Valve problem?

A friend of mine has a 97 Ram 1500 just like mine with about the same mileage(105K). Last week, he lost his transmission while driving to work. It just stopped moving the truck. $1600 or so later, it was repaired. He was told that it was some sort of valve(about $3.00) that kept the fluid from flowing properly and burnt out the tranny. He was also told that it is a common occurrance for this valve to fail. Does anyone know if this valve can be replaced BEFORE it fails and ruins the tranny? Has anyone ever heard of this valve or know where it is located? Thanks

John Murray
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it is a plastic check valve and yes it can be removed before it causes any trouble. It is in the trans cooler line. It is easy to spot as is right before your cooler line goes into your trans cooler. If it were me i would take your truck to the same shop your buddy did and have them install a aftermarket trans cooler and remove the junk check valve.

I had mine removed.

If the truck sits for a long time, all the fluid will drain out of the converter and if you jump in, fire it up and go to take off it might not move. I always start my truck in neutral and let the fluid circulate for a good minute at least before I put it in any gear.