# Idle in Park or Neutral



## jonw440 (Dec 26, 2002)

Hi Guys.
I am picking up my new used 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad cab on Tuesday. I will be putting the Meyer on it from the Bronco. I also will be getting and alarm with remote start. I am wondering what is better for the tranny. To put the truck in neutral or park at night? I will be letting it warm up for 10-15 minutes and want to do what is best for the tranny. Does Dodge truck circulate the tranny fluid in park? Or Nuetral?. I will post some pictures when I can.
Thanks
Jon


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## paul soccodato (Nov 9, 2002)

leave it in park, no adverse affects, and last thing you need is your truck rolling away on you.


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## Kent Lawns (Jan 18, 2000)

Neutral.

Circulates that transmission fluid.


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## AtlasFBG2 (Jul 4, 2001)

As for starting it up and warming up i would leave it in park.After plowing or towing definetly leave it in nuetral for a while to keep the fluid circulating.Dodges dont circulate the trans fluid in park.


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## Dave1250 (Mar 5, 2001)

Lets see one for one against I believe most people leave it in park . All truck are left in park when shut off, locks the wheel. Will you be leaving the key in it ? Your insurance might not pay for unauthorized use, if someone takes the truck with the keys in it . I leave my truck in park with the doors locked and have been plowing about 8 or9 years, only 260,000 on my truck ..Just my 2 cents


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## KentuckyPlow (Nov 26, 2002)

Does anyone know if the older chevrolet's with the turbo hydro 400 circulates in park?
Thanks


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## dan deutekom (Feb 10, 2001)

As far as I know all automatics circulate the fluid in park or neutral. The only difference between park and neutral is that there is a locking paul in the park position that keeps the output shaft from rotating but all the other internal stuff rotates just like in neutral. I do stand to be corrected however


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Jon, as a DTT trans installer/builder I feel I am qualified to answer this question.For maximum trans life,and performance leave the trans in N while idling.This is even more important on the initial cold start,as this practice fills the TC,and lubricates the rear planetary gearset before you drive off.As soon as you fire the truck on the first start of the day,slip in it N for 30 seconds,then into gear this step alone will save the planetarys,rear drum,and 4th gr piston support. When your plowing it is of utmost importance to run the truck in N after pushing if you stop,this cools the trans off,and allows the hot tc to circulate fluid thru the coolers,reducing temps.Do not shut down after hard pushing allow the truck to run a minimum of 5 minutes first. If you put it in park the manual valve and pressure regulator seal off the convertor/lube circuit.This can /will dramatically shorten the trans life on any Dodge RWD trans.Before i had the DTT setup I had an extra key,if i got out, i drop the plow,and set the parking brake,and lock the doors with the extra key or your remote start transmitter.My truck flows 2.0 GPM in park ,since I have the DTT valve body,long with their full trans package.I have had 2 Cummins powered Rams,both with the supposed weak 47RE,and both trucks have turned up power,Ive had no trans problems with either of them and they get used hard.I think the idling in N has a lot to do with this.There are many solutions to this problem,they are not cheap though,and you may have warranty implications of you are under warranty,and have a trans problem.


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## The_Burning_Rom (Jan 11, 2003)

I have a Dodge Ramcharger with the venerable 727 Torqueflite transmission in it. When I start it up, I leave it in nuetral, because the fluid doesn't circulate and the tranny doesn't warm up.


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## sno-mover (Jan 12, 2002)

John what does "DTT" stand for?


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Sno mover, http://www.dieseltrans.com/ .DTT is one of the many companys that build performance diesel transmissions.One of the many thing done to them is making them circulate ATF in Park.


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## BWhite (Sep 30, 2002)

*good info*

Thanks Will warm up in neutral . I noticed that when I do this I dont experience the cold temp reverse moan in my 97 2500 gas Ram .


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## sno-mover (Jan 12, 2002)

Hey John, being a trans guy what do you think about fords 4r100, and there new 5spd auto, Im looking at getting a new truck and had some questions about the trannies. Is there any difference in the trans if its gas or diesel.
Thanks:waving:


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

The 4 r100 has a lot of potential,OD is not very strong from the factory,and the triple disc TC is flawed by design.They are a pretty beefy unit though.DTT has a single disc lockup TC for the 4r100 now,to address the problems with triple disc TC's.I do not if there are differences in gas/diesel versions,I do not know as much about the 4r100 as I do the 47RE.I will soon though.


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## sno-mover (Jan 12, 2002)

Thanks John, have you had the chance to work on the new 5speed units that ford offers on the new 03', What do you think?


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## Craftybigdog (Jul 24, 2002)

Hey John I have a 2001 dodge like you just not the mods hey what do I have to do to put a plow on it and what size I like the boss but they dont recommend a plow to be put on my truck and I dont have the plow prep package do you know if that is just stronger springs and do I need it thanks alot!


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Sno mover,I havent had much experience with the Fords, I havent been in the new 5speed auto.Heck ive only worked on 1 4r100.Put a DTT TC in it,and it already had shift kit. Crafty bigdog. Boss does not recommend it on their locator on the internet.When i bought mine I never knew about the locator.I just asked my dealer,they said they'd put an 8'2" v on it,no problem.I asked about the 9'2".They said i need run 350 lb of ballast,and if i showed up with 350lbs of ballast theyd put it on. Whats funny is the Western MVP is heavier than the 8'2" Boss V,and Western shows they will put an MVP on the Ram 2500 if it has ballast,I think 900lbs?.Yet Boss locator shows nothing. I have ballast in my truck 90% of the time in the way of a spreader(about 3000lbs worth).My truck does not have the plw prep package(but it has everythign you would need in the plow prep pkg,except the hd front springs. I kow theplow prep trucks have a trans temp light,(I added a trans temp guage),they have the HD transfer case( I have that) its the 241HD. All Cummins trucks have the HD service group,which is needed for plowing.Th 4.10 gears are much better for plowing on the transmission,they arent needed though,I have those too.I just put the heavier springs i nthe fornt end,took all of about 20 minutes to do.The older trucks 99 and older supposedly had heavier front end components(tie rods,track bar),but ive neve been able to confirm it,there isn only one listing for parts o nthem,so i think that was bs. I got some action shots of my truck yesterday,cleaning up after the storm.ill putthem up after i get threm loaded to CD.


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## Craftybigdog (Jul 24, 2002)

Thats great yeah I have the towing package so its the 241HD and the 3:54 gears which Im not keen on but oh well where did you get your HD springs I would like to do that I put the edelbrock shocks on but they are terrible, and what plow would you recommend the boss 8'2 that way it wouldnt be to hard on it and also I do have the trans temp light I just havent got around to the gauges yet Im waiting till I can upgrade the tranny and then its no holds barred, ha ha let the bombing begin!


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## dillyolboy (Dec 24, 2002)

Always idling in neutral here.  Also park your truck so you drive forward after you park it for a while. Just something I was told.
John - I'm seriously looking at getting a diesel next year. Probably a 94-98 12 valve cummins. Auto of course. What do you recommend to beef up the tranny? Also is there any way to make the truck go faster back and forth (0-10 mph with the plow down)? Would a tc with a lower stall speed make a difference? I would probably have the truck for a while so I would be willing to drop some extra cash if it meant the tranny would last a lot longer and be quick back and forth for increased productivity. How big a difference does the final drive ratio make? Is the productivity increase and lower transmission stress worth swapping some 4.10s or lower in place of 3.54s? Or will a truck with 3.90s from the factory be good enough?


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## DIESELRAM30 (Feb 24, 2003)

I never heard about the neutral thing before but i am glad i did, also my trans seems to hang up between 2nd and 3rd gear if anybody has any info i would greatly appriciate it.


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Dieselram,hanging between 2nd,3rd is a common problem on chrysler rwd autos. Its called a 2-3 bind,this is not good for the tranny at all. This is where the tranny is in 2 gears at once for a split second.This burns both the 2nd band,and 3rd clutch pack.


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