Tranny & Torque Converter Lockup Problems - 2001 Ram

[Racinfan83]

2001 Ram 1500 4x4 Quad cab. I bought it new, got the 6yr - 100,000 powertrain warranty...Thank God! Here's the problem: Transmission has acted funny since I bought it. Torque converter would unlock and lock just for the heck of it cruising down a flat road at highway speed. Told dealer several times, they checked, said this was normal. At 41,000 miles the tranny came unglued - dealer replaced torque converter and rebuilt tranny. Noticed converter unlocking itsself momentarily once in a while when hitting severe bumps or bridge approaches on the highway. At about 55,000 the unlocking and locking became quite annoying and more often. At 60,000 took it to a different Dodge dealer - tranny was junk again, they replaced torque converter, rebuilt tranny again, and replaced the valve body. Drove it about 100 miles over the next 3 days with no problem, then while driving home from work a rough bridge approach unlocked it again and it unlocked and locked again on the next 3 or 4 bumps. No problem on the way to work next day, but again on the way home a dip in the road started the problem again. Took back to dealer, technician rode with me with his computer attached, had the problem again. They called me the next day, told me the right front brake was hanging up, causing the computer to think there was extra load on the truck and causing the problem. I took the truck to a local brake shop for a 2nd opinion - there is no evidence of one brake sticking. I need new rotors, cause they are warped (I'm fixing that tomorrow), but there was no discoloration on either one, so I find it hard to believe this is the tranny problem. Please Help!!!! Truck is not driven hard, I'm the only one who drives it. I drive 25 miles 1 way to work, mostly on the interstate. I have had numerous other problems with this truck - but this one is the one that's driving me NUTS! Oh, and please don't tell me to trade it, the wife is getting a 300C. I have to keep mine a while longer! Any advice on fixing this problem is appreciated - as the dealers are stumped. No codes, sensors read normal. Thank You! E-mail me at [email protected]

[troy1]

how about a bad break light switch or TPS?

[k4rbm]

sounds like he is right. I have had my torque conv. do a similiar thing and started reading "Forums" first. The problem is the TPS or APPS which ever you want to call it. I read on a forum that 3 different guys disconnected their batterys and turned on the ignicion switch for 24 hours then reconnected the battery. I laughed but being cheap tried it. So far 3 days and no problem but according to Dave McBride and Sam Momello on tv it appears that the ecm needs reflashing or the wipers on the tps is worn. 50 to 80 percent of the feed back seems to be reflash the ecm by the dealer and it is ok. I have read hundreds of horrer storys like this with people putting ne trannys.

[Racinfan83]

Update: I replaced the front rotors and pads, that did not help, I didn't think this was an issue like the dealer did - but I needed new rotors anyway. So - I replaced the TPS and disconnected the battery with the switch on for an hour. I had no problems going to work yesterday.....we'll see if it is still good at the end of the week. I'll repost if this cures it - and I will be advising my dealer of the fix.

[Racinfan83]

Originally Posted by Racinfan83

Update: I replaced the front rotors and pads, that did not help, I didn't think this was an issue like the dealer did - but I needed new rotors anyway. So - I replaced the TPS and disconnected the battery with the switch on for an hour. I had no problems going to work yesterday.....we'll see if it is still good at the end of the week. I'll repost if this cures it - and I will be advising my dealer of the fix.

UPDATE #2 - After driving to work 4 days and 200+ miles, the problem has not resurfaced and I'm declaring it fixed. Thanks to the people who responded to my post. I'll get on here periodically, maybe I can help someone else out!

[k4rbm]

Hey guys, mine is still trucking too. All I did was disconnect the batteries for 24 hours, turn on the ignition switct and depress the gas pedel very slowly all the way to the floor hold it a second and slowly release it and wait 24 hours. Doesn't make since but I have pulled a trailer and driven in the mountains and at steady speed. I also will keep you posted.

k4rbm