Uh Oh.....Tranny dying??????

[HansonHVAC]

Had a problem on my way home from work today.... i pulled out and was going about 40 down the road and then started to brake for a red light. I was stopping oddly slow ( i had the break to the floor and was only down to 34) so i let off and then my truck started to accelerate... no i didnt have the cruise on. so i had to drop it in neutral to stop. Then when i took off from the red light it was very hard to accelerate. It was like the throttle was stuck not even the RPMs would rise. Then when i hit 50 my truck shook real bad until i let off the accelerator. But when i hit the accelerator again it would shake right at 50 mph. I stopped and turned off my truck and restarted it and it never happened again... any ideas????

[fredjacksonsan]

Weird....maybe the torque converter lockup did not unlock like it's supposed to as you decelerated?

Was the engine idling normally, or was it racing when you put it in neutral?

What year/engine/miles do you have?

[HansonHVAC]

No the engine was idling fine i never had a problem with the RPMs its a 1997 Ram 1500 Laramie SLT with the 5.9L 360 and 117,500 miles

[fredjacksonsan]

Yeah, sounds like the torque converter may not have disengaged properly.

Questions that come to mind: Has it happened more than the once? When was the last time the trans fluid was changed, and was the correct fluid used?

[HansonHVAC]

All i can tell you as far as those questions go is i bought it 3000 miles ago and i told the dealer i would only buy it if he changed ALL the fluids. Its clean and at the correct level and that was the first time it ever happened to me.

[BleedDodge]

I wonder if they put Mercon in it or something...

[HansonHVAC]

What is mercon? and what would happen for it to cause that?

[fredjacksonsan]

Mercon is the GM-type (GM for "General Maintenance", heh) tranny fluid; on a '97 you should make sure you're using the correct Chrysler ATF, usually ATF+4. If not, you can have some odd problems.

Check the forum here, there are several posts about that.

So a fluid change may be in order.

[HansonHVAC]

I've never changed tranny fluid before... is it difficult?

[fredjacksonsan]

Not really, but it can take a while the first time.

First, you'll need to drop the transmission pan. It usually has numerous bolts holding it on. Break them all loose, and loosen the ones at the rear a bit more. The pan will likely be stuck to the gasket, so when you break it loose, do it in the rear so the fluid can drain out (this initial slosh is messy until you get the hang of it).

Finish removing the pan. You'll see lots of gasket, probably on the pan and the transmission itself. These will need to be scraped off, making sure to keep the edges flat. The pan will likely have some dark material and possible some metallic shavings in it - this is normal, and you should clean all that out of it.

Scrape the gasket off the bottom of the transmission, like you did with the pan, making sure the surface is clean and smooth.

There should be a transmission filter "right there" when you open the pan. You should replace this with each fluid change.

Reassembly is the reverse, you should use a good gasket sealer (permatex or similar) to stick the new gasket on. It's a bit of a struggle sometimes to get the gasket and the (15?) bolt holes lined up properly, but some patience and practice will get you there.

Be sure to tighten the bolts in a cyclic pattern around the transmission, and tighten to specs(don't know the torque setting, but "good and tight, but not too tight" has worked for me).

Once you have the pan reinstalled (you did put the new filter in, right?) you can fill from above. Keep in mind the amount of trans fluid listed in the owner's manual will NOT all go in, since the torque converter and the pumps are holding some.

I usually start by adding about 1/2 the capacity of the system, start the vehicle, make several shifts (while sitting still) between reverse, drive, 1, and 2, each time going back to park.

After doing the shifts, check the fluid level and add as necessary.

Hopefully that was helpful (and not too long)

[HansonHVAC]

thanks fredjacksonsan i really appreciate all your help!

[fredjacksonsan]

Welcome....let me know how it comes out.

[Blylock]

not for nothing, if you want to be sure you have the right fluid, dropping the pan is not going to do much for you. as an employee of monro muffler, you will only get roughly 1/2 the fluid by dropping the pan. you will need to do a complete tranny flush to assure you get all the old fluid out, and the proper atf+4 in. i own a 98 ram, and i flushed 13 quarts of fluid through it, after dropping the pan and replacing the filter. its worth it. call around places and ask how much they charge for a tranny flush, not just a filter replacement.

if theres mercon 3 in there, your tranny will die in a short to modeate amount of time.

[fredjacksonsan]

Exactly -- I thought I'd put it in this thread, but apparently not.. Without a flush, you'll need to do several fluid changes in a few thousand miles; I knew a guy whose transmission was dying, he changed the fluid 3 times in about 7000 miles (changed each time a problem returned) and then had no problems for another 100K.

The correct, fresh fluid in your automatic? Priceless.