Need advice: Ram 1500 8 speed slipping

rgwenckens · Dec 6, 2021

So my transmission has always shifted pretty hard for as long as I remember but the slipping is the thing that bothers me, I was testing this on video and it only does it under certain conditions. I put it in manual mode for testing and the first shift in the video is a 3-4 shift and it slips, I then shift 4-5 just fine, then downshift back into 4th and then slip the 4-5 shift. Any ideas on the fix?

December 5, 2021

youtube.com

Gero · Dec 7, 2021

These zf are pretty robust. I would start with a drain and fill using a new pan and valvoline maxlife. Follow the instructions carefully.

StickyLifter · Dec 7, 2021

If it's got some miles on it and hasn't a fluid change I would change it several times. Either the clutches are burned, the steels warped, or there is crud in the valvebody that is keeping it from putting full fluid pressure to one or more apply pistons. It will take several "spill and fills" to get the gunk out, and you want to baby it until it starts shifting firmly again. DO NOT spin those clutches and/or brakes.

Mbrigh3 · Dec 7, 2021

rgwenckens said:
So my transmission has always shifted pretty hard for as long as I remember but the slipping is the thing that bothers me, I was testing this on video and it only does it under certain conditions. I put it in manual mode for testing and the first shift in the video is a 3-4 shift and it slips, I then shift 4-5 just fine, then downshift back into 4th and then slip the 4-5 shift. Any ideas on the fix?

December 5, 2021

youtube.com

My 14 8 speed went through 2 transmissions before 50k miles. All I was ever told was that they were "indestructible"; well my 2014 Ram 1500 proved otherwise. I figured it was a lemon and traded it in after I got tired of the issues.

rgwenckens · Dec 8, 2021

Gero said:
These zf are pretty robust. I would start with a drain and fill using a new pan and valvoline maxlife. Follow the instructions carefully.

You recommend maxlife over the regular zf fluid?

rgwenckens · Dec 8, 2021

StickyLifter said:
If it's got some miles on it and hasn't a fluid change I would change it several times. Either the clutches are burned, the steels warped, or there is crud in the valvebody that is keeping it from putting full fluid pressure to one or more apply pistons. It will take several "spill and fills" to get the gunk out, and you want to baby it until it starts shifting firmly again. DO NOT spin those clutches and/or brakes.

Thanks for the advice, others have mentioned valvoline maxlife for transmissions that are slipping or shifting hard, do you have a position on this? I have 80k miles but I’m not sure how the previous owner drove the truck. My truck has always shifted a lot harder than my friends and he has the exact same model trim and power train . I’ve also read about doing a relearn at the dealership after changing the fluid and pan, is this what you mean by babying it so that the tranny can get used to it?

rgwenckens · Dec 8, 2021

Mbrigh3 said:
My 14 8 speed went through 2 transmissions before 50k miles. All I was ever told was that they were "indestructible"; well my 2014 Ram 1500 proved otherwise. I figured it was a lemon and traded it in after I got tired of the issues.

Wow that sucks, trading in isn’t an option for me so what do you recommend I do

PoMansRam · Dec 8, 2021

Like said above, I'd drop the pan, replace it, refill with maxlife to proper level and see if that changes anything. If you see tons of metal in the pan and on the magnets- more than you'd typically see at 80K miles, you'll get an idea if something bad is going on.

GTyankee · Dec 9, 2021

If you have the ZF 8 speed transmission & plan on servicing it

From what i have seen on Youtube, it takes quite a while to drain
It also has to be refilled in a special way, like nothing i have ever seen

RAM 1500 8 Speed Automatic Transmission Fluid Change 8HP70

Here is the Mopar Transmission Pan I would recommend sticking with.https://amzn.to/3zXTmQ4Here is the mopar 8 speed transmission fluidhttps://amzn.to/3rMXNup...

www.youtube.com

MRFREEZE57 · Dec 9, 2021

For sure do a fluid change. Is not that hard to do. At 50k miles I went with Red Line as found a good deal on it and did 3 drain and fills along with a PPE pan.

StickyLifter · Dec 9, 2021

When I say baby it, I mean don't give the truck much gas and don't make it downshift at higher speeds. Do NOT tow. Do not carry extra weight. Be as nice to the transmission as you can. Hard shifting is good for the clutches, slipping can mean instant death. Do your own research on Max Life, I'm not sure I would use it. The relearn might make it shift softer, but I would be much more concerned about it slipping.

RASelkirk · Dec 11, 2021

Shift algorithm programming is the only complaint I can muster on my '18 Sport, especially when your foot is in it. Long, soggy, rubberband shifts that feels like it's in two gears at once, nothing crisp or snappy about it. I'd love to rectify it w/o spending $1500 to unlock and reprogram!

Russ

TC Retired · Dec 11, 2021

Fluid change -- hot weather is hard on the fluid!

Gero · Dec 11, 2021

I haven't changed my tranny fluid yet but I will next summer and I will be using maxlife with confidence. I ordered a ppe pan as well.

Make sure to jack the ass way up to ensure the pan is leveled.

Dusty · Dec 12, 2021

StickyLifter said:
So my transmission has always shifted pretty hard for as long as I remember but the slipping is the thing that bothers me, I was testing this on video and it only does it under certain conditions. I put it in manual mode for testing and the first shift in the video is a 3-4 shift and it slips, I then shift 4-5 just fine, then downshift back into 4th and then slip the 4-5 shift. Any ideas on the fix?

December 5, 2021

youtube.com

Well, I had another Ram Hemi 8-speed owner looking over my shoulder when we listened to your video, and both of us are unsure you have a problem. It looks like you were manually shifting using the buttons. Do you have the same reaction when it is not in the manual mode?

This will probably make a few folks scoff, but before I ventured down any supposed remedy path, I would have the TCM codes read. If you read a P0219 Engine Overspeed, then you'll probably also see P07xx code somewhere.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 062731 miles.

rgwenckens · Dec 12, 2021

Dusty said:
Well, I had another Ram Hemi 8-speed owner looking over my shoulder when we listened to your video, and both of us are unsure you have a problem. It looks like you were manually shifting using the buttons. Do you have the same reaction when it is not in the manual mode?

This will probably make a few folks scoff, but before I ventured down any supposed remedy path, I would have the TCM codes read. If you read a P0219 Engine Overspeed, then you'll probably also see P07xx code somewhere.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 062731 miles.

Thanks for the response, this happens in normal driving conditions but I can’t pinpoint the exact condition to recreate consistently but it seems to happen most when above 3k RMP, therefore I put it in manual mode to force the RPMs above 3k. Either way I don’t believe it should be doing the rpm surge/slip in either driving mode. It’s interesting though because the first shift in the video you can see it slips the 3-4 while later in the video it doesn’t, under similar conditions.

Dusty · Dec 12, 2021

rgwenckens said:
Thanks for the response, this happens in normal driving conditions but I can’t pinpoint the exact condition to recreate consistently but it seems to happen most when above 3k RMP, therefore I put it in manual mode to force the RPMs above 3k. Either way I don’t believe it should be doing the rpm surge/slip in either driving mode. It’s interesting though because the first shift in the video you can see it slips the 3-4 while later in the video it doesn’t, under similar conditions.

I don't often pull the revs up on mine to pass or something, but I've had three 8HPs and it didn't sound abnormal to me. My visitor who is much younger than I didn't think so, either, and I know he drives more impatiently than I.

However, my advice is still the same, even if it just for a 'health' check. If flair is a concern, it would be nice to know if you're running out of clutch indexes. These 8HPs are very reliable, but of course everything has a failure rate (although better than half of the issues I'm familiar with were very early in the transmission's life?).

By the way, how many miles do you have on this vehicle?

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 062731 miles.

rgwenckens · Dec 12, 2021

Dusty said:
I don't often pull the revs up on mine to pass or something, but I've had three 8HPs and it didn't sound abnormal to me. My visitor who is much younger than I didn't think so, either, and I know he drives more impatiently than I.

However, my advice is still the same, even if it just for a 'health' check. If flair is a concern, it would be nice to know if you're running out of clutch indexes. These 8HPs are very reliable, but of course everything has a failure rate (although better than half of the issues I'm familiar with were very early in the transmission's life?).

By the way, how many miles do you have on this vehicle?

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 062731 miles.

There’s 80k on the truck, even if I am driving normally without the truck in manual mode it occasionally does it which concerns me because it never used to do it and now I can notice it every time I drive. But yes, good advice on the indexes.

Need advice: Ram 1500 8 speed slipping

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