Actually, I think the reason they go on so long is because you think like a pinball machine. I'm not trying to attack you here, but the reason these mechanics probably don't take you seriously is because you are too easily swayed from your position and stance. I've seen guys on this forum convince you to do a 180* turn on you're stated course of action. They get you all full of **** n' vinegar and you probably march down to the mechanic and go off half cocked. Then he probably spends a few minutes talking you down and by the end of the conversation you actually probably feel sorry for the guy. Then you come back here defeated and repost about it. And then we all rinse and repeat, ad nauseum.

Use this forum for what it's intended: gaining a working knowledge of your truck. Don't use it for a pep talk. Then you can go to the mechanic and argue intelligently with some knowledge of what you're talking about. Search for the forum for the problem you think you're having, read all the threads pertaining to that topic, then ask a question if you have one. And try to word you arguements in a language mechanics understand. Be specific where the problems are and how they sound, not just "it runs like a pig and has no power, ya know?"

I really feel sorry for you and the problems you're having with you truck, but I feel that the majority of the anguish you're going thru right now you've brought on yourself by constantly second guessing yourself, and not actively seeking out the answers for yourself. Heck, with the money you've dropped on 2 projects you could have flown 2 or 3 of us up to Maine to help you out and still come out ahead.

This is just my opinion, so take it for that and nothing more.

 

01Dodge360, I don't mean to be a jerk when I post on this thread, I am just pissed at how this issue is turning out. For the amount of cash and time that have already been put into your truck, I don't know how someone would cope without going down to that shop and getting some serious answers to important questions. Such as, "What the **** are you guys doing that's taking so long?" And, "Why haven't your asses finished already being a transmission specialty shop that has a $4,000 dollar job that's yet to be finished after a month?"

Only out of frustration that advice doesn't seem to be taken and applied to the issue does this thread turn into a cat fight. I genuinely want to help and to see that your truck makes it through it's surgery alright, as do many others, but once again help just seems to fall flat on it's face sometimes for one reason or another thus the subject becomes touchy as one might expect.

Anyways, just, for making me feel better, find out what flippin fluid the shop used and stick to the plan. Don't budge from your gut feeling and the good avice you've gotten so that eventually the truck will run like it did before it had the new tranny and all it's new problems.

 

Ok, well, I got the truck back this afternoon. This morning I went in there and told him I resented the fact that I gave him $4,000 before I ever tested the product, and that I was dissapointed the way I was being treated.

Well, about 2 hours later he called me and said come on down and test drive your truck. So I went down.

Hopped into the truck and pulled her out onto the road. My initital thoughts of the transmission was it was shifting now. It didn't sit there and wine out, and shifted when it was supposed to. When I floored it from a stand still, I noticed it still had some kind of drag though. The transmission appears to be right, but it does this thing (as I was telling hometheater, he thinks its the T.V cable) where it won't go far up the power band. I'm flooring it and then it shifts at like 3800 rpms, almost like it just completely loses power and is forced to shift. So that kind of bothered me. And then, when I was going about 45mph, I mashed the pedal and it hardly reacted, it just kind of floated itself up to 80mph with no aggressive explosiveness like it used to have. So something is still causing the truck to not explode. The transmission feels stong though, it's shifting and shifts nice and firm. Something in the engine isn't allowing the truck to open up all the way though, if you give it to much throttle it will all together shut itself down and go into a slow coast mode, and then slowly works itself back into gaining speed.

Anyway, when I got back, he was sitting at the desk with a wire on the counter, it was burnt right through. He said that explained the "engine skip". He said it was sitting on a header. So they replaced it for me and tied the wires up so they weren't hanging so close to the headers. I told him I thought the transmission felt good, but the truck still seemed to have a lot of drag and no explosiveness. He looked at me like I was retarded. He thinks I'm like bluffing probably the way I describe how much explosivness the truck has. He told me he thinks thats what the truck has unless I do some more engine modifiying. So he said come back in two weeks so they can do a check up on the transmision. I just wanted my truck out of there, they don't like interested in investigating the engine, and I don't really feel like having it there anymore. They'll take forever as well because they've been paid and it's not on the top of their list. Truck can physically go over 40mph though, just not with power.

Well what do yuo guys think could be causing the truck to not explode? I mean I just got a brand new tune-up, but as you all recall it was the 02 sensors were bad. DO you think with the truck running as rich as it had been that it fouled all the spark plugs up?? It's just weird, the truck shifts out of first gear good, and out of second good, and then it just kind of drops off and climbs its way up. If you floor it, it won't explode, it just slowly works its way up, or just completely kind of shuts down. So, do you think it's the T.V cable? Also, is there a possibilty the plugs could be fouled from the 02 sensors being bad for that couple of weeks? I'm glad I have my baby back, but I know something is holdin it back. THat truck has an over abundance of power, and I can tell it's still being pulled back. Basically if the truck had to go up a hill, it probably wouldnt do it very good, it'd start to really chug and kick out of overdrive. What's your guys thoughts?

And slomojo, it's ATF 4[8D]

 

I reccomend it....................

 

IDK anything, but just for starters check that TV cable and then wait a few days. Maybe the pcm has to adjust to all the "heavy duty'ness". I don't particularly think it would have too, but from all the dodges I've known of, there's been some individual techno-mishap that caused all kinds of stuff. Usually it's just within the battery though. Maybe try resetting the pcm?

 

now its time to buy some tools and pull a spark plug and see how they look and recheck the plug gap...

 

That's the part where you tell him he's wrong. It shouldn't take any retard 2 weeks to find a burned wire. ButNew England Transmissionneeded to get your truck the hell out oftheir shop before they spend anymore time on it. Because now that they have your cash in hand, they're only losing money everytime they work on your truck when there are new customers waiting to pay them. (Why do you put up with thesepeople robbing you?) He told you he thought it was fine the last time he test drove it with you and it felt like total ****.

 

Couple of things come to my mind. Maybe the PCM is still adjusting. Maybe the fact that your posi is gone and your just running on an open diff means the power your getting to the rear isn't getting to the ground like it used to. Maybe the TV cable needs adjusting. Maybe this new trans is just tighter then your old one, so you are losing more power through it then you used to. Maybe your stall converter is difffernet. Maybe other wires were damaged from laying on the header (FYI I told you to look for that back when you were having your original problems with the engine after the header install), but they didn't replace them. Maybe this new HD trans weighs a bunch more, and that is dragging you down. Really, it could be any number of things.

If I were you, I'd drive it now for about 300-400 miles so the PCM can get fully adjusted, then see what you think.

 

+1

That should also be enough time to tell if the new tranny is gonna grenade if they didn't do something right.

 

I find a stick of dynomite will cure your problems , plus leaves a smile on the face...