Coolant dump - limp mode - truck won't shift - HELP

[Kr0ss]

Hey guys,

I just picked up a 2019 Limited 5.7 (26k) 3 days ago. CPO, 100k wrap-around warranty.

Today I'm driving on the highway and I notice tons of smoke from the rear. As I'm pulling off, the CEL comes on. I look under the hood and one of the passenger side coolant hose quick-connect clamps is disconnected and dangling from where it attaches to the radiator. Coolant everywhere under the truck.

I reattach the disconnected coolant hose and start the truck. The engine seems fine but shifting into D from P is a rough shift. When I attempt to drive, there's a lot of hesitation or complete failure to shift gears. Eventually, the D(rive) light flashes and the display says "shift into Park and into gear". Truck seems to "run" fine at idle but has issues shifting.

Just dropped the truck off at a local dealer to have a look.

Questions:
-Could the shifting behavior simply be RAMs version of "limp mode"?
-Assuming so and they just clear the code and top off the coolant, what should I be concerned about now? Transmission/Engine damage?
-Since I've literally put less than 100 miles on this truck, should I consider trying to return to dealer and void my purchase contract?

Thanks in advance. Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[superjoe83]

How much coolant do you think you lost? Is this a 1500 or 2500/3500? I would not have driven it until the coolant was topped off, depending on how hot it got there could be some damage

 

[Kr0ss]

How much coolant do you think you lost? Is this a 1500 or 2500/3500? I would not have driven it until the coolant was topped off, depending on how hot it got there could be some damage

Its a 5.7l 1500.

Im not certain how much coolant was lost. From the moment I saw smoke I immediately pulled over and didn't drive it further than 500ft before getting it towed to a local dealer.

I checked the temp gages and they never went past the half-way marks. I never SAW high temps but I didn't check the temps until maybe 5 mins after I pulled over. I guess its possible the temps started to rise but lowered back to normal in that 5 min range but I'd assume not.

 

[chri5k]

If you lost enough coolant to where the temp sensor was no longer submerged in coolant the reading may be highly inaccurate. Usually way too low. When you say the right said and the hose was attached to the radiator, was it the main radiator hose? It would be somewhere around 2 inches in diameter. Or was it the smaller one that gos to the overflow bottle? Either way both of those hoses can empty the system in a few to 10's of seconds.

 

[Kr0ss]

I've attached a pic with the hose circled. This is what was disconnected and that I reconnected. Doesn't appear to be the main radiator hose as its smaller in diameter than both of the two hoses you see above it.

 

[Kr0ss]

Im having trouble finding a parts diagram but I'm thinking that may be the trans oil cooler line which may explain the trouble shifting.

 

[Gadesadilla]

Bingo. What was the color of the fluid???

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Kr0ss]

Bingo. What was the color of the fluid???

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Basically clear from what I could tell. No obvious color to it.

 

[Kr0ss]

Assuming this was in-fact the trans coolant line, could that dump 100% of the coolant?
When I checked the trans temp, (5 mins after noticing the smoke) it was in the normal range. Could the sensors have detected low trans coolant and simply put the trans into limp mode out of precaution?

 

[chri5k]

It is most likely transmission fluid that came from that connector coming apart. There is really no such thing as transmission coolant in our trucks. The transmission fluid leaves the transmission to a transmission cooler in the front of the vehicle. It is like a small radiator that cools the transmission fluid before it is returned to the transmission. Loss of transmission fluid will cause the transmission to malfunction. If you didn't rev it too high or drive it too far it should be OK once refilled. Might want to replace the transmission cooler line. Perhaps there is an issue with that connector that caused it to disconnect.

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

Should of left it uncoupled, and you have the heads up display in front of you that has all of the Temps and pressures right there, that would of told you that you were running hot, that trans fluid blew back on the exhaust, don't know how forgiving the ZF 8hp75 is but heat is a killer of Transmission, make sure its shifting properly.

 

[OCDTech]

It is most likely transmission fluid that came from that connector coming apart. There is really no such thing as transmission coolant in our trucks. The transmission fluid leaves the transmission to a transmission cooler in the front of the vehicle. It is like a small radiator that cools the transmission fluid before it is returned to the transmission. Loss of transmission fluid will cause the transmission to malfunction. If you didn't rev it too high or drive it too far it should be OK once refilled. Might want to replace the transmission cooler line. Perhaps there is an issue with that connector that caused it to disconnect.

Isnt there coolant lines going from the water pump area to the heater core then down to the tranny to the TMU thermal management unit. Its job is to heat the tranny in a hurry. As well as a cooler on the other side. Does double duty. A mess of hoses for sure.
And not saying the loss of this coolant would cause shifting issues. It indeed probably was tranny fluid. Just showing you and others this if someone didn't know.
The 8 spd of course i'm referring.

 

[JohnnyMac]

My only input is that if you saw smoke, it would have been fluid, if you saw steam it would most likely be coolant. Both would probably be white, but the steam would have dissipated pretty quickly, whereas smoke would have hung for a while and smelled bad.

 

[Kr0ss]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Local dealership confirmed it was a failed clamp where the trans. line attached to the cooler. They replaced the line, topped off the trans fluid and ran some tests. I got the truck back on Tuesday and its running just fine now.

Thanks again!

 

[RamCares]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Local dealership confirmed it was a failed clamp where the trans. line attached to the cooler. They replaced the line, topped off the trans fluid and ran some tests. I got the truck back on Tuesday and its running just fine now.

Thanks again!

Glad to hear your dealer was able to assist with this, @Kr0ss! We are always a PM away if any support is needed down the road.

Mark
RamCares