2014 Ram Bighorn 4x4 5.7 8-speed Transmission?

[TheShiv]

To start, my truck has 104000 miles. I drive it every day and once or twice a year it goes off road during hunting season and maybe once or twice a year on an off road joyride. Nothing crazy. Mostly 2-tracks and dirt roads. Recently I went on a joyride down some dirt 2-tracks and a pretty bumpy dirt road. On the 2-track I drove about 15 mph in 2wd. On the dirt road I was doing about 30 in 4wd auto. I have to stress that the dirt road was more crushed rock than dirt. Rocks were probably the size of plums crushed down into the dirt. So a bit rough at 30 mph.

Now my problem. I have noticed that since that day the truck is a bit sluggish on acceleration and it doesnt seem to shift like it used to. It seems "squishy" when I accelerate. Almost like the accelerator is not responding the way it used to. Could this be a trans problem? Ive never had any trans or engine work done. As a matter of fact ive never had any work done. Ive never had any problems with the truck until now. Ive been quite surprised at the reliability of this truck. Its been perfect since I bought it from a dealer as a lease turn in. Its not even throwing a code. All the gauges are normal. I'm wondering if the vibrating from the dirt/rock road caused some kind of failure in the transmission or elsewhere. I looked under the truck for any sings of damage from the rocks and didnt find anything. I dont even recall any rocks hitting the undercarriage when I was driving. Im hoping this could just be a easy fix since there are no codes. Any help or insight would be appreciated.

2014 Ram 1500 Bighorn
5.7L
8-Speed Rotary shift
4x4
Crew Cab
104000 Miles

 

[Fast69Mopar]

To start, my truck has 104000 miles. I drive it every day and once or twice a year it goes off road during hunting season and maybe once or twice a year on an off road joyride. Nothing crazy. Mostly 2-tracks and dirt roads. Recently I went on a joyride down some dirt 2-tracks and a pretty bumpy dirt road. On the 2-track I drove about 15 mph in 2wd. On the dirt road I was doing about 30 in 4wd auto. I have to stress that the dirt road was more crushed rock than dirt. Rocks were probably the size of plums crushed down into the dirt. So a bit rough at 30 mph.

Now my problem. I have noticed that since that day the truck is a bit sluggish on acceleration and it doesnt seem to shift like it used to. It seems "squishy" when I accelerate. Almost like the accelerator is not responding the way it used to. Could this be a trans problem? Ive never had any trans or engine work done. As a matter of fact ive never had any work done. Ive never had any problems with the truck until now. Ive been quite surprised at the reliability of this truck. Its been perfect since I bought it from a dealer as a lease turn in. Its not even throwing a code. All the gauges are normal. I'm wondering if the vibrating from the dirt/rock road caused some kind of failure in the transmission or elsewhere. I looked under the truck for any sings of damage from the rocks and didnt find anything. I dont even recall any rocks hitting the undercarriage when I was driving. Im hoping this could just be a easy fix since there are no codes. Any help or insight would be appreciated.

2014 Ram 1500 Bighorn
5.7L
8-Speed Rotary shift
4x4
Crew Cab
104000 Miles

Does it feel like the transmission is taking longer to shift or is it shifting faster than it used to? Or does it feel like you just don't have the engine power like before?

About driving on the rocky road, our trucks are more durable than that. The 8HP70 Transmission like the one in your truck is not affected by that type of terrain.

How many miles have you driven since your off road excursion? Do you baby the truck? Have you tried a little bit more of a spirited driving style and heavier with the accelerator pedal to see if you notice anything different?

 

[TheShiv]

It seems like it takes longer to shift now and its not as "crisp". I've driven about 250 miles since the then and have gotten on the gas a few times to see if it helps. In the past if I really got into it, it would shift pretty hard at high rpm. It would even bark the tires if it downshifted when I mashed the pedal at about 25, even spin the tires if mashed at anything lower than that. I usually drive a bit aggressive and that is probably why I notice now that it drives a bit more sluggish.

 

[TheShiv]

Sorry, I dont know how to reply directly to your post. Is there a way to tag you or link you to my response?

 

[Fast69Mopar]

It seems like it takes longer to shift now and its not as "crisp". I've driven about 250 miles since the then and have gotten on the gas a few times to see if it helps. In the past if I really got into it, it would shift pretty hard at high rpm. It would even bark the tires if it downshifted when I mashed the pedal at about 25, even spin the tires if mashed at anything lower than that. I usually drive a bit aggressive and that is probably why I notice now that it drives a bit more sluggish.

I would continue to drive the truck like you normally do but add in some more aggressive driving to your daily habits. From a standing start, get rolling in 1st gear using the buttons to shift manually and go wide open throttle and upshift and see how it feels.

 

[TheShiv]

thanks. I'll try that tomorrow and post the results.

 

[fijicorey]

At 100k miles, you trans fluid could probably use a change. There's plenty of info about it on here, do some research. I just changed mine at 70k and noticed it's a bit smoother under normal driving conditions.

 

[TheShiv]

i took it out this morning and used the buttons to shift while getting into the throttle a bit. it still seems as though it's shifting soft. is it possible that the bumps from the dirt road dislodged something like sludge or shavings in the transmission and clogged something or maybe a wheel speed sensor or TPS was damaged? Or maybe even an issue with the clutches in the transmission? The truck just seems like it doesnt have the "get up and go" it had prior. It also seems like its not downshifting as soon as it used to when mashing the throttle.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

i took it out this morning and used the buttons to shift while getting into the throttle a bit. it still seems as though it's shifting soft. is it possible that the bumps from the dirt road dislodged something like sludge or shavings in the transmission and clogged something or maybe a wheel speed sensor or TPS was damaged? Or maybe even an issue with the clutches in the transmission? The truck just seems like it doesnt have the "get up and go" it had prior. It also seems like its not downshifting as soon as it used to when mashing the throttle.

I high doubt that the terrain you were driving on caused an issue. Do you have any warning lamps in the instrument cluster or messages in the EVIC?

 

[TheShiv]

Nope. No warning light. No messages. Never have had any since I owned the truck. Could this be a relearning issue? Is there a way to reset the info it has learned already and start over?

 

[RedSRT4Me]

Don't forget rear suspension can cause a squishy feeling. Shocks, rear control arm bushings, trackbar bushings etc

 

[fijicorey]

Don't forget rear suspension can cause a squishy feeling. Shocks, rear control arm bushings, trackbar bushings etc

This is a great point. It may be worth getting a mechanic to inspect everything to make sure all is well. Not all problems will throw a code.

 

[TheShiv]

Good point. I did notice that the usual bumps on the road feel a bit softer but I didn't think it had any correlation with the way the shifting and acceleration feels. It's been time for new shocks for a while. Still the originals. Maybe the bumpy road at 30mph finally did them in.

 

[GTyankee]

You could do a soft reset to the computer
Just disconnect only the Negative post on your battery for 15 to 30 minutes

You may need to reset the time & re-enter your radio favorites, but that is easy to do

 

[TheShiv]

So I've been driving it a bit harder for the last few days and it seems like it's getting it's pep back. Not really sure why it lost it's "memory" but it seems to be getting better. Also filled up the tank from a different gas station. Just in case it was bad gas or something. I did notice before I filled it there was a noticeable tick when I really got into it. Maybe a spark knock? Anyway I'm planning on doing shocks and struts and trans filter in the near future. Hopefully that takes care of the issues. Thanks again for everyone's help. Much appreciated.

 

[skbball06]

To start, my truck has 104000 miles. I drive it every day and once or twice a year it goes off road during hunting season and maybe once or twice a year on an off road joyride. Nothing crazy. Mostly 2-tracks and dirt roads. Recently I went on a joyride down some dirt 2-tracks and a pretty bumpy dirt road. On the 2-track I drove about 15 mph in 2wd. On the dirt road I was doing about 30 in 4wd auto. I have to stress that the dirt road was more crushed rock than dirt. Rocks were probably the size of plums crushed down into the dirt. So a bit rough at 30 mph.

Now my problem. I have noticed that since that day the truck is a bit sluggish on acceleration and it doesnt seem to shift like it used to. It seems "squishy" when I accelerate. Almost like the accelerator is not responding the way it used to. Could this be a trans problem? Ive never had any trans or engine work done. As a matter of fact ive never had any work done. Ive never had any problems with the truck until now. Ive been quite surprised at the reliability of this truck. Its been perfect since I bought it from a dealer as a lease turn in. Its not even throwing a code. All the gauges are normal. I'm wondering if the vibrating from the dirt/rock road caused some kind of failure in the transmission or elsewhere. I looked under the truck for any sings of damage from the rocks and didnt find anything. I dont even recall any rocks hitting the undercarriage when I was driving. Im hoping this could just be a easy fix since there are no codes. Any help or insight would be appreciated.

2014 Ram 1500 Bighorn
5.7L
8-Speed Rotary shift
4x4
Crew Cab
104000 Miles

What do you do for engine maintenance? oil change intervals etc. Ever had a fuel service done? Sounds like carbon deposits built up bogging your system down. Piston rings are likely sticking, compression is probably low. Regardless of how well you keep up with oil changes you HAVE to get good cleaners and conditoners in both your oil and fuel systems. BGprod.com Dig around in there you will be happy you did!