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Dodge Ram Transmissions

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casehd

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Greetings all!

Quick background and question.
I have always loved the style of the Dodge rams since the changes in 94, but have heard horror stories about the transmissions. Anyway I finally broke down and bought a 99 Ram 1500 reg. cab shortbox 4X4 sport. The transmission I was told was rebuilt about 2 years ago, and just before i purchased it, the dealer said they had replace a solinoid or such. The question is, is does not seem to shift correctly. It seems to drop down a gear quickly before shifting back up at around 45-50 mph. Also it does not always seem to shift down to the lowest gear after stopping. Does anyone have experience with this? And if so does it sound more like a linkage adjustment, or BCU setting?

Thanks for reading this Book,lol.
 
Do you know the size of the trans?

46RE?

The shifting problem MIGHT be due to the kick down cable (technically not the correct name for it to early this morning) not adjusted properly. I have a 46re and it has had a solenoid replaced as well. The solenoids are bad about going out. My trans is starting to act funny again matter a fact.
 
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My 2000 Ram has the transmission out right now.It's an A518 which I believe is a 46RE?
The lockup convertor failed which has done some damage to the trans.
Convertors seem to be the problem I've learned.
After teardown of the trans it appears the trans has been coping OK with the heavy towing I use it for.
Symptoms of yours bear some resemblance to what mine was like prior to removal.
 
sixpack said:
My 2000 Ram has the transmission out right now.It's an A518 which I believe is a 46RE?
The lockup convertor failed which has done some damage to the trans.
Convertors seem to be the problem I've learned.
After teardown of the trans it appears the trans has been coping OK with the heavy towing I use it for.
Symptoms of yours bear some resemblance to what mine was like prior to removal.
Click to expand...

What was it doing at the moment it failed? Symptoms of the failure another words.
 
mullinax95 said:
What was it doing at the moment it failed? Symptoms of the failure another words.
Click to expand...

When it first started it felt like the trans was dropping in and out of gear under light throttle.
I thought kickdown cable so adjusted that.Made no difference.
Then I put the trailer and racecar on the back and headded off for a 900 mile round trip.
After stops along the way it felt sort of like convertor drainback on it's first takeoff from startup each time.You'd apply power and it felt like the handbrake was on.Back off and apply power again and it would clunk into gear and then we'd be off OK again.
At this stage I was thinking more along the lines of a lockup clutch problem which has now shown to be correct.
Once we got to our destination,every time I went to start and move I'd have to shift to neutral (assuming to fill the convertor up) before the vehicle would move OK.
At this stage the oil was discoloured and I was suspecting a clogged filter probably from something failing.
When heading for home I got about 30 miles out on a really cold morning and the transmission overheat light came on.
After much trial and error with different speeds i found i could go a reasonable distance before overheating by travelling at abt 42mph.Hills heated it up quick though.Just wanted to get it home.
Anyway,this is how I limped it home and then drained oil and there was cast iron dust in there which is what had the filter clogged.
The cast iron is from the convertor.The convertor is that bad that it's not even useable as a core.
Interestingly enough everything worked fine and shifted well the whole time when under WOT.

1zp4py1.jpg
 
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Thanks for the detailed description.
When I take off from a stop the trans wants to go from 1st to 2nd and then back to 1st just for a second and shift to 2nd then 3rd. It also will downshift to fast at times. When I start to slow down to stop.... just before I come to a complete stop it will downshift and the result is a "jerk" that I get to feel in which I'm not supposed to.

I was talking to a friend of mine that I went to school in which he runs a transmission repair shop. We was discussing the notorious Dodge trans and he told me the newer later model trans ( the redesigned trans that comes behind the Hemis cant remember the number) is not that much better that the old ones. Matter fact he had one on the table tearing it down and showed me where they blow out solenoid housings.
 
Trans

Thanks all for the reply`s. After reading up, it does sound like a converter issue, and since they replaced the solenoid just before I bought the truck, and the trans is still under warranty, I think I`ll just take it back and let them fix it :)
 
casehd said:
Thanks all for the reply`s. After reading up, it does sound like a converter issue, and since they replaced the solenoid just before I bought the truck, and the trans is still under warranty, I think I`ll just take it back and let them fix it :)
Click to expand...

Oh man that's what I would do.
 
i had a problem with a 99 i had it would over heat and trans light would come on, when i got a rebuilt one the trans guy told me that a check ball in the cooler line by the radiator would stick and cause most of the trans to go bad
 
Just to revisit this thread my new trans and convertor have been in for a few weeks now.
My trans builder has modified the trans to cope better with heavy towing.Much of the mods he has done is pretty much the same as he does to a race trans.
The convertor is a special order low stall to suit the blown 360magnum for towing use.It's actually a low stall convertor relying on the blown engine's torque to get things rolling rather than the higher stall which was in there.
Works fine.No lag or anything.
The trans shifts a little harsh but that will be rectified at 1st service.The trans builder has a higher base pressure to cope with locking up this special order convertor.
Prior to the failure the trans builder had shift kitted and upped the line pressure.He said pulling some line pressure out at service will solve it but it won't hurt anything in the meantime.
Anyway,fuel economy with the new setup is up by 10% around town and up by a whopping 25% at highway speeds!!!
62mph (Australia's highway speed limit) is 1600rpm.It feels happier at around 68mph and 1650rpm but since i intend to intercool it as well I'll leave it as is for now.
Haven't towed with it as yet.
 
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