushed the oil 3 times, changed the filter, changed the OD and Converter solenoid assembly and cleaned the electrical connections. The last thing i did was to change the MAP and TPS sensors, put the problem still occured, so I took the new ones off and put the old ones back on, and now it is fine. I havent driven it far to really check, but originally it was happening rather quickly, but i think the problem may be fixed. Honestly, i think it is an eltrical connection somewhere that i touched that fixed, just dont ask which one. The OD and TC solenoid are about 110 at the dealership, and relatively easy to change, and that makes sense as to what the problem is, but i cant for sure say. I got answers from various mechanics saying anywhere that the whole PCM needs to be reset, to the TC lock up failing, to the break light switch is out. The cheapest attempt to first try is unplugging every electrical connection, cleaning and plugging back in.... Good luck and let me know if yu find anything..

rhtrans · January 2008

All dodge and jeep transmissions have alot of problems with the torque converter clutches failing. Your cooler flow comes from the torque converter, the clutch deteriorates and the debris is pumped into the tranny cooler. There is a one way check valve in the cooler line up near the radiator that is very deceptable to clogging causing overheating problems and lack of lubrication to the gears inside. The computer most likely shuts overdive off when it sees its overheating to warn you

rhtrans · January 2008

A quality torque converter mainly, add an external cooler and remove the oneway checkvalve from the cooler line near the radiator. Make sure its pumping at the very least one quart of fluid thru the cooler return line every 20 seconds while hot in the neutral position. There are also other mods you can make to the valvebody to increase converter clutch apply cooler cooler flow.

rhtrans · January 2008

Its strange that it has been that for so long. I'm not sure where the problem lies with your truck but i wouldn't waist my money on the solenoids. Those solenoids for the o/d and L/u are very durable and rarely have problems unlike the the gov pressure solenoid and sensor which commonly go out but typically does not cause that problem. A faulty neatral safety switch or wiring (which is kind of rare) believe it or not can cause that but does not cause overheating problems. Overheating comes from lack of cooler flow or torque converter clutch problems.

rhtrans · January 2008

"If "all forward ranges are ok" including o/d then you are right..the problem lies with the low reverse band. Why it failed is the question. Is the servo cracked? was it adjusted correctly? maybe the adjustment for the band came loose... Is there a cross leak causing the band to drag when its in another gear...things to think about.

jfk06brk · January 2008

Drove truck home from detroit it shifted fine. about three weeks later trans started to shift late from 1to2. if i manually down shift to low before i stop, then place it back in drive it shifts fine. what could it be.

rhtrans · January 2008

The only thing that changes when you put it in manual low is that the low reverse band is applied and line pressure is raised some. That really has no bearing on the way it upshifts afterward and is probably a coincidence..unless It's starting out in second then shifting to third then when you shift to manual low it's actually in first like it should be. There are several things that can cause a late shift or wrong gear starts...tps, output speed sensor,sticking shift valves from metal particles(internal damage), but The most common is a faulty governor solenoid or sensor,they cause shifting problems. also check the throttle cable that runs from the throttle on the engine to the transmission...make sure its moving properly and not stuck. Hope that helped.

nismo_llw · January 2008

Hi Guys just wondering if you could help me out. I have a 1999.5 ram 2500 cummins automatic trans. all the gears seem tight 1,2, and reverse work great but when it is in third with overdrive off it seems to drop into an in between gear and jump 1500rpms and then jump back into 3rd. Not sure if the tranny is toast or not. fluids are clear and red not brown. If you can help that would be great i depend on this truck for work and i dont really want to go to dodge because i always seem to go in with one problem and come out with more. thanks

gtrply · January 2008

thks alot for ur input.. the chk valve is wht they said was clogged last yr. whn they
charge me $600 thy said tht the cooler was located in the radiator and the chk was
at the neck and the whole thing had to be replaced i guess it was better than replacing the tranny but at the time it worked but i only drove on the expressway
once or twice a week for apx 30min to an hr but now.... again it wont last 30 mins
without having the od kickout and tranny temp light comming on but it will if i slow down to under 60 mph for a while reset it self and then kickout again apx 5min later

rhtrans · January 2008

If the checkvalve and radiator were clogged then the damage has already happened. The torque converter clutch comes apart clogging those items and probably is still coming apart, in turn the transmission does not get sufficient cooler flow and can severely damage a transmission within 20 miles. Its possible They may have fixed the result but not the root cause. The most common reason for overheating is that the TC clutch is constantly slipping at higher speeds when the computer has commanded lock-up, creating "alot" of heat. Dodge computers do not monitor tcc slip speed so it cannot set a code for a slip or ratio error, but it sure can say i'm overheating! When it goes into lock-up you should feel at least a 250 to 600 rpm drop depending on your speed and engine load. If you go 55mph and keep a steady speed...tap the brake pedal, usually you can feel the converter disengage and reengage. Add an external cooler also. The cooler should flow no less than 1 quart per 20 seconds in neutral on the return side(rear cooler line)

lynn32 · January 2008

What are some things you could do to prevent this problem

rhtrans · January 2008

A good aftermarket torque converter for one. Most all aftermarket TC remanufacters are not using the original material. There are also some modifications that can be done to the valvebody to quicken apply and release. A good "reputable" independent Trans shop would do these anyway during a rebuild. Also Remove the check valve and add an external cooler. The checkvalve is only there to prevent converter drainback which can cause a no movement on initial crank up after sitting for a long period of time. I've been taking them out for years..never had a complaint...knock on wood. Make sure the cooler flow is correct... and it will go for a long time.

palominos · January 2008

Truck sounds good but will only accelerate to 60 mph ..at 60 rpm reads 2750.. rpm goes to 3200 if in park ..

some man looked under hood and said Oh i c its a linkage problem
any suggestions where I shoul start...
Thanks
Toni

palominos · January 2008

Truck sounds good but will only accelerate to 60 mph ..at 60 rpm reads 2750.. rpm goes to 3200 if in park ..

some man looked under hood and said Oh i c its a linkage problem
any suggestions where I shoul start...
Thanks
Toni

palominos · January 2008

Truck sounds fine, no slipping at all.. but will only accelertat to 60 mph
when at 60 the rpm's read 2750
when in park rpms got to 3200 ( redline is 3000)
fuel mileage dropped form 18 to 8... any suggestions?

Oh I did ask one mechanic he looked under hood ..had me step on fuel and said oh i see it is a linkage problem... ??? but he would not explain it to me and he did not have time to fix.. and he is now 200 miles away.
Thank You for any suggestion
Toni

jasc515 · January 2008

Hi, I have a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 with the 5.9L. When traveling at speeds above 60 mph the RPMs will all the sudden increase by about 400. I can usually get them to go back down by letting off the gas and then pushing it again. Is it shifting out of O/D? It just seems to me like it would be a greater rpm jump if it was shifting out of O/D but I don't know anything about transmissions so that's why I'm here. Also, if I hit a big enough bump (which is easy in a ram lol) the same thing happens. Any ideas? Thanks, Jason.

KCRam · January 2008

The engine is governed to that rpm when in gear... it will only go higher in neutral/park.

kcram - Pickups Host

palominos · January 2008

BUT shouldn't the rpm's be lower then 2750 while truck is running at 60? (redline is 3000)
seems like truck is stuck in 2nd gear?

KCRam · January 2008

Depends on your axle ratio. With 3.54 axles, 60 mph in 3rd gear should be around 2400 rpm. With 4.10s, 60 mph in 3rd would be right at the governor.

A 12-valve Cummins will never get to 60 mph in 2nd gear... not enough rpm.

kcram - Pickups Host

rhtrans · January 2008

Well Jason...take your truck down the highway at 60 mph before the problem happens and push the o/d cancel button and look at the rpm change. 400 rpm sounds more like it's coming out of lock up...but u need a scanner to see if the computer is commanding it to disengage or is the converter clutch not staying engaged.

jasc515 · January 2008

Thanks for the reply. It is a much larger rpm jump when I take it out of overdrive. So...it must be coming out of lock up, I'm not sure what that means though. This is something that can be tested with the scanner even though the check engine light isn't on? And what would the most likely fix for either of these problems. It has been very cold here lately, I don't know if that would affect it at all. Thanks.

jkhayes82 · January 2008

Hey Jason will you contact me at joshuahayes@hotmail.com?

Thanks,
Josh

rhtrans · January 2008

Lock up is a computer controlled clutch in your torque converter that when applied gives you a true one to one ratio from the engine to the trans without any slippage. A torque conveter is always slipping, thats why you can come to a stop without the need of a clutch pedal like a manual transmissinon. A scanner can be used for much more than reading codes but also to monitor information that is being fed to the computer from different sensors and to see the computers decisions. The computer makes the decision to lock the converter up when certain parameters are met from various sensors. A scanner can also tell you when the computer turns lock up on and off. It uses several sensors to make that decision. The main 3 are the vehicle speed(output speed on yours)sensor, throttle position sensor..and oddly enough engine tempature. If your engine running to cool or is cooling down to much while going down the highway, that can effect the computers decision to lock up. Check your engine temp gauge..you want your engine to run around 180 -210 degrees when warmed up at all times..it should not fluctuate much. A simple stuck thermastat can be the culprit. Hope that helped.

chasensun · January 2008

i had my 95 dodge 3500 diesel automatic transmission rebuilt.it wont stay in lockup all the time and it will not power shift between 2nd and 3rd meaning it will not shift under power i have to let way off the throttle for it to shift.i took it back to shop and he rewired transmission and didnt help.he said that i needed to get tps so i did some research on how tom test the tps to see if it was bad.the trigger wire should have between .80 volts to 1 volt.mine read .21 volts so i bought a new one and tested it and it read .26 volts.i returned it and got another one and tested it and it read .36 volts.i was told these are notorius for being bad out of the box but it is hard to beleive.has anyone had this problem before and can you help me.Thanks Chase

clyde10 · January 2008

my 2005 duely 3500 has started making a strange sound when i shut it off. a small bolt on part left side top of transmition is the cause of the sound.i do not have to start engin. just turn key on then off .sound lasts for about 10 sec. every time what is it

cjess001 · January 2008

I have a '01 dodge ram 1500 w/off-road package. I have herd that these trucks have problems with the trannies at about 75,000 miles. Mine is just over 74,000 and I was wondering if there is anything I can do to prevent this? I have read some of the other posts and I have the same problem with the rpms jumping about 300 but only when I set the cruise. Any help will be welcomed!

wedgehead · January 2008

this morning i noticed the tranny not shifting into o/d correctly. it was aprox. 40 degrees and until it was up to operating temp then it started shifting right. it has 80'000 on it and it was serviced at 40'000 . it doesnt slip or anything ,it just didnt want to change to o/d until i had a few miles on it . this is the first time i ve noticed this. fluid looks and smells ok

wedgehead · February 2008

stanoski · February 2008

Your tranny is working correctly. If your O3 is like my 07, the manual says that it won't go into OD until the fluid heats up. Not sure how long that takes but that is the way it was designed. Ski in TX

dodge2dodge · February 2008

my 2000 dodge ram has been acting wierd latley,i work up in wyoming in the oil fields and i use my truck to get to and from sites about 10 days into january i put in a new alternator,and a/c belt. on january 31,2008 i drove down to utah for a family gathering and my truck ran like a champ now though when i went 2 c some family the truck went but as soon as hit 15 mph the rpms shoot to the red line and my truck wont accelerate.my dad had 2 tow me home.what could be the problem? and how can i trouble shoot the situation?

KCRam · February 2008

If you couldn't tell that anything physically happened to the truck, the first thing to check would be the Throttle Position Sensor.

kcram - Pickups Host

larry84 · February 2008

trans will not shift out of 1st gear till let off the thottle and will jump out again if i give to much thottle after i get to 30 miles a hour then it will take the thottle and shift threw all other gears help please

rhtrans · February 2008

Sounds like you are missing second gear...the band that applies for that is either broken or damaged.

gehmann · February 2008

Won't stay locked in 4th gear even at 48MPH??? What do I look for? Greg

carsofutah · February 2008

My 1999 Dodge 3500 Cummings comes out of lock-up at 37 MPH and keeps going in and out until 43 MPH and then seems to stay in lock-up after that. My tranny guy scanned it while we drove and he says the computer is telling it to do this so that tells him it's not a tranny issue but rather something electrical. The dash lights have never worked and the other morning I came out and they all the sudden were working for about 10 minutes. Not sure if this could be related to the electrical issue or not. Another mechanic told me he read a post from dodge about this and the computer needed to be flashed with a new updated EPROM and it would fix the issue. $90 later and a new EPROM flash and still no luck. Now though it comes in and out of lock-up at 70 MPH. This is new since the EPROM flash. I also got a new alternator and that seemed to cure it for about a week. So it is eletrical on mine for sure just don't know where to look. Bad computer maybe???

suntecgood · February 2008

I HAVE A 2006 RAM 1500 2WH DR,WITH 5 SPEED AUTO AND RECENTLY LOST FIRST AND FOURTH,FIFTH GEARS. BY READING YOUR POST I LEARNED THAT IF I SHUT IT OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON AND QUICKLY SHFIT AND TAKE OFF OFF IN DRIVE THAT EVERTHINGS PERFECT AND I HAVE ALL GEARS AND IT EVEN KICKSDOWN WHEN I STEP ON IT. IT JUST TURNED 39,000 MILES.RIGHT NOW I HAVE TO MANUALLY SHIFT IT INTO LOW WHEN AT A STOPLIGHT AND I ONLY GET WHAT SEEMS TO BE SECOND THEN I SHIFT TO DRIVE TO GET WHAT SEEMS THIRD. HELP.??

rhtrans · February 2008

Yes it's most likely electrical. A lot of dodges especially diesels have that problem..even seen it in jeeps. The parameters for the tps are to tight and noise frequency from the engine, alternator or whatever causes this problem. A flash and update usually helps. I have put compacitors on the tps circuit to help and it has. Give that a try....

jackhammer2 · February 2008

I did the three key turn method and my truck gave me the code p1762

I'm thinking that i need to replace the governor pressure sensor and the solenoid in the tranny. Am i way off base here or is that the right thing to do?

ksrober1 · February 2008

My transmission started slipping when taking off from a dead stop after driving for a long distance at higher speeds without stopping. It became more persistant and I had my trans looked at by AAMCO and they found nothing wrong (at about 80,000 miles) and the problem persisted. At around 112,000 miles my transmission completely went on me and I had a rebuilt transmission put in by AAMCO and the slipping problem continued even after this. Once again AAMCO said they couldn't find anything wrong with the transmission that would be causing it to slip. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

sbrogdon · February 2008

I own a 2002 dodge quad cab 1500- the truck jumps between 1st and 2nd gear and makes a whining noise when i make a sharp right turn. It has 101,000 miles and i have had the transmission fluid flushed. Is my transmission going out?

smkmup288 · February 2008

Hi I recently read your comment about the wedge piece you found in your tranny pan. I have a 97 Dodge Ram 4x4 and I just changed my tranny filter, and found that exact same piece in my pan. When i start off in 1st gear, i have to get the rpm's up to 2,500 or 3,000, and let off the gas for the tranny to shift. Ive took it to two different shops, and no one can tell me whats wrong. I was just wondering if you ever figured anything out, and what solved it and how much if so. Or if anyone else knows what might be wrong. I love my truck to death, but i have to get to this fixed. Thank you.

1caboguy · February 2008

I recently purchased an '03 Ram 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins Diesel with 85K miles and have developed transmission problem between 1st and second gear. It seems that this occurs only at particular speeds. It does not want to do the slow thing well. Kind of hangs on in first gear to long, if I let me foot off the gas, it will rev down and shift. I have been driving it this way for several months. The tranny seems to act just fine with this exception. It does not seem to slip when it does get in to gear. The dealer "tranny expert" said " the second gear is almost gone" I'm not sure what this means. He maid me think it was new tranny time but I have been driving it for months now. Has anyone experienced this before? Any thoughts? Thanks much. Dan

fireman13 · February 2008

My friend has a 98 Dodge ram 1500. He is having a shifting problem. It shifts fine if you take off real slow. If you take off normal it hangs in first until you let off or the rpm's get up around 4 or 5 thousand. If you manually shift it it still stays in first. He had the fluid and filter changed. I'm thinking sylonoid. If it is, is it located on the valve body? Thanks

captmack · February 2008

new member looking for ideas on this...truck has always ran great (160K miles).

It will start and idle perfectly, however after putting in gear, fwd or rev, and traveling app. 10 ft, truck shuts down. If I juice it and get through the first shutdown, the indications are every 10 ft or so of travel all electrical shuts down (gages, engine) for a split second and it is perfectly timed or rythmic, like snapping your fingers to a song, and that is about how long I lose electric and power, the time it takes to snap a finger. Pulled up code P1762 but have no idea what the code is.
Any ideas?

Dodge Ram Transmission Problems

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