'04 Overheated Transmission - Should I Change Fluids?

[lbailey47]

We are driving an '04 Dodge 2500 Ram Diesel & pulling a 5th wheel up to Glorieta, NM from Abilene, TX, I overheated the transmission on the final mountainous pull into our destination. I was pushing it hard during the final 8 mile climb & I believe that is what caused the situation. I did have "tow/haul" engaged.



When I arrived, I noticed by the odor that I had overheated the transmission. I do not have any extra gauges on this truck. (A project to add a transmission gauge for sure when I return home).



1) The transmission is still shifting okay at this point. Should I take it into Santa Fe & get the fluid & filter changed before returning home???



2) Do I need to have "tow/haul" engaged at all times when pulling my 9500# 5th wheel?



3) Do I need to limit my speed when towing my trailer to something less than 70 MPH?



Lynn

(enjoying the cool weather in the NM mountains)

 

[cerberusiam]

First, pull the trans dip stick and check the fluid color, if it smells burnt or has ANY tint of brown its probably a good idea to change it.



A little info first, the TH on your truck is just an OD lockout. The TC lockup strategy in TH on your truck, for lack of a better word, sucks. OD has a much better lockup strategy and the longer you can keep it in OD the better off you are.



The reason you want it in OD is to keep the TC locked as much as possible. When the TC is locked there is no fluid coupling and the heat generation goes way down. When the TC is unlocked it is just churning the fluid and creating massive heat in the fluid due to the design of the OE converter. Thats probably why the trans got hot due to being in TH and the TC not locking on that pull. If the truck will pull it keep it in OD and run whatever speed is safe or 70-75 mph. Your trailer is not that heavy, you should be able to run in OD with the TC locked at 70-75 mph with no problems.



At lower speeds like 55-65 mph then you may have an issue keeping it in OD and locked, for these situations a TC lockup switch is invaluable. That will allow use of drive and make sure the TC locks and keeps the heat down. You may have to run the engine up to 2500 rpms to keep up with traffic in places but it will pull much better and save parts doing that.



Since you don't have gauges does that mean you have no power mods? A slight increase in power will help the truck pull much better and hold OD longer on grades. A tuner that allows adjustments will also cool the EGT's and usually enhance mpg. For the transmission, a simple shift kit and a few other pieces will allow it to work better and hold gears\lockup longer without potential damage.



Just some of the things available to make your expereince smuch better.

 

[Mark31]

My 04 locks the TC in 2nd at about 2000 rpm (if the selector is 2)), in drive, and overdrive. A bad mountain climb could be done in 2nd with lockup. Before shifting to 3 from 2, I turn tow/haul off and back off the throttle so everything doesn't get "slammed". Unless some thing is broken, you should be able to feel the lockup and see the rpm fall in 2nd, 3rd, and OD. The manual says try to keep the TC locked. I have boost, exhaust tem, and trans temp guages mounted in a dash pod (from Geno's). They are worth the price, and, if you're going to tow, I encourage you to get some immediately, if not sooner. You've got to know what's happening!! If you have done damage and the trans has to come out, if you can stand it without having to sell one of your children, an aftermarket trans and tc will be a super improvement. Sometimes I think Dodge hired their transmission engineers off of a Yugo reject list. Mark