Another Shot Auto Trans!

[ProMac1K]

My trans left me stranded in town today. I was after a belt for the spreader in the grain bin, all was going fine. I took a right to go onto US Hwy 14, all is well. I see a cop coming up behind me so I take it easy and stay at about 50 mph. Cop shutes by, I proceed to speed up to 60 mph. I started noticing a lack of power. The wind was fairly strong outside but not too strong. Ok, accelerator goes down engine revs up but speed does not increase. I'm beginning to wonder about this. At this time I still figure it's the strong winds but I was beginning to get tense and nervous. Find out trans isn't in lockup mode and I was going 50-60. Pushed OD button, nothing changed, pushed it again nothing changed. I'm coming into town and slow her down to 30, try maintaining speed and I was struggling to with the engine well above 2000 rpm. Coasted into a camper dealer and park it, trans temp isn't even registering. Get out and check the fluid, with the truck in park and engine off, shows overfull like it should, color is reddish brown but not burnt or hot. Started the truck up again, put it in drive and it drives for 15 ft, then engine free revs again. Shut truck off, wait five minutes, start truck up again and it is driveable for another 15 ft. Did the same thing over again once while I was waiting for a ride back home.



Ended up going down to Chrysler where they basically quized me until they found something that I did wrong. I told them I used Dextron III with a good name-brand friction modifier at the last fluid change since a parts store told me that I could use Dextron III with no problems, and I couldn't find ATF 3 anywhere locally. Darn parts stores... I've ran that for probably 4000 miles with no problems or symptoms, not even a shudder or vibration. They put the scanner on it and found a code that said "High Clutch Volume Index" which they thought to be something wrong with the clutches and definately an internal problem. Of course they keep on blaming the problem on the fluid, which I can understand why, but they won't go into further detail.



They gave me prices for rebuilt transmissions. One from Chrysler was $1900 with a 3 yr/36k mile parts and labor warranty. Also there was one from Auto Service Center (ASC) for $1829 with a 2 year warranty and $1695 with a 1 year warranty. They figured the labor would be around $500 and thought that I wouldn't be able to get out the door with any less than $2700 minimum.

Thought about it for a few minutes and called them back. Gave them my credit card number for the bill of putting the scanner on it and told them to park it out back for me to come and tow it home.



I can't justify paying for a whole stock rebuilt trans when who knows what is wrong, and i'd be getting a plain-jane rebuilt trans. I want to know what happened inside of there. Transmission companies, be expecting a call from me! If nothing else, i'll rebuild it myself but i'll have no part at getting a full rebuilt trans from Chrysler.



Does anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong or have any suggestions for parts to put in it? I'm planning on a converter and rebuild kit for sure, but debating on a update kit and a valve body or shift kit as well. Who knows, maybe there will only be one thing wrong or maybe the whole trans will be wiped and require full replacement.



-Trever-



Turns out after we get the new belt for the bin home, we end up putting the old one back on again since the new one is too long. Don't know whether to say the belt brought me good luck or bad luck!

 

[JoshPeters]

Sorry to hear about the truck Trever. If you plan on rebuilding it yourself, be VERY consious of which direction the snap rings face. There are a couple wave snap rings and there is at least one spot where there is a regular snap ring as well as a wave. The OD section can be kinda tricky. DO NOT pull the snap rings out without compressing the 800lbs tension spring assy!



I would talk to Dave Goerend about the parts you will need. He's just down in Iowa, and probably has everything you will need in stock. Valve Body and Torque converters too.



Josh

 

[Fred Swanson]

At least drop the pan and look for yourself. It sounds like your filter is clogged.

 

[Lsfarm]

Check the ATF level again

Hi Trevor, you should check the ATF level again with the truck idling in neutral, if you are at the correct level then I agree with Fred, the filter may be plugged. But of course if the filter is plugged it has to be full of clutch material. which means the trans is toast anyway.



But with a fresh filter you may get a few more miles out of the trans



Let us know what you find.



Greg L

 

[jimk]

I have 105k miles on a stock transmission and I use TDH fluid in it. My transmission is working good working and I have been using that for 50k miles. When I pulled the pan to service it the was nothing but fluid. Use what ever fluid you wont but I like the TDH fluid. The shifts are firm, but I dont hot rod my truck. I use the advice that was give to me about 1750 rpms in over drive. That last automatic I will ever own I hope. good luck Jimk

 

[ProMac1K]

Thanks everyone!



I plan on checking the fluid first thing in the morning when I get over to the shop.



I wrote down some symptoms that i'm having... . found some while driving the truck into the shop.



1)On the highway, the truck originally accelerated fine but wouldn't go into OD. That's when I started noticing the slipping and free-revving. Truck wouldn't shift in or out of OD with the manual control button on the dash.



2)Trans temp gauge never registered or went up.



3)The truck acts as if it is in limp mode. You can start it up, put it in gear, and let the truck drive itself until you switch gears or put a load on the trans. Once you do that, it will free rev again. Then if you shut the truck off and wait 30 seconds to a minute, you can start it back up, put it in gear, wait a few seconds for the trans to take hold, and then you can go again until you switch gears or put a strong load on the trans until it makes noises.



4)Idling in reverse you can hear a rattle or vibrating sound coming from the area of the front of the trans somewhere. It almost sounds like light metal vibrating against something, a very light rattling noise. I've noticed for up to a month now when you put the transmission into reverse, it goes harder into that gear than the rest of them, like a jerk into reverse. A month or so ago I tried pulling out a stuck skid loader in reverse with no success other than tire spin, wonder if that caused that.



If it for sure is something internal, I plan on doing a torque converter as well as a rebuild kit for sure. Debating on an upgrade kit or valve body/kit. I would like to diagnose the problem first though. I'll check the condition of the fluid tomorrow.....

 

[y-knot]

UN-fortunately you know by listening to these post, it is nothing new or UN-expected. The weakest link in ALL, yes all 1994 to 2005 , Dodge/Cummins powered trucks is the automatic transmission. I along with many others have come to realize just how leak and under-rated the Dodge automatic trany's are. We have also come to realize just how go they can be with the right parts installed, why Dodge can not install the same parts at the factory level is beyond me. I think most would pay extra to get a transmission that they could believe in? I sure would have, instead I had to sink 4-5,000 of my own money to get it fixed right. Sorry to hear about your trany problems, and I hope you get going soon. Good luck.

 

[ProMac1K]

Thanks y-knot!



Wish my truck looked as tricked out as yours! Nice looking rig you've got there! Can't beat a black 3500!

 

[JoshPeters]

Trevor,

I'm looking at my manual for this transmission. Do you have reverse? Does it slip when it's in the one gear it will take? If you lock it into first will it stay there or will it slip? Judging by your description, OD slipping, and a noisy reverse. The Direct clutch is applied under both of those circumstances. What bothers me is, the overrun sprag should grab if the Direct clutch doesn't. The only other clutch that enguages when both Reverse and OD are used is the Front clutch. If the front clutch is bad you will not have 3rd either. Do you have 3rd? Do you have Reverse?



Josh

 

[ProMac1K]

Josh,



I do have reverse at low rpm until either the trans slips and free-revs or the truck jerks and trans sounds rough. When I put it in D, it takes a couple of seconds for the transmission to take a hold, then it slowly idles it self around, feels very inefficient. It doesn't seem to matter what drive gear it's in (D, 2, 1), it acts the same. I really can't tell what gear it is in because I can't go very fast until it slips. I'm probably ruining my trans for trying to do this. :-laf Basically, it goes forward and reverse, but with not a lot of efficiency, and it will slip at ease if there is any throttle applied.



I'm going over to the shop right now to recheck the fluid with the truck running and in neutral. From there if the fluid is up to par, I think i'm going to drop the pan and pull the filter. Then i'll inspect the filter. I thought of even pulling the filter off, if plugged, and then put the pan back on and fill the trans back up to see if it works. Just out of curiousity I guess, maybe stupidity as well. I guess we'll find out in a little bit! If fluid level is ok and filter is plugged, expect another call DTT. Thumbs up to DTT for taking the time to talk with me that long on the last call! I had my notebook and pen out and handy but the wealth of information overwhelmed me. I can already tell their customer service is second to none. Good job guys!

 

[Lsfarm]

Pick up a filter

Stop by an auto parts store and grab a filter for a 94-95 dodge Diesel truck. I can't remember where the cut off year is for the old style [prefered] filter and the new style filter, but asking for a '94-95 will get the prefered one. .

The old style is about $8, and the new about $15.



You will need a torx bit to replace the filter. [can't remember the size right now, it's always on my work bench]



Grab a few gallons of dexron ATF too. A trash can lid with a hole in the middle inverted over a five gallon bucket makes a good drain pan for the stock [messy] pan.



Good luck, I hope it is just low ATF, and the rear clutches survived. If it is low, obviously you need to find out where it is leaking.



Greg L

 

[JoshPeters]

Good luck!



DTT has a great transmission, I'm sure you won't be dissappointed!



Josh

 

[ProMac1K]

Checked the fluid level this afternoon with the engine running, trans warm and in neutral. Fluid level was up to par, right at the max level on the stick. So then I dropped the pan and filter. Fluid is brown and smells toasted, just plain toasted fluid. Fluid is pretty fresh too, well under the time-to-change limit. I ended up only getting as far as cracking the bolts loose on the pan before I had to leave for chores, so I had someone else take the pan and filter off. He said that he didn't see any particles in fluid but wasn't for sure, so i'll check that in the morning. I hate to say it but I almost want a reason to rebuild the trans, just don't want to replace all the hard parts.



:-laf

 

[RBratby]

i think dtt's customer service is second to nobody. when something happened to my trans due to me not LISTENING to what i was TOLD to due by both the rebuilder (lsfarm) and bill k dtt still hooked me up. dtt and the rebuilder did everything in there power to get me back on the road asap. i think dtt transmissions are the best trans you can buy. just so you know what happened to my trans was my fault not because of dtt or the rebuilder.