04 Transmission issue

[fosgate3]

I started having a problem with my 545RFE transmission on my 2004 Ram 1500 (5.7L Hemi; 337k miles). While driving at lower speeds (<60mph...usually between 25 and 45mph), the truck sometimes has a mild jolt; and then, when I come to a stop and then try to take off, the truck feels like it's in second gear instead of first. I have also noticed when this happens, that the truck will not upshift to 3rd and higher. If I pull over and shut off the engine, and then start it back up, things will "reset" and work fine but eventually it does it again. This morning, it happened at least 3 times while driving through town.

I changed the fluid not long ago when I rebuilt the differential last fall but I went ahead and changed it again, along with both filters. I was surprised at how much fluid came out too---I ended up having to put in around 8 quarts when refilling it in order to get it to where it needed to be when hot. I checked it again this morning after the 3rd instance of this issue and it was still perfectly topped off.

I read something about the shift solenoid pack being a possible culprit but I was also told by my buddy at my local O'Reilly's that it could be the issue. I've worked on engines a lot but I have little experience with diagnosing transmission problems. Can anyone give some suggestions?

Thanks in advance for reading.

 

[jmd4100]

Definitely sounds like a solenoid issue. Try changing that. It's not cheap, so I'd bring it to an transmission shop and see what they say. If you dont want to do that just go ahead and order a solenoid.

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[fosgate3]

Okay. Thank you very much for the suggestion. I was thinking the same thing and almost bought one this morning. O'Reilly's had a new one for about $225 and a reman'd Dorman for $200 plus the $200 core. I don't know what brand the new one is but I am inclined to go with it because it's new.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

Okay. Thank you very much for the suggestion. I was thinking the same thing and almost bought one this morning. O'Reilly's had a new one for about $225 and a reman'd Dorman for $200 plus the $200 core. I don't know what brand the new one is but I am inclined to go with it because it's new.

Is the check engine light on? Any trans DTC's set? I bet if you connect a scan tool and look you will probably find a solenoid DTC or two in the TCM.

Also, a quick review of the CVI's would give us an idea about the clutches and if there may be an issue in a certain clutch.

Your issue does sound like a solenoid pack problem but get a scan tool connected so you don't waste your money.

 

[fosgate3]

The check engine light is not on. I apologize for my ignorance here... I don't know what a DTC is or a TCM (transmission control module?) or CVI. Other than changing trans filters and fluid and removing them from engines, I've never done any work on a trans or know much about them for that matter. But I'm willing to learn and there's no better time like the present

I can look into having it scanned though and perhaps that will shed some more light on it

 

[Fast69Mopar]

The check engine light is not on. I apologize for my ignorance here... I don't know what a DTC is or a TCM (transmission control module?) or CVI. Other than changing trans filters and fluid and removing them from engines, I've never done any work on a trans or know much about them for that matter. But I'm willing to learn and there's no better time like the present

I can look into having it scanned though and perhaps that will shed some more light on it

Sorry for blasting you with new mechanical terms. There is never a better time to learn than right now.

You are correct in that TCM is the acronym for Transmission Control Module.

DTC is the acronym for Diagnostic Trouble Code.

CVI is the acronym for Clutch Volume Index. This is part of the adaptive memory in the TCM. The clutch volume index is a measurement of how much transmission fluid it takes to apply a particular clutch during engagement. Not every transmission will have the same CVI for every clutch and the CVI's will be different from trans to trans. There are "normal" numbers and then there are elevated number. The higher the number the more fluid it is taking to apply a particular clutch.

If you swing by the local Oreilly's ask them to use the Bosch scan tool to check for any DTC's. The PCM may not have an DTC's set but under the TCM it may be a different story.

I don't the Bosch scan tool at Oreilly's has the capability to see CVI's in the trans. You will need a more advanced scan tool for this. All we want to do now is check to see if there are any codes set or if there have been any
1-trip failures.

A 1-trio failure is like a pre-diagnostic trouble code. It means the PCM or TCM saw something that wasn't right when it was doing it's thing but it only happened once so it doesn't set a DTC or put the trans in a Limp-In condition.

 

[fosgate3]

Thank you for the explanation. I was originally going to do all this before making a move; however, the truck drop-shifted down from overdrive to second yesterday afternoon while driving 70 on the interstate. The RPMs were cruising along at something around 1700 and then jumped up to just over 3k within a second. I am rebuilding the engine in my other ride (95 F150 w/302) so since this is my only means of transportation, I decided to take a gamble and change the shift solenoid. I purchased a new one from O'Reilly's made by Standard Ignition, model TCS108, for $225 plus tax and installed it. I was able to salvage around 4 quarts of fluid (I just changed the fluid about 2 weeks ago) so that was a good thing.

Altogether, around 4 hours passed from the time I started to the time I finally felt comfortable with the final fluid levels. I know that's way more time than it usually takes and I blame it on dropping the pan, making a huge mess, working into the late evening with little light, and time took to get the trans up to operating temps for fluid checking. When I finally had it done, the truck was stuck in 2nd gear--"limp mode" as I read online--but that was resolved easily by pulling the fuse for the trans module (#5 in the fuse box) and keeping it out for about 15 minutes. The trans reset and it shifted like new. Drove to work this morning and it is still shifting perfectly so I am calling it a success.

Shift solenoid - 0 Fosgate3 - 1

Thank you everyone for your help. Ole Blue is still alive. I'll have to upload a picture of her one day!

Oh...and for the life of me, I don't understand why there's not a drain plug on transmission pans. It's 2020...it's time to have them come from the factor with a drain plug.

 

[jmd4100]

Thank you for the explanation. I was originally going to do all this before making a move; however, the truck drop-shifted down from overdrive to second yesterday afternoon while driving 70 on the interstate. The RPMs were cruising along at something around 1700 and then jumped up to just over 3k within a second. I am rebuilding the engine in my other ride (95 F150 w/302) so since this is my only means of transportation, I decided to take a gamble and change the shift solenoid. I purchased a new one from O'Reilly's made by Standard Ignition, model TCS108, for $225 plus tax and installed it. I was able to salvage around 4 quarts of fluid (I just changed the fluid about 2 weeks ago) so that was a good thing.

Altogether, around 4 hours passed from the time I started to the time I finally felt comfortable with the final fluid levels. I know that's way more time than it usually takes and I blame it on dropping the pan, making a huge mess, working into the late evening with little light, and time took to get the trans up to operating temps for fluid checking. When I finally had it done, the truck was stuck in 2nd gear--"limp mode" as I read online--but that was resolved easily by pulling the fuse for the trans module (#5 in the fuse box) and keeping it out for about 15 minutes. The trans reset and it shifted like new. Drove to work this morning and it is still shifting perfectly so I am calling it a success.

Shift solenoid - 0 Fosgate3 - 1

Thank you everyone for your help. Ole Blue is still alive. I'll have to upload a picture of her one day!

Oh...and for the life of me, I don't understand why there's not a drain plug on transmission pans. It's 2020...it's time to have them come from the factor with a drain plug.

Imo even if there was a drain plug I wouldn't use it. With all my transmissions, I like to take all the metal off the bottom and the magnet in the pan. It gives me an idea of how the trans is holding up. The first one was the hardest because they use a silicone glue instead of a gasket. Now with the gaskets its 1-2-3 and off.

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[fosgate3]

Oh I would use it...and then take off the pan to inspect. I read somewhere that it was thought drain plugs were not put on the pans as an effort to get owners to remove the pan, check the magnet and change the filters. Seems like those of us who actually care about doing the maintenance to our trucks would do that any way. If someone isn't willing, then I doubt not having a drain plug is going to convince them of the importance of opening it up. I could be way off on this though.

 

[jmd4100]

Oh I would use it...and then take off the pan to inspect. I read somewhere that it was thought drain plugs were not put on the pans as an effort to get owners to remove the pan, check the magnet and change the filters. Seems like those of us who actually care about doing the maintenance to our trucks would do that any way. If someone isn't willing, then I doubt not having a drain plug is going to convince them of the importance of opening it up. I could be way off on this though.

You're probably right. I guess to get the fluid out and then drop the pan without it making a mess. Sounds logical

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