dangercraft
Junior Member
- Joined
- May 8, 2014
- Posts
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
- Ram Year
- 2007
- Engine
- 5.9L
Hello everyone, I've just registered, but I've been reading and lurking for quite some time now. I have a problem with my Ram that I've been trouble-shooting for quite some time and while I've made ALLOT of progress, I have two lingering issue I can't seem to find an answer to by myself. I'm hoping someone here can shine the light...
I have a 2007 Dodge Ram with the 5.9L Diesel and 48RE. This was my companies work truck, but it was parked a couple years back because back then it had intermittent transmission problems and not having a good tranny shop in the area or time to look at it myself, at the time I decided to "park it for now and I'll look at it next week." Two or more years later I decided to take it for a spin to take a look at and the first thing I found was that the car was in limp mode... it would only drive in 3rd gear. Figuring it was either the gov. solenoid or the gov. pressure transducer, I decided to order those new... while I was at it, I figured it would be a good learning experience to rebuild the transmission so I went ahead and ordered the FSM, a "towing" valve body and a full rebuild kit.
Here is the link to the Valve body and the rebuild kit I used:
BD Stage 3 Rebuild Kit
ATS Towing Valve Body
I had never rebuilt a transmission, but I figured we work on some pretty complex equipment here and I have some of the brightest guys I know here at the shop so I figured it wasn't brain surgery.
We started taking apart the transmission to see how it was inside... when I unbolted the overdrive housing, I found that part of the flange had cracked, so off I went and ordered a new "heavy duty" housing from an outfit called North American Powertrain out of Canada.
After we finished taking apart the transmission, everything looked pretty well, there was wear, but nothing excessive. The only things that I found that were bad were the ring seals on the band pistons. There was obviously some leakage there. I would say the wear is not bad for a tranny with 120,000 miles. From my experience with hydraulic systems, I have a feeling the worn seals were either caused by fluid contamination or fluid heat issues... I'm going to look into monitoring the temps and pressures on this car later...
I received the rebuild kit before I received the solenoid and the pressure transducer so we went to task swapping all the old for new... checking tolerance etc. Gotta say the rebuild was A WHOLE LOT straight forward than I was expecting... compared to say one from a modern motor grader or dozer.
After everything was put back together I went ahead and took it for a quick spin and found it (which I expected) to still be in limp mode (stuck in third gear.) The important thing was, no clunks, leaks etc. I took the truck for a leisurely ride for about an hour and came back and parked it. Took the time to swap all the u-joints, steering joints and wheel bearings while I was at it (I really like this truck) :-D.
A couple days later the solenoid and transducer came in and I dropped the pan (oil was clean very little residue) changed them both out and put it back together with new oil and filter. I also went ahead and changed the shift position sensor and the shift cable assembly for good measure. They were both pretty crappy. The shift position sensor, when I took it apart for a post mortem, was full of oil and the contact were completely worn, probably causing the intermittent problems the guys were complaining about.
Took the car for a drive and it works great, the shifts are crisp and quick, way better than stock, no slipping, downshifts great... but there are two problems:
1) It won't shift into over drive from 3rd
2) There is a very faint whining (almost like a circular saw sounds when it cuts plywood) noise. I can only hear the noise when the car is coasting. It sounds like a misaligned diff., but if I put it in neutral when coasting, the noise stops, so that makes me think its the tranny though it may very well be the rear diff. (it has considerable play at the pinion but thats for a different day to fix.)
Any ideas on the over drive issue? I'm not getting any engine codes from the dash when I do the key trick (also there is no CEL), but I don't have a OBD2 scanner on hand to make for sure there are no codes. I also haven't put the pressure gauges on the transmission yet, but I was hopping someone else might give me some ideas I might be able to try in the meanwhile.
Has anyone else ran into that whining noise? It started about an hours drive after I finished the transmission and took it for a spin.
According to the FSM, I should check the overdrive circuit fuse and relay... I can't find those anywhere... in fact I can't find ANY relays on that truck! (Scratching head.)
Anyway, sorry for the long post. I'd really appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks!
Frank
<UPDATE>
--I just lifted the truck and and ran it with the wheels in the air. The coasting noise is coming from the transmission but I can't tell from where in the transmission.
--When I cycle the tow-haul button, I can see the tow-haul light on the dash, then the OD Off light and then both lights come off.
</UPDATE>
I have a 2007 Dodge Ram with the 5.9L Diesel and 48RE. This was my companies work truck, but it was parked a couple years back because back then it had intermittent transmission problems and not having a good tranny shop in the area or time to look at it myself, at the time I decided to "park it for now and I'll look at it next week." Two or more years later I decided to take it for a spin to take a look at and the first thing I found was that the car was in limp mode... it would only drive in 3rd gear. Figuring it was either the gov. solenoid or the gov. pressure transducer, I decided to order those new... while I was at it, I figured it would be a good learning experience to rebuild the transmission so I went ahead and ordered the FSM, a "towing" valve body and a full rebuild kit.
Here is the link to the Valve body and the rebuild kit I used:
BD Stage 3 Rebuild Kit
ATS Towing Valve Body
I had never rebuilt a transmission, but I figured we work on some pretty complex equipment here and I have some of the brightest guys I know here at the shop so I figured it wasn't brain surgery.
We started taking apart the transmission to see how it was inside... when I unbolted the overdrive housing, I found that part of the flange had cracked, so off I went and ordered a new "heavy duty" housing from an outfit called North American Powertrain out of Canada.
After we finished taking apart the transmission, everything looked pretty well, there was wear, but nothing excessive. The only things that I found that were bad were the ring seals on the band pistons. There was obviously some leakage there. I would say the wear is not bad for a tranny with 120,000 miles. From my experience with hydraulic systems, I have a feeling the worn seals were either caused by fluid contamination or fluid heat issues... I'm going to look into monitoring the temps and pressures on this car later...
I received the rebuild kit before I received the solenoid and the pressure transducer so we went to task swapping all the old for new... checking tolerance etc. Gotta say the rebuild was A WHOLE LOT straight forward than I was expecting... compared to say one from a modern motor grader or dozer.
After everything was put back together I went ahead and took it for a quick spin and found it (which I expected) to still be in limp mode (stuck in third gear.) The important thing was, no clunks, leaks etc. I took the truck for a leisurely ride for about an hour and came back and parked it. Took the time to swap all the u-joints, steering joints and wheel bearings while I was at it (I really like this truck) :-D.
A couple days later the solenoid and transducer came in and I dropped the pan (oil was clean very little residue) changed them both out and put it back together with new oil and filter. I also went ahead and changed the shift position sensor and the shift cable assembly for good measure. They were both pretty crappy. The shift position sensor, when I took it apart for a post mortem, was full of oil and the contact were completely worn, probably causing the intermittent problems the guys were complaining about.
Took the car for a drive and it works great, the shifts are crisp and quick, way better than stock, no slipping, downshifts great... but there are two problems:
1) It won't shift into over drive from 3rd
2) There is a very faint whining (almost like a circular saw sounds when it cuts plywood) noise. I can only hear the noise when the car is coasting. It sounds like a misaligned diff., but if I put it in neutral when coasting, the noise stops, so that makes me think its the tranny though it may very well be the rear diff. (it has considerable play at the pinion but thats for a different day to fix.)
Any ideas on the over drive issue? I'm not getting any engine codes from the dash when I do the key trick (also there is no CEL), but I don't have a OBD2 scanner on hand to make for sure there are no codes. I also haven't put the pressure gauges on the transmission yet, but I was hopping someone else might give me some ideas I might be able to try in the meanwhile.
Has anyone else ran into that whining noise? It started about an hours drive after I finished the transmission and took it for a spin.
According to the FSM, I should check the overdrive circuit fuse and relay... I can't find those anywhere... in fact I can't find ANY relays on that truck! (Scratching head.)
Anyway, sorry for the long post. I'd really appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks!
Frank
<UPDATE>
--I just lifted the truck and and ran it with the wheels in the air. The coasting noise is coming from the transmission but I can't tell from where in the transmission.
--When I cycle the tow-haul button, I can see the tow-haul light on the dash, then the OD Off light and then both lights come off.
</UPDATE>
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