Transmission Troubleshooting: 2017, 1500, 8speed, 5.7L, Limited

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John_B

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Feb 18, 2023
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Annandale, VA
Ram Year
2017
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5.7L Hemi
Good day folks,

Looking for a little mentorship.

BLUF: After a dealer 'quick learn' on my transmission (after 60 days of driving) my down shifts to first and second as I come to a stop are still very hard. Jerk the body / head forward hard. Some upshifts aren't smooth but not as dramatic as the down. They now tell me they have to do a $1.3k transmission service and they can't explain why this is happening... This symptom did not exist before they did the quick learn. Do I have alternatives or any DIY?

Truck: 2017 Ram 1500, 5.7L, 8 speed, 70k miles. I bought used at 35k miles and still have the Max Care Warranty. And the 'transmission service' isn't covered by the warranty even though they caused the problem with their troubleshooting steps.

Background: After 3 years of towing a trailer often up and down steep grades at West Point, NY it felt like my shifts weren't as smooth. A mechanic recommended I do a flush, and just trusted him, and i let them do it. Flush did not improve anything, but when I brought my Ram to a dealer to replace a header bolt that caused an exhaust leak, I asked them to look. They said the wrong transmission fluid was put in and recommended a full service. They did a 'quick learn' and now my shifts are dramatically worse than it was, immediately after they serviced it and persisting. I'm planning on doing my own fluid replacement with the proper ATF kit for the 8speed transmission, but I highly doubt the fluid is what is causing these dramatic shifts. I do have an OBD Link MX+ and tried doing the AlfaOBD Quick Learn, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly. I attempted to follow it step by step, but did not get a confirmation or anything after the few steps and shifting back and forth. Perhaps I did something wrong, but nothing changed afterwards.

My Background: I do most DIY services for upkeep (brakes/rotors, oil, fluid flushes, simple part replacements) I do not know the nuances of a transmission besides how to drop the pan, replace the fluid and filter and such.

If I had known that the dealer trying to fix the issue would have made it 10x worse, I would have just left it alone...

I'm thinking I'll just have to pay the $1.3k for the dealer to do its thing, but looking for some other advice before I kill my income for the next few months. Appreciate insights and advice.
-John
 

joesstripclub

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The transmission service isnt that difficult to do on your own, but there are a few nuances to do it correctly. There are plenty of transmission service threads if you search the site. My guess is the mechanic who did the flush didnt get the level set correctly. The 8 speed transmission is supposed to be leveled when checking fill level. You could raise up the rear of the truck until the trans is level and open up the fill port (with the truck running and meeting the temp required). If fluid starts to come out you should be in good shape. If you see red fluid chances are good the mechanic used the wrong fluid. The OEM is almost clear with a green tint, but gets pretty dirty almost like used motor oil. A lot of people successfully use a valvoline fluid though which is red, so not all red fluid is bad. You could do the fluid change with a new pan from lowest around $125 all the way up to $500+ depending on aftermarket vs OEM parts. Also if you have the wrong fluid it is going to take 2 or 3 drain and fills to get the majority of it out. I'd also bet that any warranty claims for your transmission would be denied if you have red fluid in there instead of the OEM fluid.
 
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J

John_B

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Annandale, VA
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Appreciate the help.

I'll do as you mention with respect to confirming and making sure the right fluid is in there. What is still confusing though is why such a dramatic change in shifting occurred as a result of the dealer 'quick learn,' i'll followup after I have a chance to do a few fluid flushes. If I'm not mistaken total volume is ~8 but you only effectively change ~5 each time. You're likely spot on with respect to the wrong fluid vs. warranty - I just hope it doesn't come to that. Not sure if I can assign blame to a small mechanic shop that happened when I was I NY.

Thanks for taking the time for the insight!
-j
 
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