'05 Ram 2500 transmission

mikehaugen · Jul 25, 2013

jinman said:
I know my '96 truck is a whole different generation, but I had the 47RE transmission rebuilt at 160k miles. It was slipping and shifting hard plus not wanting to go into overdrive. I had the complete transmission rebuilt and a new torque converter for $1800, just to give you a comparison. The truck ran like a new one. Everyone said I was making a mistake and should pop for a new transmission. They said a rebuilt transmission wouldn't last more than 50k miles. Well, they were wrong. The transmission continued to work perfectly for another 160k miles. It started exhibiting the same symptoms as before. I went to the place that rebuilt it the first time and they had sold out to somebody who I did not like. They did a filter change for me and I wasn't happy with the job they did. I did a lot of reading on the internet and even replaced my throttle position sensor (TPS). I found somebody who said that you should always try a reboot of the PCM by disconnecting the battery for at least 45 minutes. To be sure, I disconnected the batteries and let the truck set overnight. I was pretty skeptical as I reconnected the terminals the next morning and completely shocked to find the truck ran perfectly. Except for a leak in the pan from a cross-threaded bolt when I had the filter changed, the truck has continued to shift perfectly and now I have 375k miles on it. I had the leak fixed a couple of years ago. My first $1800 rebuild has lasted over 200 miles. Now I wonder, did I REALLY need that original rebuild or should I have just disconnected and rebooted the PCM?:confused3:

Maybe they knew the problem and didn't even rebuild it, just disconnected the battery overnight

LD1 · Jul 25, 2013

Well, I am not a transmission expert, but I can feel my way around one okay.

My first question is, If the torque converter is suspected of being stuck in lock-up, why rebuild the whole tranny?? If it is an issue with the converter, just replace the converter. If the issue is in the valve body (that controls lock-up), that is simple. You dont even have to drop the trans to check out/rebuild the valve body.

Everyone things transmissions are magic or something and are afraid of working on them. And that fear that everyone has, has made shops that do work on them charge an arm and a leg for it.

A typical tranny rebuild only consists of about $200 in parts (unless hard parts are broken), and only about 3-4 hours on the bench to do. Add another 3-4 hours if the shop has to do the R&R. I dont see how 8 hours of work, and $200 in parts comes anywhere close to $3k.

Again, I guess its supply and demand. And everyone thinks their magic.

A local guy here (who is **** good) does trannys for $350+parts if you bring it to him. And another $300 if he has to R&R.

Midniteoyl · Jul 25, 2013

Ya.. most shops rape you.. But I do see the whole 'if you remove it, should rebuild it' thing. Especially at $150+ k miles..

joshuabardwell · Jul 25, 2013

In this case, as it was explained to me, this is a gradual failure mode, of which the final step is that the torque converter clutch fails and the torque converter locks up. In the earlier steps of the failure mode, metal shavings from the failing part get into some other part of the transmission, damaging it. Sorry I don't know enough about transmissions to give you more details. If you want, I can try to get an itemized list of parts from the mechanic so you can have a better idea of what was done. But ultimately, it's the knowledge and labor that I'm paying for, even if the parts were free.

joshuabardwell · Jul 25, 2013

For perspective, the transmission shop that we took it to charges something like $550 for the diagnostic on this particular repair, which is applied to the repair if you go ahead, of course. So that's just labor, right? But from what they told me when they gave me the official diagnosis, they had dropped the transmission and opened it up to see what-all damage had been done.

Tomtint · Jul 25, 2013

I bought a 2500 Ram Diesel brand new back in 95. I had it for about 30k miles and the tranny was not shifting correctly. It was replaced under warranty by the dealer. At that time I was going to trade it, but a friend of mine wanted to buy it ( against my advisement ). He still has it today, with 200k on the clock and 2 trannys later. About 2 weeks ago, he told me it was shifting poorly again. This will be the 4th time the trans has been pulled. The Cummins is a great power plant but the trans that Dodge bolts to it is just inadequate.

LD1 · Jul 25, 2013

Tomtint said:
The Cummins is a great power plant but the trans that Dodge bolts to it is just inadequate.

The newer trannys, about 01 or 02+ are MUCH better than the 1990's ones

WilliamBos · Jul 25, 2013

LD1 said:
The newer trannys, about 01 or 02+ are MUCH better than the 1990's ones

How about the newest auto?

LD1 · Jul 25, 2013

Havent heard much about it.

I know the 5-speed autos that they started putting in the non-diesel trucks in 03 with the gas motors is pretty good. But they stuck with the 4-speeds for the cummins for awhile.

I cannot afford a new truck. And probably never will at a $50k+ pricetag. Therefore I am always a generation behind on knowing what is good and what is not.

sd455dan · Jul 25, 2013

joshuabardwell said:
In this case, as it was explained to me, this is a gradual failure mode, of which the final step is that the torque converter clutch fails and the torque converter locks up. In the earlier steps of the failure mode, metal shavings from the failing part get into some other part of the transmission, damaging it. Sorry I don't know enough about transmissions to give you more details. If you want, I can try to get an itemized list of parts from the mechanic so you can have a better idea of what was done. But ultimately, it's the knowledge and labor that I'm paying for, even if the parts were free.

I can't speak to dodges but on most Gms i have worked on 1980-1990s the computer sends +12v to torque converter solenoid which applies the lock up clutch. and on transmissions that have temp sensors- if the computer senses an over temp it locks up the torque converter as a way to save the trans from burning up from being overheated... We had this happen on a Turbo Grand Am that would lock up unexpectedly- sure made for fun neutral shifting when it tried to shove you thru a red light:shocked: