Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Need advice: Trying to solve mysterious transmission problems: are we getting "taken"?

[agfckrowe]

Help, we have my father's 2002 2500 58k miles auto transmission this truck is well maintained and was my father's favorite possession and now it has gone to hell and we can't seem to get it fixed! Dad has recently passed and on top of all the loose ends we are dealing with, we now have to deal with the transmission has messed up on this truck.



Initially, the overdrive off light went on, and then the transmission temp light went on, and it was driven 20 miles like that. There was no problem with the the way the transmission handled at this point.



The next time it was driven, the lights did not come on and it was driven to the dealer ship for repair (since the lights had come on previously). The computer showed that nothing was wrong, but since it was close to the 60K maintenance due date, they went ahead and did the 60K miles service.



Two days of about a dozen 1/2 mile short trips, the transmission was slow in shifting, but this problem wasn't consistent. The next time it was driven, it was consistently show to shift and then it then finally it wouldn't go into 3rd gear. No warning lights were on at this time. Drove it to dealer who said it was an electrical problem, pressure wasn't building to allow it to shift. When they got the pressure built up, it shifted into 1 and 2 but it took a long time to finally shift into 3rd. So they said it needed the transmission rebuilt which they did.



Service man said he drove it around and the rebuilt transmission was fine. Mom picked up truck drove it 5 miles and then the overdrive off light came on and then the transmission temperature light came on. After about $4K and alot of worrying and headaches it is scheduled to go back to the ******* for repair. Mom was so upset/mad about this that she wasn't sure if the transmission was acting up or not. The dealer said that since it was rebuilt there was no reason it shouldn't work and no reason the lights should come on. Its scheduled to go back in for them to look at and scratch their heads over.



Any thoughts or comments, I didn't see any TSB bulletins about this. Could this be a computer problem??? Dealer said they his repair folks are "older gentlemen who have worked on Dodge transmissions over the years". Any suggestions on how to get this truck fixed or what to tell this guys to look at?



Khol Fusion's Daughter

 

[fox]

It sounds like your dealer techs know only what Dodge wants them to know, and cannot think outside of the box.

Call DTT and ask them, they are very knowledgeable and honest and will share with you their knowledge.

DTT

 

[ASimpson]

The Guy That Rebuilt Mine The First Time Said He Had Rebuilt Tons Of Dodge Trannies Over The Years And Several Dodge Diesels Also It Lasted Almost 4000 Miles. For A Guy That Knows Trannies So Well He Hadnt Heard Of Anything I Asked Him About. Told Him I Wanted A Billet Converter What I Got Was A Reman. Stock Converter Which Came Apart Plugged Things Up And Pretty Much Burn Everything Internal. But Had To Take It To Another Shop To Find Out Because The First Guy Wouldnt Tear Into It To Find Anything Out Just Kept Throwing Valve Bodies At It After 4 V/b And 7 Days Later I Hauled It Away. Funny Thing Is He Said There Was Nothing In The Pan But The Other Guy Showed Me A Pan Full Of Crap. Its Fixed Now. Be Careful Who Works On Your Truck If Im Pretty Sure I Can Do I Do It If Not Its Gonna Be Someone I Know I Can Trust... .

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

My brother in law had a very similar experience with his transmission in his '94 during his move up here to John Day area - his temp lite came on and the O/D quit - and there were other nasty transmission symptoms like a severe "chattering" in the transmission in harder hill pulling.



When he got here and his truck unloaded, we checked his transmission temp sensor - it had apparently been overheated and failed on one of the longer grades, and when that failed, the computer would no longer allow O/D or converter lockup as a safety measure.



We simply replaced the temp sensor ($25), and everything returned to normal. When they rebuilt your transmission, did they also replace all sensors, or just reuse the old ones?