Transmission too.... COLD?

[RamRodTodd]

Hello everyone,
I have a 2013 ram 1500 4x4 with the 65RFE transmission in it. A few months ago I did a transmission pan change out and used the correct ATF +4 fluid to refill and let it warm up to operating temp and confirmed perfect amount.

The issue I now have is ohio winter weather lol. If it's 20 degrees outside my transmission even in city driving only gets to about 118. It only ever warms up to operating temp when it's hot outside. If it's cold outside the temp never goes above 120. Highway driving yesterday it was a cold 23 degrees out and my transmission was at 109 all the way home. My coolant temp was around 190 dropping to 188 here and there and my oil was 201 and stayed that. I'm at a loss. I need to check for a thermal bypass valve as that could be it? It does have the tow package. I just think 108 is a bit low for a transmission right? I know normal operating temp for these 65s is 160 or am I mistaken? Shifts okay. I do notice when I come to a complete stop I feel a bit of a... thud???? But it's extremely light. I just am the type of person to constantly be needing to look for an issue with something and it haunts me everyday

 

[Burla]

Your atf4 is thin like a 0w16 oil, and fully synthetic, there is no issue here. If you want you could cover the trans cooler with something, but there is zero issue. That thud only happens when cold?

 

[RamRodTodd]

The thud is weird.. it happens when I've been driving awhile as well, it's like when I slow roll to a stop sign or light and stop it kinda thuds. Noticable but not like a holy crap that was rough!! I bought the truck with 119000 on it and immediately changed the transmission fluid and pan and made sure it was perfectly filled. I have no shifting issues at all. It shifts like a dream. I live in Ohio right in the rust belt and the only thing that's actually bad is the oil pan will need changed out this summer and the driveshaft is next as the u joints are worn. My 4x4 works amazing! Just got 20+ inches here in Ohio over the last 24 hours and it did amazing with no issues. I didn't know if low tranny temps could hurt it in the long run! New to the truck and ram world but I love this truck.

 

[Burla]

The thud is weird.. it happens when I've been driving awhile as well, it's like when I slow roll to a stop sign or light and stop it kinda thuds. Noticable but not like a holy crap that was rough!! I bought the truck with 119000 on it and immediately changed the transmission fluid and pan and made sure it was perfectly filled. I have no shifting issues at all. It shifts like a dream. I live in Ohio right in the rust belt and the only thing that's actually bad is the oil pan will need changed out this summer and the driveshaft is next as the u joints are worn. My 4x4 works amazing! Just got 20+ inches here in Ohio over the last 24 hours and it did amazing with no issues. I didn't know if low tranny temps could hurt it in the long run! New to the truck and ram world but I love this truck.

you sure the thud isn't the gas in gas tank? Does it happen when gas is full to top?

 

[Wild one]

The thud is weird.. it happens when I've been driving awhile as well, it's like when I slow roll to a stop sign or light and stop it kinda thuds. Noticable but not like a holy crap that was rough!! I bought the truck with 119000 on it and immediately changed the transmission fluid and pan and made sure it was perfectly filled. I have no shifting issues at all. It shifts like a dream. I live in Ohio right in the rust belt and the only thing that's actually bad is the oil pan will need changed out this summer and the driveshaft is next as the u joints are worn. My 4x4 works amazing! Just got 20+ inches here in Ohio over the last 24 hours and it did amazing with no issues. I didn't know if low tranny temps could hurt it in the long run! New to the truck and ram world but I love this truck.

Check your motor mounts and transmission mount over. Have somebody put it in gear while standing on the brakes and have them blip the throttle while you watch to see how much the engine moves around in the chassis,transmission mount you can generally check by grabbing the tailshaft of the transmission and pushing it up and sideways

 

[RamLife1500]

Same thing happened on my Ram. In cold winter temps my trans would only sit around 105–120°F unless it was warm out or I was towing. Coolant and oil were normal, shifts were fine.


From what I found, it’s usually the thermal bypass valve doing its job, especially with the tow package. That light “thud” at a stop showed up for me too when cold and went away once things warmed up. Drove me crazy at first, but it never turned into a real issue.

 

[Gary Fields]

A friend kept strange noises when he stopped or accelerated. It kept up for years and he never could find it. His fuel pump died and he had to have the tank pulled. Mechanic called him back to show him the marbles someone had put into the tank. When he mentioned this to his golf buddies they burst out laughing uncontrollably.

 

[Tominator223]

I would think cooler trans temps would be good for longevity . The thud could be the worn ujoints. Or as wild one said mounts.

 

[06 Dodge]

I would think cooler trans temps would be good for longevity . The thud could be the worn ujoints. Or as wild one said mounts.

I had an 2002 Dodge 1500 that when the trans temps was under 140 it would not shift in to OD once it reached 140 it would then shift normally, the truck only had 18K on it when I purchased it so its not like it was wore out or had old fluid in it.

 

[Wild one]

I had an 2002 Dodge 1500 that when the trans temps was under 140 it would not shift in to OD once it reached 140 it would then shift normally, the truck only had 18K on it when I purchased it so its not like it was wore out or had old fluid in it.

There was a big stink raised a few years back on Dodges cold weather transmission programming,where the trucks wouldn't shift past 4th if the outdoor temp was at -40C/-40F. Had nothing to do with the transmissions temp,it was do to what the truck precieved the outdoor temp to be,the transmission could be fully warmed up,and it still wouldn't shift into the overdrive gears.The way around it was to cover the sensor for the temp reading.My old 13 was horrible in cold weather,i used to have to cover the sensor in the mirror with a finger and warm it up,before the transmission would shift.There was alot of guys unhappy on the other ramforum and there were mutliple threads about it.TransEngineer tried to explain it away,but even he wasn't a fan of the way the computor programming for the transmission was laid out

 

[Dusty]

It would be helpful if you included the current mileage.

Transmission temperature depends on how far the vehicle is driven. We've had single digit weather around here and on my 7 mile trip to the diner in the morning transmission temp never goes over 100F. The more the vehicle is driven the higher the temp. Yesterday on an 18 mile drive it reached 150F. Your transmission is a 545FRE and I don't remember its reaction to low temps.

Because of your year the "bump" you might be feeling could be fuel in the gas tank moving back and forth. Later in the 4th gens extra baffle(s) were installed. Of course, other driveline problems could also cause this issue.

The other, which I experienced on my 2014, is the rear splined drive shaft section sticking. This was solved by greasing the splines.

You could force a transmission relearn by disconnecting the battery for about 10-15 minutes and see if the condition changes.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 145576 miles.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

My old 11, with the rfe would run 120 during cold weather and about 135 in.the summer.

Never had any issues with it and was still shifting fine at 150k when sold.

I was under the impression 120 to 135 was normal operation temp for the rfe.

I never saw anything higher even towing , it had 3.55s in.the rear, could that have made a difference?

 

[White six four]

66rfe in my 16 2500 with the thermostat deleted. Just had to run to an errand so I paid attention to the trans temps really close. 0 degrees F outside even though the truck is parked in the pole shed. Had it plugged in 2 hours prior to starting it. Trans said 14 degrees on initial startup. Idled for 6 minutes while I loaded the truck for a dump run. Trans was at 27 when I started driving. Taking it easy like I always do at first. 4 miles, 55mph to the dump. 62 degrees when I left there to run my other errand. 12 miles at 70mph. Got there and temp was at 89 degrees and was shifting normal. In and out in 10 minutes to get what I needed. Started truck back up and temp was at 82. Drove roughly 14 miles back home mostly 70mph except the last 3 miles at 55mph. Temp was at 89 again when I got home. During all this it warmed up to 5 degrees outside temp.

Just my observations, with my truck anything over roughly 60-70 degrees trans temp it's "good to go". If I just go to the dump and back (8 miles total, 55mph the whole way with 2 stop signs)I'll get on it leaving one of stop signs. Only up to 3k or so rpm. You know to lubricate the hemi lol.

In the summer here it'll usually get up to 135-140 on my what I'd call shorter trips (under 45 minutes) and stay there.

@Wild one when you go to drag strip do you or guys wait til the transmission hits a certain temp before you make a pass? Curiosity is getting to me. If I remember correctly you had a little drive to get there so trans temp should have been a non issue but I'm sure some guys trailer their cars/trucks. Or is it a non issue anyway since it's during warmer months?

 

[Wild one]

66rfe in my 16 2500 with the thermostat deleted. Just had to run to an errand so I paid attention to the trans temps really close. 0 degrees F outside even though the truck is parked in the pole shed. Had it plugged in 2 hours prior to starting it. Trans said 14 degrees on initial startup. Idled for 6 minutes while I loaded the truck for a dump run. Trans was at 27 when I started driving. Taking it easy like I always do at first. 4 miles, 55mph to the dump. 62 degrees when I left there to run my other errand. 12 miles at 70mph. Got there and temp was at 89 degrees and was shifting normal. In and out in 10 minutes to get what I needed. Started truck back up and temp was at 82. Drove roughly 14 miles back home mostly 70mph except the last 3 miles at 55mph. Temp was at 89 again when I got home. During all this it warmed up to 5 degrees outside temp.

Just my observations, with my truck anything over roughly 60-70 degrees trans temp it's "good to go". If I just go to the dump and back (8 miles total, 55mph the whole way with 2 stop signs)I'll get on it leaving one of stop signs. Only up to 3k or so rpm. You know to lubricate the hemi lol.

In the summer here it'll usually get up to 135-140 on my what I'd call shorter trips (under 45 minutes) and stay there.

@Wild one when you go to drag strip do you or guys wait til the transmission hits a certain temp before you make a pass? Curiosity is getting to me. If I remember correctly you had a little drive to get there so trans temp should have been a non issue but I'm sure some guys trailer their cars/trucks. Or is it a non issue anyway since it's during warmer months?

I like to keep the 8 speeds right around 160/165 if possible before making a pass,any colder and they're a bit off on the shifts,and anything above 180 is the other end of the spectrum where the tranny starts to fall off on the shifts.
When it's hot out,i used to throw a fan under both the car and truck to help get the tranny temps back down under 180 if i could

 

[White six four]

I like to keep the 8 speeds right around 160/165 if possible before making a pass,any colder and they're a bit off on the shifts,and anything above 180 is the other end of the spectrum where the tranny starts to fall off on the shifts.
When it's hot out,i used to throw a fan under both the car and truck to help get the tranny temps back down under 180 if i could

Thanks for the info boss!

 

[Dusty]

My 2010 had the 65FRE but apparently I never recorded and transmission temps.

This morning my 8HP75 started out with a transmission temp of 12F at initial start. By the end of my 8 mile trip it was at 67 degrees F. Engine temp was 170.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 145667 miles.

 

[HEMIMANN]

66rfe in my 16 2500 with the thermostat deleted. Just had to run to an errand so I paid attention to the trans temps really close. 0 degrees F outside even though the truck is parked in the pole shed. Had it plugged in 2 hours prior to starting it. Trans said 14 degrees on initial startup. Idled for 6 minutes while I loaded the truck for a dump run. Trans was at 27 when I started driving. Taking it easy like I always do at first. 4 miles, 55mph to the dump. 62 degrees when I left there to run my other errand. 12 miles at 70mph. Got there and temp was at 89 degrees and was shifting normal. In and out in 10 minutes to get what I needed. Started truck back up and temp was at 82. Drove roughly 14 miles back home mostly 70mph except the last 3 miles at 55mph. Temp was at 89 again when I got home. During all this it warmed up to 5 degrees outside temp.

Just my observations, with my truck anything over roughly 60-70 degrees trans temp it's "good to go". If I just go to the dump and back (8 miles total, 55mph the whole way with 2 stop signs)I'll get on it leaving one of stop signs. Only up to 3k or so rpm. You know to lubricate the hemi lol.

In the summer here it'll usually get up to 135-140 on my what I'd call shorter trips (under 45 minutes) and stay there.

@Wild one when you go to drag strip do you or guys wait til the transmission hits a certain temp before you make a pass? Curiosity is getting to me. If I remember correctly you had a little drive to get there so trans temp should have been a non issue but I'm sure some guys trailer their cars/trucks. Or is it a non issue anyway since it's during warmer months?

About the same result here in mid-MN. My 66RFE w/0 the cooler thermostat gets oil up to ~ 86F, but keeps below 160F in hot summer towing. Just like trannys were before thermostats.

Thermostats are a good idea - IF THEY'RE FUCHING DESIGNED RIGHT!!! Oops - did I just yell?

 

[Dusty]

Keep in mind thermostat performance can drop off as they age and can vary from vehicle-to-vehicle of the same type. I can tell as mine approaches it's eight year that the thermostat is starting to become a little lazy and not coming up to temperature as quickly as it did when new.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 145802 miles.

 

[ithurtz]

Year ago I was towing a 70 cutlass for a hr on the highway, trans never went over 120 and it was 11 outside. 2010 5.7 cc 204k miles

 

[Rob2gen]

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