# Tranny Problems



## A&M Snowplowing (Aug 10, 2004)

Yesterday was the first day i got to plow with the dodge that i just bought. It ran nice all day until i got to a red light. When the light turned green i went to go and the RPM's flew up to 3100 and it started to move but i could not get it into 2nd gear. Ever since then it wont go above first. WHAT HAPPENED. Please help me.


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## mr.plow 2 (Oct 20, 2005)

hello thanks for joining the dodge bad trans club mine did the same thing 2000.00 later and it fixed :realmad:


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## DeereFarmer (Dec 12, 2005)

Sounds like every other tranny problem Dodge has. Check the truck repair forum; someone had the same problem. Check what it does with the overdrive on and off. Good luck with the fix!


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

on the 96? is it your first one? how Meany Miles? 
Thats good all most 9yr for a tranny of that vintage.on a plow truck.
I replaced the one in my 98 at 63k. and the one in the 01 at 61k.
Welcome to the Bad Tranny club:waving:


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## Stark_Enterprises (Mar 6, 2004)

Mostly likely a blown tranny-, but it could just be a Govenor solenoid.. but not likely. Before you go get a reman or a have it rebuilt. Check Ebay under tranmission -i was looking the other day and saw you could get a pretty good after market remand tranny for like 800$+shipping and most transmission shops would do a sawp for the 2-300 hundred bucks. might be the cheapest option.. after you get it fixed have the fluid changed like every 500-1000 miles.


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## mr.plow 2 (Oct 20, 2005)

it just hit 135,000 when trans went south:crying:


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## Stark_Enterprises (Mar 6, 2004)

mr.plow 2 said:


> hello thanks for joining the dodge bad trans club mine did the same thing 2000.00 later and it fixed :realmad:


LOL Serioulsly Man i know it!! I think everyones has gone. My 02 went at 46,000 mi. but mine cost 105.00 To fix----(under the powertrain warrenty). Next time it goes im going to have a custom DTT Trans from mass diesel installed that will be made for plowing and power upgrades.


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## mr.plow 2 (Oct 20, 2005)

i put an upgrade kit on it cost about400.00 buck but it has saved me a lot of money i can cool down trans and dont have to have it in gear  i could take some pics of it and post for you guy if you like


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## Stark_Enterprises (Mar 6, 2004)

mr.plow 2 said:


> i put an upgrade kit on it cost about400.00 buck but it has saved me a lot of money i can cool down trans and dont have to have it in gear  i could take some pics of it and post for you guy if you like


please do. is your 1 ton a Cummins or gasser?


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## mr.plow 2 (Oct 20, 2005)

:crying: i wish it was cummins but it is a gasser and let me tell you it drinks the gas i will get pic asap


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

mr.plow 2 said:


> it just hit 135,000 when trans went south:crying:


 Thats not bad for a plow truck. most go a lot sooner.


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## justme- (Dec 28, 2004)

Well, it sounds like you blew the power to the tranny control.

I speak from experiance here!

The tranny is electrically controlled (47RE) and uses 2 solinoids to shift- when no power is sent to the solinoids the tranny goes into "limp mode"- which is 2nd gear only (direct drive gear reduction- no bands or clutched engaged) and no O/D.

This can be caused by many things- a bad solinoid, a blown fuseable link (under the hood in the relay box), a bad harness, or worse.

Here's what happened to mine- about 115K miles I was driving around a corner up a hill and all the lights in the dash came on- tranny shuddered and downshifted- rpm's soared. I pulled over popped the hood and looked for trouble- saw nothing. engine till running I crawled home- 2 mile away in 2nd gear. (the high rpm is because of the stall speed- in order to move the truck in 2nd gear from a stop)

I checked all the fuses and links- found the fuseable link was blown- bad sign- I figured it would not blow unless there was a reason. dealer only piece those links too.

got a new one Mon morning and ran a meter in line for current draw. Then smoke, smoke and more smoke under the hood.

Here's the damage- one of the spring retainers for a pressure pop-off valve in the valve body (tranny) snapped (common problem) causing shifting trouble- pressue related. The broken metal clip happened to land across the contacts for th main power feeds for the governor relay and shorted them blowing the fusable link. (creating limp mode- no pop-off valve also made it shift different than if it just lost the governor). 
The short took out the govorner sol, the O/D sol, and burned- vaproized the signal pin in the connector from the tranny harness to the main harness. and started a fire in the harness.

Insurance co fought and failed to cover it- still working on fighting them. They replaced the solinoids, harness, pop-off spring and clip, and had to salvage a master wiring harness plug off another junk yard truck (in another state- couldn;t find one suitable around here) to splice in since the main harness is $1600 cost and factory order only (4-6 weeks delivery time) plus labor to change it.

Probabily NOT mechanical, but probabily a solinoid or in that circuit. CAN be expensive but not necessarily especially if you have a GOOD SHOP who actually knows Dodge trannys look at it first. 
NOT LIKELY in need of a rebuild for this, not an upgrade kit, or anything else like that. It's a common CTD related problem and V10 related problem. 

Check out Dodgeram.org discussion boards, and TDR discussion boards for more info.

Have that tranny pan dropped and looked at BEFORE you decide to replace the tranny.


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## A&M Snowplowing (Aug 10, 2004)

the truck has about 139,000 on it so i guess i have to say thats not bad but all the truck was used for was a daily driver so i bought it to plow with it. The truck never had a problem shifting or no hard shifts. I just went. I have a hard time to believe that one min it working fine and the next its blown up from just sitting there.


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## LwnmwrMan22 (Jan 20, 2005)

The people you bought it from probably knew the tranny was slipping, that's why they dumped the truck.

I had a '95 1/2 with 153k on it when we put a new tranny in because it started slipping. Not all the time, but once in a while. It was a plow truck too, with an 8' Western. 

Other than that, I've never had tranny troubles with my Dodges, but then again I usually don't keep a truck over 100k miles either.

Those 100k miles though, it's either got a trailer on the back or a plow on the front, soooo.... ?????

I was nice enough to rebuild the tranny before I sold the truck. Sounds to me like maybe you weren't so lucky.


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## bikeluver43 (Jan 3, 2005)

Its a common problem with 94-01(02 2500) Rams. The tranny's would run great and then one day start having a bunch of issues. I was wondering, Does the Diesel Tranny's act the same way or have they been more reliable? My 02 1500 w/4.7 auto has about 92,000 miles on it and when I bought it she had 87k and had pulled a gooseneck trailer most its life. It shifts perfect and has no issues-knock on wood.


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## justme- (Dec 28, 2004)

The diesel tranny is the major problem child in the Dodge line- up to 01 it was a 47RE, 01+ it is a 48RE which is better but just a beefed 47RE. It's the same as the V10 uses, but it's issue is it's mating to the diesel engine.

From what I have heard the newer trucks are very much improved in that area.


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## A&M Snowplowing (Aug 10, 2004)

*More Fun*

Well i took the truck last night for a drive and it shifted fine for the first few start ups and then it did the same thing again. When i drove it down to the shop today i went to back it into the spot and it would not go in reverse but then it finally did with a little force. Any ideas on the thing cause now I think i am lost.


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## A&M Snowplowing (Aug 10, 2004)

*More fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

did i mention that i just put a plow on this truck a month ago and this was the first time plowing with the truck when this all went down


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## A&M Snowplowing (Aug 10, 2004)

Thanks for all the help but it turned out to be that the tranny was smoked so now i am trying to decide what i want to do. There are a couple of shops that will rebuild it for $1500 and give me a 6 month warranty and i could also get it rebuilt from another shop for $1850 and get a 1 year warranty. My last option is to go through dodge and get a rebuilt for $2150 and get a 3 year 36000 mile warranty. What would you do if you were in this situation. (Besides go and get a new truck)


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## LwnmwrMan22 (Jan 20, 2005)

Go get a new truck.  

I'd rebuild the tranny with the sop with the 6 month warranty.

Then, I'd also start saving / lookung for a new(er) truck, and maybe trying t sell yours.


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## rob1325 (Jan 6, 2000)

Dodge_PlowKing said:


> please do. is your 1 ton a Cummins or gasser?


I put a mass diesel DTT tranny in mine and only lasted two and half years. That tranny did not last. If I had to do it again I would of put a reman in and bank the rest of money saved for next tranny.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

Go see my tranny guy, $2000 installed with a LIFE TIME WARRANTY


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## Stark_Enterprises (Mar 6, 2004)

justme- said:


> 01+ it is a 48RE which is better but just a beefed 47RE.
> From what I have heard the newer trucks are very much improved in that area.


Well my 02 2500 Cummins has a 47 RE (refering to my actual window sticker)- although i also belive the newer trucks are improved- But I belive the improvement started with the 03+ HD trucks. but thats justme:waving:


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## Stark_Enterprises (Mar 6, 2004)

rob1325 said:


> I put a mass diesel DTT tranny in mine and only lasted two and half years. That tranny did not last. If I had to do it again I would of put a reman in and bank the rest of money saved for next tranny.


Wow thats the first time ive ever heard of a DTT blowin up- How much money did it cost you to build it? did Scott from mass diesel do it? me being a tdr1 member -The other members here in ct swear by Him and mass diesel! I have yet to deal with him.


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## rob1325 (Jan 6, 2000)

Dodge_PlowKing said:


> Wow thats the first time ive ever heard of a DTT blowin up- How much money did it cost you to build it? did Scott from mass diesel do it? me being a tdr1 member -The other members here in ct swear by Him and mass diesel! I have yet to deal with him.


It was a good amount. Yes mass diesel did do it. It only lasted only 2 1/2 years. I thought same as you, TRD members swear by him and I thought why not have a bullet proof tranny, but I was wrong. I would not reccommend. I really do not like the guy IMO. Also, he is very far away like two hours. When I called to tell him what happened he did not care. I used truck for commercial plowing and sanding. I would stay local. Any question just pm me.

rob


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## Stark_Enterprises (Mar 6, 2004)

Hmm Thank you very much for your input... makes me think alittle bit now..


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## johntwist (Feb 10, 2004)

A&M Snowplowing said:


> Thanks for all the help but it turned out to be that the tranny was smoked so now i am trying to decide what i want to do. There are a couple of shops that will rebuild it for $1500 and give me a 6 month warranty and i could also get it rebuilt from another shop for $1850 and get a 1 year warranty. My last option is to go through dodge and get a rebuilt for $2150 and get a 3 year 36000 mile warranty. What would you do if you were in this situation. (Besides go and get a new truck)


If it were me the first thing I'd have to decide is am I keeping this thing or am I going to fix it and sell it? If you're going to keep the truck, I'd go with the 3 year warranty on the Dodge rebuilt, unless you can find a guy around you who'll do the job for 2 G's and a lifetime warranty like one guy mentioned he paid. If you want to get rid of the truck, do the cheapie and say good-bye to it.

Mine just turned 100K and so far, no problems, knock on wood.


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## justme- (Dec 28, 2004)

Had mine done by a local shop and beefed a bit- they asked what mods I was planning. Told them probabily ex brake, TST plate up to 650Ft-Lbs, plowing, towing. They added a sprag, clutch discs and plates (2 xtra I think), custom valve body work and shift kit, boosted line pressure. Cost around $1200 I think (includeing a reman Converter). No problems since. Shifts firm when on the pedal and not so firm (almost stock when empty and light footing it). Never modded the engine (not yet anyway) but it'll hold it when I do. If there's a next time I have a few other mods I want done to increase band clamping (longer levers). Never dealt with DTT, but I have heard that those trannys are not ideal for daily drivers.


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## dakotasrock (Mar 23, 2006)

Ya the dodge trannys really suck. But heres what you do.....

I plow with a '99 dakota V8, with a MANUAL. The worst that can happen is that you burn thru a $75 clutch. Im on the original tranny, and it shifts great.


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## killed300ex (Apr 29, 2004)

Dodge autos do suck if I were in your position I would go look at some aftermarket trans. They are deffinitly out there and for around 2000 its alot better than rebuilding yours. I know fastman has a really nice dodge trany. Only way to get away from the bad tranys are to go with a standard thats what I have done and no complaints yet held up to everything I have given it.
Evan


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