Shuddering from somewhere at the back of the truck when turning- 2018 ram 1500

[Docwagon1776]

They won't install a new transmission under warrenty,you'll get a rebuilt,and fyi ma Mopar farms their rebuilds out to the cheapest bidder.Good luck with you're theory though,me i'd rather check the fluid level and keep a good working transmission well maintained and topped up on fluid. With the parts supply issue these days,you could be waiting quite awhile before they get the parts to repair your truck. Just my 02

Just something I found out recently: At least in the US, *some* dealerships are now rebuilding in house. It's still not common, and I think it's more the largest dealership networks.

I learned that during my recent deep dive in to how effed up Stellantis is with their parts sourcing, warranty claims, etc. A chain of dealerships here sends all of there trucks to one specific location for 8 speed and was training two more on 6 speed rebuilds for other locations. As parts availability becomes more problematic, I wonder if this will become more widespread.

 

[Wild one]

You're right, it probably won't be new, but I didn't mean new in the literal sense. I meant new as in something else other than what's underneath there right now.

And there's nothing wrong with what you say and if I didn't have this warranty, I would agree with you 110% but if there's evidence that I cracked open a "sealed" transmission, I'm screwed as soon as something happens. I've already talked to the warranty people about this and even asked them if they're going to replace my transmission basically due to lack of maintenance whenever this happens and they assured me I'd be covered. I didn't ask, but I think it's pretty well assumed that I'm not supposed to touch it if I want them to pay for it when its all the sudden stuck in park, won't shift into park or just won't shift at all.

And yeah, because warranty will be paying for this, I'll probably be waiting for a while to get my truck back as soon as my transmission starts showing signs of lack of maintenance just like if I ever do become a victim of a chewed up camshaft lobe from a seized lifter, it won't be just a couple of weeks and then get my truck back.

I'm not arguing with what you're saying, I'm just saying I'm not in the same boat as you are.

You're not replacing the transmission pan,so i'm not sure how they'd be able to tell you'd checked the fluid level in it,as all you're doing is removing the fill plug to check the level.If you're that worried about your warrenty,you better not touch the rear diff either,as you'll be removing it's drain and fill plugs

 

[Docwagon1776]

You're right, it probably won't be new, but I didn't mean new in the literal sense. I meant new as in something else other than what's underneath there right now.

And there's nothing wrong with what you say and if I didn't have this warranty, I would agree with you 110% but if there's evidence that I cracked open a "sealed" transmission, I'm screwed as soon as something happens. I've already talked to the warranty people about this and even asked them if they're going to replace my transmission basically due to lack of maintenance whenever this happens and they assured me I'd be covered. I didn't ask, but I think it's pretty well assumed that I'm not supposed to touch it if I want them to pay for it when its all the sudden stuck in park, won't shift into park or just won't shift at all.

And yeah, because warranty will be paying for this, I'll probably be waiting for a while to get my truck back as soon as my transmission starts showing signs of lack of maintenance just like if I ever do become a victim of a chewed up camshaft lobe from a seized lifter, it won't be just a couple of weeks and then get my truck back.

I'm not arguing with what you're saying, I'm just saying I'm not in the same boat as you are.

And, as the guy who brought it up, I think it's a very low probability but non-zero. Just saying don't get target focused on the rear end to the exclusion of other potential culprits. With the lifetime, I'd be tempted to say let the dealership take a look at it if you have one you trust.

 

[Wild one]

Just something I found out recently: At least in the US, *some* dealerships are now rebuilding in house. It's still not common, and I think it's more the largest dealership networks.

I learned that during my recent deep dive in to how effed up Stellantis is with their parts sourcing, warranty claims, etc. A chain of dealerships here sends all of there trucks to one specific location for 8 speed and was training two more on 6 speed rebuilds for other locations. As parts availability becomes more problematic, I wonder if this will become more widespread.

My dealer tech buddy has gone through Stellentis's 8 speed rebuilding program,but as far as i know he has only rebuilt a couple on the side,as his dealership still gets them from Ma Mopar.

 

[Docwagon1776]

My dealer tech buddy has gone through Stellentis's 8 speed rebuilding program,but as far as i know he has only rebuilt a couple on the side,as his dealership still gets them from Ma Mopar.

I was somewhat surprised myself. I have a pretty good relationship with "location A", they've done a lot of in warranty fleet work for us and I've bought 3 vehicles from them, 2 new and 1 used, over the years. He said they didn't do it, they would flatbed it to "location B" but they were rebuilding some in house at that location if full units were on backorder and were getting warranty authorization to do it based on that delay. Of course you could elect to do whichever you liked if you weren't beholden to warranty authorization.

 

[corneileous]

You're not replacing the transmission pan,so i'm not sure how they'd be able to tell you'd checked the fluid level in it,as all you're doing is removing the fill plug to check the level.If you're that worried about your warrenty,you better not touch the rear diff either,as you'll be removing it's drain and fill plugs

Lol, servicing a couple of differentials is not the same thing as cracking open a 'sealed' transmission. Yes, I realize ZF says otherwise, but when Mopar is gonna be footing the bill when it fails, I'm not gonna screw with it.

 

[corneileous]

And, as the guy who brought it up, I think it's a very low probability but non-zero. Just saying don't get target focused on the rear end to the exclusion of other potential culprits. With the lifetime, I'd be tempted to say let the dealership take a look at it if you have one you trust.

Well, I'll probably go that route if changing the differential fluids doesn't make the shudder go away.

 

[Wild one]

Lol, servicing a couple of differentials is not the same thing as cracking open a 'sealed' transmission. Yes, I realize ZF says otherwise, but when Mopar is gonna be footing the bill when it fails, I'm not gonna screw with it.

Just how the hell are you cracking the transmission open to check it's fluid level.You're removing a fill plug,same as you'd do to check a diff.You're not really grasping the fact that checking the transmissions fluid level is no differant then checking the fluid level in a diff.
BTW the transmission is not "sealed" it still has a vent on the top,to allow expansion and contraction of the fluid,if it didn't vent to atmosphere,it'd blow every external seal in short order

 

[corneileous]

Just how the hell are you cracking the transmission open to check it's fluid level.You're removing a fill plug,same as you'd do to check a diff.You're not really grasping the fact that checking the transmissions fluid level is no differant then checking the fluid level in a diff.
BTW the transmission is not "sealed" it still has a vent on the top,to allow expansion and contraction of the fluid,if it didn't vent to atmosphere,it'd blow every external seal in short order

Why don’t you just quit worrying about it?

And again you’re taking things too literal. I meant sealed as in not supposed to mess with…lol. And what you’re not seeming to grasp is that I have a warranty and you don’t. Just let it go, bro.

 

[Wild one]

Why don’t you just quit worrying about it?

And again you’re taking things too literal. I meant sealed as in not supposed to mess with…lol. And what you’re not seeming to grasp is that I have a warranty and you don’t. Just let it go, bro.

i hate guys who spread misinformation whether they're misinformed or just don't know what they're talking about,and you're starting to sound like one of those guys,lol. Now i can see why you've had issues with other guys on here
I even stuck up for you awhile ago when you were having issues with other posters I might be old but i still remember most guys,especially the ones i've went out on a limb for,you apparently have a short memory
BTW the diffs are sealed to so you probably shouldn't mess with them by "cracking" them open

 

[corneileous]

i hate guys who spread misinformation whether they're misinformed or just don't know what they're talking about,and you're starting to sound like one of those guys,lol. Now i can see why you've had issues with other guys on here
I even stuck up for you awhile ago when you were having issues with other posters I might be old but i still remember most guys,especially the ones i've went out on a limb for,you apparently have a short memory
BTW the diffs are sealed to so you probably shouldn't mess with them by "cracking" them open

So what am I misinforming? Enlighten me.

But look, I don’t care about what makes these transmissions tick or how they work. All I’m simply trying to tell you is that I have a lifetime warranty on this whole truck so when it comes to the transmission, even if some nitwit at FCA says it has a ‘lifetime fill’, I need to leave it alone so that whenever something happens to it, they will foot the bill, not me. You seriously need to understand that part. Besides; this thread is not about transmissions anyway, it’s about differentials. For ***** sake man, stop being so cantankerous.

 

[nlambert182]

Yeah, but isn’t that only under like severe conditions for frequent trailer towing and off-roading and such? I mean, I’d have to wait until I get home to see what it says in my book, but I don’t think it really has any kind of a maintenance interval that soon from what I remember. I’m not contesting what you’re saying, I’m just saying.

Yes, technically that's what they're saying, but in the real world you'll find that the differential fluid breaks down long before you'd expect, towing or not. A little bit anecdotal, but it was very common to see vehicles in the shop that were not tow rigs, whose diff fluid looked like sludge at less than 50k miles.

It is cheap insurance and very easy to do in the driveway.

I have to say I agree with @Wild one in regards to not keeping up with the maintenance because of a warranty. Warranties are great until you can't get the parts to fix it. My Expedition sat on a lift for 6 months waiting for parts to rebuild the 10-spd transmission. Ford hadn't even sent the parts into production. Another little tidbit too... the warranty said they'd cover a rental car while it was in for repairs. I even got that in writing from the Ford caseworker. Guess what happened when I sent them the final $4k rental bill? They sent me a check for roughly $2k and told me that was the limit of the coverage in the fine print of the warranty. I made my payments every month that it sat on a lift AND stroked a check for an additional $2k at the end.

Warranties aren't everything. If you CAN maintain it (even if it's just periodically inspecting it and preventing a potential problem), do it yourself. There's always fine print.

 

[corneileous]

Yes, technically that's what they're saying, but in the real world you'll find that the differential fluid breaks down long before you'd expect, towing or not. A little bit anecdotal, but it was very common to see vehicles in the shop that were not tow rigs, whose diff fluid looked like sludge at less than 50k miles.

It is cheap insurance and very easy to do in the driveway.

Oh yeah, and you would be completely right. I just hope mine doesn’t look like that because as I wonder more about it, I have no idea what the OEM stuff actually is equivalent to that they put in at the factory but at least the stuff that I got should be so much better. I’ll be picking it up this afternoon, some red line performance 75W 85 and 75W 90 along with a bottle of K & W Trans-X Limited Slip Gear Oil Additive.

I have to say I agree with @Wild one in regards to not keeping up with the maintenance because of a warranty. Warranties are great until you can't get the parts to fix it. My Expedition sat on a lift for 6 months waiting for parts to rebuild the 10-spd transmission. Ford hadn't even sent the parts into production. Another little tidbit too... the warranty said they'd cover a rental car while it was in for repairs. I even got that in writing from the Ford caseworker. Guess what happened when I sent them the final $4k rental bill? They sent me a check for roughly $2k and told me that was the limit of the coverage in the fine print of the warranty. I made my payments every month that it sat on a lift AND stroked a check for an additional $2k at the end.

Yeah, well for the most part he is not wrong, but I don’t think he understands that when you’re under warranty, there’s just certain things you can’t do. I don’t like the fact that RAM or FCA said years ago this thing is totally sealed when we all know it’s not but when you have a $4000 service contract from Mopar that advises you to follow recommendations from the manufacturer, you pretty much have to do that or be prepared to go waste eight hours a day in a courtroom depending on how bad you want to fight it when they try to wiggle out of the claim.

Warranties aren't everything. If you CAN maintain it (even if it's just periodically inspecting it and preventing a potential problem), do it yourself. There's always fine print.

You’re right, they’re not, and you’d be surprised at how I treat my truck like it doesn’t have this warranty. Do you think I use that cheap semi synthetic engine oil they put in the factory? No, I don’t. And no, I don’t let the OLM on my dash tell me 9000 miles later that it’s time to do an oil change. I don’t buy cheap oil that goes in my engine; I spend at least 70 bucks an OCI on 7 quarts of Schaeffer‘s supreme 9000, even though it’s 5W-20.

 

[Wild one]

Oh yeah, and you would be completely right. I just hope mine doesn’t look like that because as I wonder more about it, I have no idea what the OEM stuff actually is equivalent to that they put in at the factory but at least the stuff that I got should be so much better. I’ll be picking it up this afternoon, some red line performance 75W 85 and 75W 90 along with a bottle of K & W Trans-X Limited Slip Gear Oil Additive.

Yeah, well for the most part he is not wrong, but I don’t think he understands that when you’re under warranty, there’s just certain things you can’t do. I don’t like the fact that RAM or FCA said years ago this thing is totally sealed when we all know it’s not but when you have a $4000 service contract from Mopar that advises you to follow recommendations from the manufacturer, you pretty much have to do that or be prepared to go waste eight hours a day in a courtroom depending on how bad you want to fight it when they try to wiggle out of the claim.

You’re right, they’re not, and you’d be surprised at how I treat my truck like it doesn’t have this warranty. Do you think I use that cheap semi synthetic engine oil they put in the factory? No, I don’t. And no, I don’t let the OLM on my dash tell me 9000 miles later that it’s time to do an oil change. I don’t buy cheap oil that goes in my engine; I spend at least 70 bucks an OCI on 7 quarts of Schaeffer‘s supreme 9000, even though it’s 5W-20.

You're still not grasping the fact you can check the tranny fluid level with-out affecting your warrenty,and if it's down on fluid you add the factory 8/9 speed fluid to it. I'm not sure where you came up with the idea you can't check the fluid level due to warrenty,i'm not even sure how anybody would even know you'd checked the fluid level,unless Ma Mopar has a camera under your truck,and last time i checked they haven't gone that far yet. You seem to use this warrenty thing to explain your lack of checking things like the transmission,but it appears like it doesn't apply to your diff's as you seem to have no issues servicing them,and at one point in time,until i informed you they had a drain plug,you were going to pull the diff cover to service it. Pray tell how were you going to explain to your warrenty company why you had the diff cover off,as you can definitely tell when a diff cover has been on and off just by looking at the bolts and silicone re-application.
You admit to beating on your truck,but aren't willing to do the simplest of checks to maintain it.
Some guys make me shake my head,and you dude are making me shake my head
I'm done,as common sense has left the chat

 

[nlambert182]

Oh yeah, and you would be completely right. I just hope mine doesn’t look like that because as I wonder more about it, I have no idea what the OEM stuff actually is equivalent to that they put in at the factory but at least the stuff that I got should be so much better. I’ll be picking it up this afternoon, some red line performance 75W 85 and 75W 90 along with a bottle of K & W Trans-X Limited Slip Gear Oil Additive.

Yeah, well for the most part he is not wrong, but I don’t think he understands that when you’re under warranty, there’s just certain things you can’t do. I don’t like the fact that RAM or FCA said years ago this thing is totally sealed when we all know it’s not but when you have a $4000 service contract from Mopar that advises you to follow recommendations from the manufacturer, you pretty much have to do that or be prepared to go waste eight hours a day in a courtroom depending on how bad you want to fight it when they try to wiggle out of the claim.

You’re right, they’re not, and you’d be surprised at how I treat my truck like it doesn’t have this warranty. Do you think I use that cheap semi synthetic engine oil they put in the factory? No, I don’t. And no, I don’t let the OLM on my dash tell me 9000 miles later that it’s time to do an oil change. I don’t buy cheap oil that goes in my engine; I spend at least 70 bucks an OCI on 7 quarts of Schaeffer‘s supreme 9000, even though it’s 5W-20.

I think he understands that well and I haven't seen him tell you to do anything that would void a warranty. If you took the transmission out then sure... but checking the level is common maintenance. The filler plug is not sealed.

Ram's owner manual mentions that it's a "lifetime" fluid, but doesn't tell you not to ever change it. While it mentions that routine fluid level checks are not required, it doesn't tell you they're not allowed. What it does say is to change it if it becomes contaminated or if it were disassembled. You can't know if it is contaminated without checking it. This... is how warranties get out of paying claims.

ZF clearly tells you that it needs to be changed and provides the service intervals and the green sheet shows a dealer (or you) how to change it. If you properly follow the procedure, it isn't going to void a warranty. They wouldn't even know. ZF is the manufacturer of the trans, not Ram (even though they do build some ZFs in house under license from ZF). This same transmission is in a lot of vehicles outside of Ram and all that I am aware of suggest following ZFs service intervals in their owner's manual.

 

[corneileous]

You're still not grasping the fact you can check the tranny fluid level with-out affecting your warrenty,and if it's down on fluid you add the factory 8/9 speed fluid to it. I'm not sure where you came up with the idea you can't check the fluid level due to warrenty,i'm not even sure how anybody would even know you'd checked the fluid level,unless Ma Mopar has a camera under your truck,and last time i checked they haven't gone that far yet. You seem to use this warrenty thing to explain your lack of checking things like the transmission,but it appears like it doesn't apply to your diff's as you seem to have no issues servicing them,and at one point in time,until i informed you they had a drain plug,you were going to pull the diff cover to service it. Pray tell how were you going to explain to your warrenty company why you had the diff cover off,as you can definitely tell when a diff cover has been on and off just by looking at the bolts and silicone re-application.
You admit to beating on your truck,but aren't willing to do the simplest of checks to maintain it.
Some guys make me shake my head,and you dude are making me shake my head
I'm done,as common sense has left the chat

You keep proving my point, man. Nobody said I can’t check the level; I said I won’t because I’m not risking a denied claim over a $4,000+ transmission. There’s a difference between being ignorant and being smart enough to follow the paper trail tied to your warranty.

You don’t have a MaxCare lifetime plan on my truck, I do and Mopar’s policy language is clear: follow manufacturer intervals, use approved procedures, or risk coverage denial. I didn’t write that; I just read what I paid for.

So yeah, you can keep “shaking your head,” but I’ll keep my warranty intact and my truck covered. Common sense isn’t ignoring your own contract — it’s using it to your advantage.

 

[corneileous]

I think he understands that well and I haven't seen him tell you to do anything that would void a warranty. If you took the transmission out then sure... but checking the level is common maintenance. The filler plug is not sealed.

Ram's owner manual mentions that it's a "lifetime" fluid, but doesn't tell you not to ever change it. While it mentions that routine fluid level checks are not required, it doesn't tell you they're not allowed. What it does say is to change it if it becomes contaminated or if it were disassembled. You can't know if it is contaminated without checking it. This... is how warranties get out of paying claims.

ZF clearly tells you that it needs to be changed and provides the service intervals and the green sheet shows a dealer (or you) how to change it. If you properly follow the procedure, it isn't going to void a warranty. They wouldn't even know. ZF is the manufacturer of the trans, not Ram (even though they do build some ZFs in house under license from ZF). This same transmission is in a lot of vehicles outside of Ram and all that I am aware of suggest following ZFs service intervals in their owner's manual.

I get where you’re coming from, but this isn’t about what ZF says or what’s mechanically sensible. It’s about what Mopar MaxCare will cover when the time comes. They don’t honor ZF’s recommendations; they honor their own schedule in the Mopar system. If I deviate from that, it gives them an open door to call it “unauthorized service” and deny coverage.

You’re right that checking the level won’t blow up the trans. The issue is that if something fails later, they can simply say, “we didn’t authorize that procedure, claim denied.” It’s not worth handing them that excuse when I already paid for a $4K lifetime warranty that’ll replace the whole thing if it fails under their rules.

I’m not arguing ZF’s science; I’m protecting my wallet. The warranty company doesn’t care who made the transmission; they care that you followed the manufacturer’s book, not ZF’s. That’s the difference between theory and reality.

 

[EdGs]

If you have a warranty, why not just take it in and have the dealer fix it?

 

[corneileous]

If you have a warranty, why not just take it in and have the dealer fix it?

Warranty doesn’t cover fluid changes on the differentials and such so why would I take it to them? Now, if changing the fluid in my rear differential doesn’t make the shudder go away then yes, I’ll be taking it in to get it checked out.

 

[huntergreen]

No, I can honestly say that I've never seen that little green piece of paper you shared. Yes, I know that my dash gauge does tell me the temperature of the transmission but since I have lifetime warranty on my truck, I've never paid attention to that stuff about servicing the transmission like a lot of y'all have because whenever my transmission decides it doesn't wanna shift anymore, I'll be taking it in and be paying them 100 bucks for them to put me a new transmission underneath it.

Warranty is only good until the repair is more than the value of your truck. Value of the truck is determined by galves (sp?). Not bluebook.