Help! I was just changing my Automatic Transmission Fluid to my 1997 dodge Ram 1500 - 5.9 L.....when I removed the transmission pan, I found a small part inside which I cannot figure out where it came out...

please anybody can recognize this item and where it should belong...i took it to transmission center and the guy told me he has to rebuild my whole transmission ...is this really needed...he charges a bit too high....

any advice will be greatly appreciated...

thanks



[IMG]local://upfiles/92969/8579D8B814B44E37AE65F21ABDF1FF6E.jpg[/IMG]

 

that deffinatly looks like your googinhimer flange, that helps the flux capacitor charge to the full 1.2 jiggawatts needed to operate the rotary girder.

lol, just kidding

beats the hell outta me what that is

 

It's the anchor that goes in between the front band and front band adjuster. It's a common problem with these transmissions. I had this same problem. You can stick it back in and hope you get lucky and it works but honestly I had mine put back in and it was never exactly right afterwards. 2 months or so later the slipping when taking off got so bad I just went ahead and got a APS transmission. Another guy on Pavementsucks.com had this same issue well probably a few guys but another guy I talked to and he said his worked okay at first too but shortly after he started having issues with it. V10sport over there seems to know a lot about these transmissions and can tell you a lot about it. When I talked to Wayne at APS he told me this is a common problem and once they fall out they don't seem to last if you put them back and they seem to keep falling out. I don't know if mine fell out again or not as I didn't pull the pan but it was definately acting up.

If you can pull the valve body yourself and fix it it's probably worth giving it a shot to fix it as it may fix it although I kind of doubt it but it may however it will probably give you enough time to get a new unit from APS or similar. It should buy you some time. However if you have to pay someone to do it I'm not sure I'd waste the money on having it put back in. I did and not sure it was the best move as I don't know that it lasted long enough to make it worthwhile.

As for a new transmission I'd go through APS or a quality brand like that and stay away from local shops. Look at all 01DodgeRam360's been through to get his halfway working correctly. From what I hear and read this seems to be a super common thing when going with local shops. You can go through APS and get a brand new not rebuilt unit for a resonable price and then if you want upgrades get it built from there to make it pretty much bulletproof. IMO APS is the only way to go. Wanye is super helpful before and after you buy it. It's just like your talking to your friend. The only downside is it took me around a month or slightly longer to get my transmission. He does have to build it after all so I don't think thats bad you just wont have one tomorrow or anything. He imo is the best way to go for Dodge trucks.