Transmission problem?

[Clancaster23]

Get in the truck to go to work and something just isn't right. As I back out my driveway I go up a little hill and the tranny slipped, I let off of the gas and it kind of kicked in gear going from first to second. A little later I notice something not right. It's not shifting past second and I have a kick between first and second. I had to get to work still I drove it 20+ miles highway in second. It won't even manually shift. I still have to go home still. What could be the problem?

 

[Burla]

Valve Body Electronics

or

Bad Clutch Pack, could be something stuck in there.

 

[Clancaster23]

Ok, I know very little about this stuff. Is there any way I can find out definitively what it is or am I destined to have to take it to a shop?

 

[Burla]

Did you check your fluid? Ever changed it? Is it still red on the rag?

 

[Ramnewbie]

Did you check your fluid? Ever changed it? Is it still red on the rag?

Getting into a touchy area there.

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[indept]

How many miles on it?
You could stop at a local auto parts store and have them see if there are any codes thrown. Also, if you have some tools handy, disconnect the battery for a few minutes ( after checking for codes since that will erase them), if the pcm is in a weird mode, that could reset it.

 

[Clancaster23]

Just checked fluid, red and level is good. I just took it down the road and it seems to be shifting just fine now. Maybe when it missed when I left home, the hard shift it did threw something off?

 

[Clancaster23]

Has 92556 miles. I got it two years ago used, I've never changed fluid. When i checked it out had sat for for hours and the level was up above where it says hot. Not sure that means anything.

 

[Burla]

You mean you have all your gears now?

 

[Clancaster23]

Yes as far as I can tell. Ran down a road real quick and seemed to shift fine. Even got in the throttle to get it to downshift and it did.

 

[Burla]

It might be worth it to drop pan and do all fluids/filters and replace valve body- easy job. Either that, or drive it til you need a new tranny. Try some additives lubeguard.

 

[Ramnewbie]

It might be worth it to drop pan and do all fluids/filters and replace valve body- easy job. Either that, or drive it til you need a new tranny. Try some additives lubeguard.

At 92.5 with no prior history that's what I would do. Do ram dealers actually change the filter or just flush and fill like some others? When I had my f150 I had the dealer service the trans just to make sure warranty was there, after warranty I did it myself and it was the first time the filter was actually changed.

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Service the trans is what I'd do, not wait till you need a new one.

 

[Burla]

I wouldn't trust anyone to do this job but me unless I could watch.

 

[Ramnewbie]

I wouldn't trust anyone to do this job but me unless I could watch.

I totally understand and agree, however life circumstances sometimes dictates what you have to trust someone else to do and what you can do yourself. At the time I was living in an apartment and they didn't even like me washing my truck let alone any kind of maintenance. If I timed it just right I could change my oil without getting a nastygram.

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[indept]

I wouldn't trust anyone to do this job but me unless I could watch.

WOW, Burla offered to do your tranny fluid, How nice of him....

 

[Clancaster23]

It might be worth it to drop pan and do all fluids/filters and replace valve body- easy job. Either that, or drive it til you need a new tranny. Try some additives lubeguard.

I've never changed tranny fluid on anything let alone a truck so I will look into having it done but it won't be by me. Thanks for the replies guys. It ran just fine all the way home. Still nervous about it though.

 

[Burla]

Tranny fluid changes are complicated, you have pan drop - change filters and that only gets around 1/2 the fluid out, then you have flushes that don't change the filters and draw fluid the wrong way, then you have drop pan - change filters - fill back- and purge oil fluid through return lines - as fluid is being added. The problem is there are very few people that will do the latter which is the only way to go. Watch this and see what is involved, I wouldn't trust anyone to do this w/o being able to watch. This is a video on it.

Your truck takes 14 qrts, you need 15 or 16 on hand. This is why a lot of guys run redline, it is ester/pao based and you can change it less often. Example, the new ram fluid is pao based and is lifetime fluid, never needs changing they say. So for the 2012 run redline and never worry about it for another 100k miles minimum. It is also compatible with your fluid, so if you just did the drop pan change filter flush, it you use redline c+, that will make your fluid much better.

 

[RamCares]

Get in the truck to go to work and something just isn't right. As I back out my driveway I go up a little hill and the tranny slipped, I let off of the gas and it kind of kicked in gear going from first to second. A little later I notice something not right. It's not shifting past second and I have a kick between first and second. I had to get to work still I drove it 20+ miles highway in second. It won't even manually shift. I still have to go home still. What could be the problem?

Hi Clancaster23,
We understand that you are just reaching out to other forum members at this time for feedback on what may be going on with your truck. However, should you choose to visit a dealer, let us know. We would be more than happy to offer our assistance.
Julie
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[bigdodge]

Just drained mine and let it drip and run for a couple hours and I was able to add over 9 quarts. It really helped mine as I was getting a hard and loud downshift quite often. It's stopped doing that since the change.

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[indept]

Just drained mine and let it drip and run for a couple hours and I was able to add over 9 quarts. It really helped mine as I was getting a hard and loud downshift quite often. It's stopped doing that since the change.

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Just curious, what trans do you have?