6.4 Hemi with 4:10, 2018 with 18K miles..violent "clunk" when put into gear if parked on incline.

[g stedronsky]

2018 Ram 2500. 6.4 Hemi with 4:10. 18K miles. Some towing of 9K fifth. Lately, if the truck is parked on an incline, whether nose up or nose down, and it sits for 24 hours or so, it is extremely difficult to get the truck into gear, either reverse or drive. The column shifter is literally "binding" until you force it into gear...this act causes a very loud "clunk" from what seems like under the engine/transmission area.. Dealer checked it out and said no codes or other evidence of problem. Suggested to set the parking brake if parked on incline. Tried that and still this very violent loud "clunk" when finally able to overpower the shift lever and put the truck into gear. Time parked seems to make it worse. No other issues and trans guage fine while driving or towing. New repair shop thinking "linkage" issue. Help??

 

[crazy jerry]

how steep is the incline ? you may have destroyed the parking pawl mechanism. ive read about it many times when people throw the trans in park on a fairly steep incline. eventually what may happen (probly fairly soon by the sounds of it) is it wont go in and out of park and a shop will have to fix it.

 

[sandawilliams]

Set the e brake before shifting to park. When restarting put truck in gear before releasing e brake. Works for me.

 

[dhay13]

Yep. Mine does it too. Sometimes shutting it off and restarting helps but the trick is to engage the parking brake before you shift it into park. Makes a huge difference. It's a heavy truck an maybe a heavy pawl in the trans? No idea about that but it is worse than any other vehicle I have had. Doubt you have anything wrong with your truck, just use the e-brake before shifting into park

 

[GTyankee]

The E-Brake needs to be set when you are happy with your parking spot
Then move your transmission into your Park position & lastly remove your foot from the brake pedal.

When you start your vehicle back up, depress the Brake pedal, shift into gear, then release the E-brake

This same method works on most vehicles, even semi trucks & Heavy construction equipment.

If the transmission is Standard Stick, then there is a balance of E-brake, Throttle, clutch & brake pedal that has to be done on any grade
It becomes a Dance

 

[GTyankee]

How to Park on a Hill/ Incline Uphill & Downhill | AnthonyJ350

In this video we go over some useful tips to help you park your vehicle on a hill safely.Always consult your local motor vehicle branch for Driving Best Prac...

www.youtube.com

This guy should give up when it comes to turning the front wheel while parking, he is confusing himself & he is reading off the driving manual

 

[Rlaf75]

More than likely it is exactly what everyone has already mentioned. When you park on the incline and put it in park the truck rolls and basically puts the trucks weight on the park pin which makes disengaging it harder than it should be giving you that clunk. Again as mentioned, when you park on an incline put the parking brake on BEFORE you put it in park so it puts the weight on the brakes and not the transmission. That's exactly what the parking brake is for. When you want to leave, start the truck, put your foot on the brake then either release the park brake or put it in gear with your foot on the brake. I've never had a problem doing it that way on any vehicle I've owned

 

[Wadejesu]

All else fails, read the manual pg 298

 

[Rlaf75]

All else fails, read the manual pg 298

Oh, what do you know lol

 

[g stedronsky]

I appreciate all the comments. So...
1. I've noticed this problem on a couple of parks where seemingly no incline/decline?
2. The times that I have had to get tough with the column shifter to move transmission...could I have damaged something that should be checked out?
3. Do parking brake mechanisms wear with use and how do you know when one needs maintenance?

Thanks again.

 

[Ramtop]

Could also be the park interlock is not releasing all the way. The interlock is the thing that keeps you from moving the shifter out of park until you put your foot on the brake pedal. If the solenoid isn’t moving all the way, then you are having to use extra force to get the shifter to move.

 

[GTyankee]

I would have to believe that a person that does not try to drive with the Parking Brake on, may not need new Parking Brake Shoes ay 100,000 miles, but they should be checked on.
My 2009 at 144,000 miles almost looked new, but i don't live on a hill & at home even though its a flat area, i always set the E-Brake

 

[lew-e]

This is a practice I share with my wife and any family that’ll listen when they park at my parents house. Pull up, parking brake, neutral to let the brake catch the vehicle, then park. Zero strain on the tranny at that point. Then when you leave, d or r, release parking brake, and away you go.

 

[crazy jerry]

This is a practice I share with my wife and any family that’ll listen when they park at my parents house. Pull up, parking brake, neutral to let the brake catch the vehicle, then park. Zero strain on the tranny at that point. Then when you leave, d or r, release parking brake, and away you go.

thats the best way but some poeple dont listen so i just laugh while they bang the trans out of park

 

[Willie Mosher]

If this your park space at home an
Maybe put blocks wood ~etc that
You can roll over to hold most Weight
( chalking the wheel) some mine used wheel ditches for safety,
But any time reduce mechanical stress it good thing.

 

[ramffml]

This is a practice I share with my wife and any family that’ll listen when they park at my parents house. Pull up, parking brake, neutral to let the brake catch the vehicle, then park. Zero strain on the tranny at that point. Then when you leave, d or r, release parking brake, and away you go.

Close to what I do; first set the park brake to auto in uconnect so that it auto engages when hitting park and auto disengages shifting out of park.

Then come to a stop, keep foot on brake, shift to neutral briefly, shift to park and let go of brake. The difference between your method and mine is that I don't have to touch the ebrake at all, but yes, shifting to neutral to allow truck to settle against brakes instead of transmission pin is the key.

I do it every time, regardless of hill or flat, parking brake is supposed to be used everytime anyway. And when it's done automatically for you, makes it even better.

 

[Dean2]

Man talk about driving 101.

 

[g stedronsky]

2500 RAM. 6.4 Hemi. 4:10.
So I posted before about there being a very loud "clunk" and difficulty moving shifter when the truck is parked on any type of incline no matter degree or up or down. All the comments about setting parking brake aside, the shifter literally "binded" and had to be forcibly moved into drive. Well the dealers transmission tech says the transmission fluid was extremely low and when parked on incline "pooled" towards back of case and therefore not enough fluid/pressure when trying to shift in this condition. Does this make any sense? Next question from is is how a newish well cared for truck with 18000 miles, never had a drip of any kind, no fluid on bottom of truck, no transmission codes, or any codes, tow a fifth watching trans temp and never a blip above 170F, could be 40% low on fluid? Any comments apprecited?

 

[Daw14]

Dealers lie.

 

[crazy jerry]

sorry but your the vehicle owner. your responsible for looking after it. if for some odd reason YOU cant physically pull out the dipstick and look, YOUR responsible for taking it to someone who can.
its just lame to even attempt on passing the blame to someone else for your own bad judgement