66rfe transmission in 16 2500 is driving me nuts!

tnt2671 said:

I wanted 4:10"s but they were tough to come by so settled on the 73's due to not having to want to wait on special order and dealer was really dealing on in stock. If I do regear the truck I will be going to 56's for sure , not cheap to do though

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Same here. Too good of a deal on my truck to pass up, however, if i ever regear I'm going to 4:30 or 4:56, i don't think there is a huge difference between 373 and 410s, but I'd have prefered the 410s if i had a choice.

tnt2671 said:

I'm not giving up yet though and going to raise hell with ram about this until I get answers.

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This may be the 2nd thing you dislike about your new truck. Ram dealers (presumably at the direction of Ram in general) are by far the worst of any major brand to deal with. They'll make excuses, tell you things are normal or give you some overly-techie BS answer.

This has gone around on many threads and it's the general consensus. I hope they will help you out but prepared to have to stay after them. I've pretty much just given up with my crappy tranny. I'm just waiting for it to blow up..... again.

mtofell said:

This may be the 2nd thing you dislike about your new truck. Ram dealers (presumably at the direction of Ram in general) are by far the worst of any major brand to deal with. They'll make excuses, tell you things are normal or give you some overly-techie BS answer.

This has gone around on many threads and it's the general consensus. I hope they will help you out but prepared to have to stay after them. I've pretty much just given up with my crappy tranny. I'm just waiting for it to blow up..... again.

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I have gone through this dance with Ford, GM, Toyota, and Volvo. Same BS all around. GM was actually the worst in my personal experience.

You will also find you will like the shift points after you tow something with a bit of weight to it.....truck drives and shifts so much better after that.
Or just give'er **** more often!

mtofell said:

This may be the 2nd thing you dislike about your new truck. Ram dealers (presumably at the direction of Ram in general) are by far the worst of any major brand to deal with. They'll make excuses, tell you things are normal or give you some overly-techie BS answer.

This has gone around on many threads and it's the general consensus. I hope they will help you out but prepared to have to stay after them. I've pretty much just given up with my crappy tranny. I'm just waiting for it to blow up..... again.

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lol i'm learning that real quick as multiple calls to ram / star have done absolutely nothing for me but tell me to get it back into the dealer which is a waste of everybody's time because they won't admit these things suck and need an update , i played their game 2 times for this issue and the tech i was working with both times said even before he touched it was until ram comes up with an update not much anybody could do to address it and he new exactly what i was talking about . plain and simple these transmissions shift like absolute crap with the current programming. it's amazing to me that anybody would be satisfied with the current behavior of these transmissions. i guess if you have a 6.4l at least you have the option of aftermarket tuner but those of us with 5.7 are stuck with what we get from ram so guess i'll just keep calling on it until something gets done.

I have a 14 2500 6.4. With 20k on her. Smoothest shifting truck I've ever experienced, up and downshifting.

JLEONARD said:

I have a 14 2500 6.4. With 20k on her. Smoothest shifting truck I've ever experienced, up and downshifting.

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I'll agree with the smoothness with only the occasional clunk. But shift points are still painful. less painful though than the 1500 6 speed. As much as I disliked my Tundra, that truck shifted like a proper truck should.

JLEONARD said:

I have a 14 2500 6.4. With 20k on her. Smoothest shifting truck I've ever experienced, up and downshifting.

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smooth is not the issue , it's when, both up and down

When I test drove a 2016 6.4 I experienced everything you're saying until I gave it more than say 50% throttle. The 2014 I bought has 18k miles on it and I haven't noticed really anything like thats out of the norm for these newer transmissions. My wife's Audi shifts ultra quick in the highest gear possible if you're not getting it. As mentioned, its the get the best MPGs while sacrificing drivability. After a few more thousand miles you'll see a difference

tjfdesmo said:

I have gone through this dance with Ford, GM, Toyota, and Volvo. Same BS all around. GM was actually the worst in my personal experience.

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This was my experience as well. Don't address anything, resist putting anything in writing, call it all normal and send the customer on their way. It's no different with GM and Ford. I've gone rounds with them also and they are the same way.

Honda was the best to deal with. Up front and honest, documented things in writing right away. But i don't like foreign cars or trucks.

But i don't like foreign cars or trucks.

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But, your Ram being built/assembled in Mexico is OK?

I hate to even ask but could part of this problem with the OP truck have anything to do with the drivetrain spec on his 2500? IMO, the 2500 with the 5.7 and 3.73 would be my last choice in the Ram lineup for a HD truck line. Could this combo just make an average trans feel ****** in a truck this size?

I am curious why the OP went with the 5.7 and 3.73?

Skrap said:

I hate to even ask but could part of this problem with the OP truck have anything to do with the drivetrain spec on his 2500? IMO, the 2500 with the 5.7 and 3.73 would be my last choice in the Ram lineup for a HD truck line. Could this combo just make an average trans feel ****** in a truck this size?

I am curious why the OP went with the 5.7 and 3.73?

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I drove a 5.7/3.73 2500 and could tell the difference when I got my mine that came with 4.10s.


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Markcuda said:

But, your Ram being built/assembled in Mexico is OK?

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No, it isn't. My Silverado was also and i didn't like that. I don't like that Chrysler is owned by a foreign company either, but i still consider it an American truck.

That's my story. Lol ymmv

Skrap said:

I hate to even ask but could part of this problem with the OP truck have anything to do with the drivetrain spec on his 2500? IMO, the 2500 with the 5.7 and 3.73 would be my last choice in the Ram lineup for a HD truck line. Could this combo just make an average trans feel ****** in a truck this size?

I am curious why the OP went with the 5.7 and 3.73?

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Because there were no 4:10 trucks to be found at the time. It's not motor related there's lots of 6.4 owners experiencing the the same issue.

tnt2671 said:

Because there were no 4:10 trucks to be found at the time. It's not motor related there's lots of 6.4 owners experiencing the the same issue.

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Ok, I don't experience it on mine so maybe I'm lucky or just not smart enough to know any better or don't care.: Also, I'm not trying to be a **** but I don't understand why people will spend $40k-$60k+ on a vehicle /truck and settle for something on the "lot" and not order what they truly want. Seems like buying off the lot leads to more complaints from owners. Maybe it's just me and how I look at things. Hope you get it worked out as these guys here have some good knowledge.

Skrap said:

Ok, I don't experience it on mine so maybe I'm lucky or just not smart enough to know any better or don't care.: Also, I'm not trying to be a **** but I don't understand why people will spend $40k-$60k+ on a vehicle /truck and settle for something on the "lot" and not order what they truly want. Seems like buying off the lot leads to more complaints from owners. Maybe it's just me and how I look at things. Hope you get it worked out as these guys here have some good knowledge.

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It really came down to price I bought my truck off the lot for well under 30k we ran locators to find same truck with 410's but nothing was available that was in range. The difference between 10"s and 73's is honestly not that great as I've had both ratios previously in other vehicles but you might be right in these 66 series transmission trucks that might make all the difference who knows. If the issue with the shift points cannot be cleared up I'm either going to re gear it with 56's or it'll go down the road

tnt2671 said:

It really came down to price I bought my truck off the lot for well under 30k we ran locators to find same truck with 410's but nothing was available that was in range. The difference between 10"s and 73's is honestly not that great as I've had both ratios previously in other vehicles but you might be right in these 66 series transmission trucks that might make all the difference who knows. If the issue with the shift points cannot be cleared up I'm either going to re gear it with 56's or it'll go down the road

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This is why i went with the truck i bought on Friday. I found a 4.10 geared truck, but with the other options it had (not just the gears) it would have costed me anywhere from $2-4k more and it would have involved having someone i don't know drive the truck 150 miles to my local dealer or I would have had to go get it myself. I didn't like either option. For the difference in cost I can regear the truck in the future if the need arises.

My local dealer really worked with me on the truck i have and I'm happy with it, it was brand new, right off the transport truck with 5 miles on it when i test drove it. 12/2016 production date according to the VIN tag

With the 373s my truck has a 12,630 tow rating, with the 410s, that goes to 15,600 I believe. My current trailer weighs around 6k and the ones were looking at around 7500 or so (loaded weights) so both well within the tow rating and payload rating (this is where the issue was with my 1500 Silverado) of my new truck.

Sure the 410s would have been great and allowed more low end torque, but there's just not enough difference between the two to justify that extra money for what I'd be towing in the next 10 yrs.

My 5.3/3.42 geared Silverado pulled my camper great so I'm sure the ram will be fine. From what i can tell so far, this ram has plenty of power and low end torque.

To each their own. If this truck was not white and didn't have the snow chief package i would have looked elsewhere. Everyone has things they really want. Short of ordering a truck (which left some of the rebates i received in question and would have resulted in a lower trade in value) you have to prioritize things somewhat. At least that's my opinion anyway

Bottomline is that the FCA corp and the ********* who lurk inside the walls of dealerships are really not in tune to what the consumer needs in a heavy duty truck. Especially one that is going to be used for snowplowing. The upgrade to the 4.10 gear should be automatically included in the Snow Chief Pkg...I believe it's only an additional $50.00 option from the standard 3.73...

Yep... I just checked the sticker on a new 16 Ram 6.4...$50.00 more for the 4.10 gear....Sure would save a lot of headaches and bellyaches if they just would include it atleast in the S.C. Pkg

http://www.chrysler.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf.do?vin=3C63R3FJ6GG182577

My personal thoughts on the matter is that FCA needs to get an 8 speed built for the 6.4 in the 25/3500 series. While I've went to the 4.56, honestly can say that even 4.88 would still be an improvement for those of us wanting to tow near the capacity that they advertise. Gearing works, but for longevity, the smaller pinion gear probably won't hold up nearly as well as the 3.73's. With the reduction in gearing that the 8 speeds have, especially in the first 3 gears, it would be night and day and then the 3.73 would be ok and a 4.10 would turn it into a powerhouse for towing. Of course, probably then they would de tune the engine. Seems to be how things go anymore. The only option is the Aisin trans which has a better, still not good, towing gear ratio. The 66rfe and Aisin are still actually geared more towards the diesel option. Just my thoughts