Just to get a few things out of the way:
Bad- My first post here
Good or bad depending on perspective: I'm a Dodge dealer Mechanic
Good- I don't need help in this post, hopefully I'm giving it.
Good- I've already been on 2 other car forums for 2+ years and know how to play nice.


OK, now that we're through with that...

I have an 00 Ram 1500 4x4 5.9L Gas with the above mentioned code. I've searched through the TSB's at work as well as on here and a few other sites catering to us truck owners. There were a few things I found consistant. 1. The 46RE sucks/needs lots of attention, 2. the above code is pretty common, 3. There isn't a clear fix for the condition every single time like the blown intake plenum pan gasket.

Not knowing everything I followed the steps of many before me when trying to fix this code and have failed at most every turn. First I found the fluid nasty and low. I topped it off knowing that would probably not fix the condition (which it didn't). Next I research the TSB about the plate hole change, I asked other techs at work who actually rebuilt trans on a regular basis (I don't) and was told where to begin my little adventure.

First I started with a valve body. I changed my filter, flushed the system and put in the valve body. I was told that 90% of the time the revised valve body plate wouldn't fix the code. The new valve body came with multiple components that were at least in the ball park for addressing this code. That didn't fix it.

Next I found that the kick-down cable (throttle body to transmission) had been improperly removed at some point in it's life. Please note I just bought the truck with 70K on it less than 2 months ago. Rather than pushing it forward to disengage the lock and then pulling it off, they just gorilla armed it right off thus breaking it. So it was not properly adjusted. I replaced it. Fixed one complaint I had with the trans shifting wacky but code still came back.

Finally I ordered a torque convertor and yank the trans out this week. The pan magnet has some very fine metal that more or less simply smears in to a grey/black mush but no chunks or metal or copper or such. Trans guy said it wasn't good stuff but not horrible. Anyways we hook up an air chuck and insert the front pump, hub assembly (?) that's behind the pump and put it all upside down in to the TC. Put light air to it in some of the holes and he shows me the clutches being applied and then the entire assembly being pushed up (it's all supposed to do that if it's good). So the conclusion with that was that I should go ahead and replace the convertor having not seen anything horrible yet.

Fine. But then he says while we have it out let's check out the overdrive unit (rear most section before the transfer case). So we seperate it from the rest of the trans and start to pull off the OD piston (?) and find a problem. There's two seals in it (big and little). Well, the big seals, according to the service manual, is supposed to require some trans lube and a special tool(s) to reinstall it. The one out of my truck simply dropped right in (bad). So he removes the two seals and shows me how they've gotten hard and slightly black (I believe this particular started out a medium to dark blue color).

So now that you're all asleep over there I'll get to the point. If you have tried everything else have the over-drive unit checked for seal wear. The seal did not appear torn/ripped/cracked but is was no longer soft like a new rubber band. Hope that this helped you.
Doug

 

welcome to DF! however, you must post a pic of your truck... it's (almost) mandatory [sm=icon_stickpoke.gif] jk...

Check out aps precision they have fixed a lot of the problems with the OD unit and some of the other issues with the tranny.

I recently had a problem with mine, it was shifting funny and it seemed like the TC was locking and unlocking at the wrong times. Took it to the tranny shop I use and he swapped out 2 sensors during the service and now it's all good. he also mentioned that the amount of crud in the pan was minimal which showed normal tranny wear, also good since I beat the crap out of my truck.

check out APS, they have trannies from "mild to wild" that can handle just about anything you want to throw at it.

 

Thanks for the welcome. My truck is identical to yours except it's still got the chromed steelies and no cover on the bed. As far as the trans goes since I bought a service contract I will only be putting in it what warranty will pay unless there's a cheap upgrade I can do while it's out. Torque convertor, seal package, fluid and labor is what they pay for. We have been leaving out a few parts here and there such as both springs in the white piston like component that falls out when you pull out the valve body, I've increased the line pressure by one turn of the allen head bolt and we've pulled out three of the springs (there were about nine or twelve I beleive) in another section.

I'm being instructed by the shop foreman and two other RWD trans guys who either own a dodge or have enough experience with them I can listen to them. I finished assembling things last night (new convertor, torqued the front and rear bands) and such. It's sitting on the bench now to go back in but since it's warranty and I don't care if the customer gets impatient (since it's me) then it will wait until I get finished with customer pay and regular customer cars before I start back on it. Hopefully I will finish it tonight and be able to tow the neon to the autocross this weekend with it.
Doug

 

since it's still on the bench, and you obviously know your way around the tranny, have a look at the aps website and see if there are any mods/fixes you can do before you put it back in...

 

Unfortunately not. Time is critical here as it's already been on one of my two lifts for almost a week now. It really cuts in to my production not having an extra lift. Plus, all of my mod money is going in to the neon. About the only thing I'm looking to do with the Ram is maybe cold air (custom aka ghetto or very cheap aftermarket), an extra trans cooler and hopefully do away with the viscous fan for an electric. I'm basically trying to squeeze a bit more gas mileage out of it since I use it for towing and protect the transmission from failing due to overheated fluid. It's already got an aftermarket muffler and split pipes from there back. It's actually pretty quiet (good in my book) and I don't care to spend any money on mods. Just repairs and a high level of maintenance. I did put mopar performance wires, cap and rotor in with new champion plugs. I took out the Bosches because chrysler has never had any luck with anything other than NGK and Champions. blah blah, I got to get back to the transmission over my right shoulder. Thanks,
Doug

 

It rolled out today about 11am. So far so good. Normally takes a few hundred miles before the code comes back so we'll see.

 

this sounds like a jop for an experienced mechanic, and I'm not one, so do you have any pointers for me ? just got this code and havn't done anything yet, what would be your best guess at where to start? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks, chris

 

The truck's got a couple hundred more miles on it with no more problems plus a few shift improvements from the removal of those parts listed previously.

Honestly, I don't have enough experience to give you a very sound suggestion and judging by the other posts I've read on the subject there doesn't seem to be a definitive fix for it on the first shot. I normally suggest doing the cheapest first which would be the valve body plate. Then from there it only gets real expensive. My educated guess is that a trans service won't fix it and the problem I had with the kick-down cable is quite isolated and unique to only my car since it was installer/remover error prior to me getting it.

My best suggestion for you is to find a tranny repair shop or dealership you trust that has a VERY knowledgable RWD trans guy and have them diagnose the problem. Feel free to share this thread with them so that they know you've done your homework and the information comes from a good source. Hopefully they'll be able to get it right the first time for you. My guess is that it's probably the seals like in mine but that's an expensive guess if it doesn't happen to apply to your truck.
Doug

 

Doug, thanks for your answer, I think this post will be most helpful to fix the problem without alot of guess work, thanks again,
Chris