Transmission Issues

[Hemi395]

View attachment 554295

I don't believe mixing a light green atf with a red atf will create a slurry like this, that looks like coolant or water got into the trans...

 

[Burla]

You can see the coolant flow through trans heater, which is so foreign to me, a trans heater sigh. So combo cooler just means trans cooler and condenser? It looks like it is possible the engine oil path can maybe be the combo? I don't understand that arrow for engine oil, clearly it isn't going through the water pump. two coolers and condenser? I am missing why no red at all, but then again it is milky which hints not engine oil, so what mixed coolant or engine oil. That's all I got, good find that diagram.. seams like coolant, but no red tint puzzles me.

 

[Wild one]

You can see the coolant flow through trans heater, which is so foreign to me, a trans heater sigh. So combo cooler just means trans cooler and condenser? It looks like it is possible the engine oil path can maybe be the combo? I don't understand that arrow for engine oil, clearly it isn't going through the water pump. two coolers and condenser? I am missing why no red at all, but then again it is milky which hints not engine oil, so what mixed coolant or engine oil. That's all I got, good find that diagram.. seams like coolant, but no red tint puzzles me.

Engine oil can't make it into the transmission,as they aren't connected in anyway Mike,but coolant can make it into the transmission if the thermal management unit/heater develops an internal leak.It's not a very common issue,but it's also not unheard of for the heater to develop an internal leak.
That diagram is for the 13 to 15 trucks that utilize the 3 way valve,they did away with the 3 way valve after 15.

 

[Burla]

thanks Rick.

 

[Marshall]

another point, I think, Transmission fluid is not cooled in the radiator, its in a section of the AC cond. so a bad rad will not do this, Looking at the soup in the pan, I would bet a good amount that it is water in the trans.
As others said, I would find a shop with one of those transmission fluid exchange units, I think they flush everything, including the converter which you can't get at as well as the cooler.
I remember back in the stone age they has a drain plug.
I would block off that value, or remover it, but I have never played with mine.
Sorry , a bit late to the party .

 

[Burla]

sounds more then plausible

 

[nlambert182]

another point, I think, Transmission fluid is not cooled in the radiator, its in a section of the AC cond. so a bad rad will not do this, Looking at the soup in the pan, I would bet a good amount that it is water in the trans.
As others said, I would find a shop with one of those transmission fluid exchange units, I think they flush everything, including the converter which you can't get at as well as the cooler.
I remember back in the stone age they has a drain plug.
I would block off that value, or remover it, but I have never played with mine.
Sorry , a bit late to the party .

I believe you're correct. Transmission coolers are a part of the radiator in some vehicles but 99% certain that the condenser is also the trans cooler on the Ram 1500s.

I think they do have a thermal management unit that does circulate some coolant though. Been a while since I've messed with one, so you might want to fact check me. I could be wrong.

 

[stenerson]

Wow that sucks bro! At first glance to me it looked like it is foamy and thought overfilled over aerated. But they say that usually causes some leakage from vents and over heating messages. Here's a video of a technician showing what atf contaminated with coolant looks like.
ATF contaminated with coolant video.

 

[mjohnson05261984]

This is exactly what mine looked like ... I did flush it ... Deleting that trans heater ... And going to schedule a rebuild .... Unfortunately can't find anyone to do it since my truck is deleted.... So possibly might be doing it myself .... More to come ... It definitely drives rough ...better when warm ... But still rough ....just nursing it until it fails or the rebuild happens .... Might upgrade the torque converter to a upgraded version if I can find one out there ... May as well since it will all be down ... Do the rear main seal ... Any other things y'all think I should do while the trans is out ?

 

[stenerson]

This is exactly what mine looked like ... I did flush it ... Deleting that trans heater ... And going to schedule a rebuild .... Unfortunately can't find anyone to do it since my truck is deleted.... So possibly might be doing it myself .... More to come ... It definitely drives rough ...better when warm ... But still rough ....just nursing it until it fails or the rebuild happens .... Might upgrade the torque converter to a upgraded version if I can find one out there ... May as well since it will all be down ... Do the rear main seal ... Any other things y'all think I should do while the trans is out ?

Love to see pics of the process. Good luck bud!

 

[Hardracer]

Boy you weren't kiddin about chocolate milk.Hope you get this figured out.Looks/sounds like it did a number on the tranny from your driving description.Where's sherman,he seems to be a tranny person(gosh I think Sherman)I'm losin my mind here lately.
I'm goin with what was left in the convertor and lines..The old and wrong new(i guess wrong)probably just dont mix well together.
The other guys here know way more than i and will throw out there thoughts as some already have.Either way it needs to be fixed be it a rebuild or a bunch of fluid changes and flushing the lines.
Now i have the urge for a chocolate shake from Sonic.

 

[mjohnson05261984]

Just an update for everyone. I went ahead and ordered a new TMU and installed it while draining the transmission.... Was back to milk shake again, but significantly less metal. Also those clips on the transmission lines ... They can go to hell. Just no space up there to see or do anything. I digress. After putting the Mopar OEM fluid in and running through the procedure, my daughter and I hit the road for a test drive. Temp was staying at 186 - 190 ... Seemed honestly back to normal. And then we decided to see if it still had some torque... Came off a red light squealed some tires ...bam ... Shifted hard. Check engine light came on (P0336 crankshaft positioning sensor) service electronic throttle death light is on and P1D8E-00 DTC all active ... And when putting it in park, yep truck says it isn't in park and won't shut off. Have to hold the ignition down to shut the truck off, but stays in ACC so I have to disconnect the battery every time I shut it off. Outside of that, runs like a champ getting on average 23-25 MPG, trans temp stays in the 180's and shifts real smooth. I think possibly lost that magnetic strip thing on the cam tone ring or messed up that cam sensor somehow. Either way ... Kind of looks like the trans is going to have to come out regardless. Unless I just carry a 10MM with me to disconnect the neg everywhere I go ... Thoughts from the group?

 

[mjohnson05261984]

Love to see pics of the process. Good luck bud!

If and when I get to doing this ... I'll get as many pics as I can

 

[mjohnson05261984]

Just keeping the update going here. So I did end up getting stranded. Truck would just crank away and not start. Dropped transmission and the crankshaft reluctor tone wheel did have pieces of the magnetic strip broken off. Replaced it and the crankshaft positioning sensor. Fired right up. However .. the drama starts. Truck will now shift through all 8 gears before getting to 30 MPH... Slowing down to a red light almost sounds like and electric motor winding down. Will drive .. but runs at about 3300 RPMs with 62 oil pressure .. so limped it home from my friend's house that did the reluctor wheel for me. I assumed it needed a TCM relearn or something along those lines since it was unplugged from the PCM during removal and install, but I did not have the right scan tool... So called my local dealer. They agreed to work on it and promised to do what they could to not update the ECM and erase my tune. That doesn't happen ... Been at the dealer for a few days now. They say they think it's the RFH (Radio Frequency Hub) ... Did a bit of a search... Apparently back window is known to leak and get moisture in the RFH. Anyone have any real experience with this part failing causing erratic shifting issues? They are telling me that the CAN goes through this hub and if it's not sending proper signal(Voltage) to the PCM it can put the transmission in a limp mode. No codes or anything like that, which I'm baffled by, but I digress. All I know it was shifting kind of hard because of the previous issue, but was shifting and running fine. Trans comes out goes in and new issue shows up. I get that parts usually fail at the worst possible time, just seems suspicious is all.... Thoughts ?