Whine when shifted into gear

[99redrunner]

So im new to the Ram family... Used to BMWs and Jeeps... Just bought a 99 ram 1500 4x4 pickup....
I was told the shift cable from the column was loose, no biggie felt with similar before planned to drive to the weekend to fix... Well hit a bump and it jumped to neutral and went back into drive after pulling to the side to reengage the gear. Figured ill mess with it after work tomorrow. Well 10 min later I press the gas (not even full throttle) to quickly cross over a busy road and truck did just fine but then on the other side I got a quick succession of rpm changes, what felt like 2-3 gear shifts, then a steady loud whining noise. Truck still drove and responded, though sluggishly, to accelerator pressure. Pulled over shifted to neutral and the sound stopped. Back to drive whine was there again. Park and shut off engine for 2-3 min then restart. No noise, until I shifted to drive or reverse.
Took it very easy to drive home (about 6 miles) except for 2 tests of lots of throttle, oddly enough the whine went away during rapid acceleration and the truck felt like it had full power. But the noise came back after releasing from firm pressure on accelerator. Sound does get louder with light touch on gas pedal.
S.O. got home and had her shift into R, N, and D with me under vehicle to pinpoint source of sound. Yes with both parking brake on and her foot on the brake so i didn't accidentally get run over. Truck wanted to move in R and in D when she shifted into gear but the sound was steady in the bell housing right behind the engine/front of trans where the torque converter is. Im thinking the T.C. and shift cable are culprits but want opinion/thoughts of people more familiar with this specific vehicle before spending money and bruising elbows dropping a trans to replace parts... Truck runs solid otherwise (though did notice some near lurching around 35-45 mph but light and i think possibly from ball bearings or off alignment of front tires, some play and pull in steering wheel but may be related). Thoughts?

 

[dudeman2009]

So im new to the Ram family... Used to BMWs and Jeeps... Just bought a 99 ram 1500 4x4 pickup....
I was told the shift cable from the column was loose, no biggie felt with similar before planned to drive to the weekend to fix... Well hit a bump and it jumped to neutral and went back into drive after pulling to the side to reengage the gear. Figured ill mess with it after work tomorrow. Well 10 min later I press the gas (not even full throttle) to quickly cross over a busy road and truck did just fine but then on the other side I got a quick succession of rpm changes, what felt like 2-3 gear shifts, then a steady loud whining noise. Truck still drove and responded, though sluggishly, to accelerator pressure. Pulled over shifted to neutral and the sound stopped. Back to drive whine was there again. Park and shut off engine for 2-3 min then restart. No noise, until I shifted to drive or reverse.
Took it very easy to drive home (about 6 miles) except for 2 tests of lots of throttle, oddly enough the whine went away during rapid acceleration and the truck felt like it had full power. But the noise came back after releasing from firm pressure on accelerator. Sound does get louder with light touch on gas pedal.
S.O. got home and had her shift into R, N, and D with me under vehicle to pinpoint source of sound. Yes with both parking brake on and her foot on the brake so i didn't accidentally get run over. Truck wanted to move in R and in D when she shifted into gear but the sound was steady in the bell housing right behind the engine/front of trans where the torque converter is. Im thinking the T.C. and shift cable are culprits but want opinion/thoughts of people more familiar with this specific vehicle before spending money and bruising elbows dropping a trans to replace parts... Truck runs solid otherwise (though did notice some near lurching around 35-45 mph but light and i think possibly from ball bearings or off alignment of front tires, some play and pull in steering wheel but may be related). Thoughts?

The shift linkage is mechanical. If its jumping out of gear when hitting bumps it may need to be adjusted. First thing to check is fluid level and color, as long as it isn't black or ultra bright red as if it was just changed before selling it, you're good. The noise could be the TC, they are known to go out and then shortly after take the trans with them. First and foremost, fluid level, then linkage adjustment.

 

[99redrunner]

Sounds good. Im going to adjust/replace that this weekend. Also tested the OBDII and got no trans codes. Just O2 and EVAP emissions solenoid, so easy fixes. Im also going to magnetized the dipstick to look for any metal flake in the fluid before droping the pan. And may use a vac line to pull up some fluid to get a better look at fluid color. Mechanic I talked to yesterday said air may be in there due to fluid being too low so I may also do a trans flush to try and get all of that out, any suggestions on how to make that as effective as possible? I'd like to avoid dropping the pan for now but will if i have to and will just hit the filter, basic solenoids, etc while im in there if i do.

 

[dudeman2009]

Don't worry about air, the trans valve body and solenoids is self bleeding, just driving it 40 miles will bleed it almost perfectly, a trans flush won't bleed it and is largely useless if you are going to drop the pan, and letting that drain will take care of 75% of the fluid.

From there if you put a pan with a drain plug on it and drain then refill after a 20 mile drive you'll get rid of about 80-85% of the total fluid, which is pretty close to what a trans flush will do as they don't clean out 100% of the fluid either, they range from 75-90% replacement depending on the model and brand of machine.