Hi all, noob here. I'll start by giving the background. The problems started off when I noticed that my tranny was leaking (assumed front pump seal) and it took a second for it to initially engage a gear when freshly started. So I took it home and my dad and I tore out the trans. When we got it out we couldn't get the torque converter out. We then used a slide hammer (actually a dent puller) to coax it out of there. Well, much to my dissapointment, we found a piece of the pump bearing still attached to the torque converter.

SO... we talked to a trans shop and they said that the torque converter was shot and that the oil pump had probably seized up and caused the bearing to seize and basically weld itself to the torque converter. So we ordered the new parts and away we went. A few days later when the parts arrived, we took the old pump out and put the new parts in. We then proceeded to put the trans back in. I figured while I was doing this much I might as well do a flush too. So I dropped the pan and changed the filter...

WELL... when we started the truck up, it wouldn't backup. I found out my dad didn't put any trans fluid in the torque converter. So we let it run for a few to fill it up and then tried again; still no reverse. So we pushed it out of the garage and tried the forward gears. Worked great. Tried reverse again, nothing. I checked the fluid again and noticed it was low from the torque converter taking so much so I topped it off and we tried again. At this point we began to get reverse intermittently.

I then tried to take it for a test drive and reverse is still intermittent and it doesn't want to upshift into drive. On a cold start I can throw it in reverse and it will work great. What the heck is going on??? Any help would be great.

 

Alot going on here. Ok, first i would question the parts. Where did you get the from? What did you open the "new" pump up and look inside? Did you replace all of the appropriate gaskets and seals? Did you tear or rip any of them? Did you install the proper sealing rings on the pump stator? How did the sealing ring surface in the front drum look?

You could have two unrelated problems or they could be related. Try adjusting the rear band and see if reverse improves, then report back.

Also, that wasn't the "pump bearing" It was actually a bushing, and yes it did in fact try to weld itself to the torque converter. That bushing is pressed into the pump, usually that only happens when the flywheel is cracked or broken. Did you check your flywheel? Even a small crack could cause a problem.

 

Wow. Let us know what you find out. the EXACT SAME THING happened to my truck, so now i'm just waiting for it to stop raining, because I have to get my parts in. I only replaced the converter first, not knowing that the bearing had carved out the pump.... so i've had the tranny in and out 4 times ALREAdy and i dont want to do it again... any info would be awesome. Thanks, and good luck!

 

Did you check your flywheel?

Like i said before, the pump bushing usually only does that when there is a lack of lube (front seal blow out) or a cracked flywheel causing the torque converter not spin straight.

 

Ok. To start answering your questions, I got the parts from the transmission shop that I talked to, they ordered them straight from their supplier. I didn't take the pump apart and look inside of it, I figured it would be fine. The pump came with all of the gaskets already on it including the front seal. The installation went great, The pump went back in easily, and the torque converter slid right in when it was lined up right (about a half inch from the edge of the trans). When we hooked the trans back up to the motor, we were very gentle and made sure to line up the engine locator pins AND the torque converter to the mounts and then we bolted everything back in.

I did not try adjusting the rear band. This is my first experience with trans work so I didn't move or adjust anything in fear of messing something up. From what I read it doesn't sound all that hard to do, I just have never done it.

As far as the flywheel issue, I don't know how familiar you are with the 46RE transmission, but the flywheel is actually an integrated part of the torque converter so when I replaced the torque converter I essentially replaced the flywheel. Please don't take that as an insult, I didn't mean it like that.

So thats the scoop, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I am dead in the water right now so thanks for all the help.

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

No. The TC is not an integrated part of the flywheel. The TC just has a ring gear on it instead of on the flywheel (stupid design). Replacing the TC is NOT just like replacing the flywheel.

You STILL have a flywheel that the TC bolts to, you should have checked that while you had the transmission out.

The pump gasket should not have been stuck to the pump, or stuck in the case. Sounds like you bought a used pump. You should have opened it up to see how the internal gears looked, ive received sub par parts before from suppliers.

Adjust your rear band.

 

Ok. Like I said before, I am new to transmissions so I apologize for my mistake. So you are talking about the thin plate that the torque converter bolts on to? From what I remember it looked pretty good, however I did not thoroughly inspect it. The pump that we received came new in a box and already had a new gasket with it. I don't think the gasket was stuck to it, what I meant was that the front pump seal was already installed on it.

I downloaded the dodge ram manual that is posted on this site and read through most of the transmission stuff in it. Do you think that it is possible that rear band and the overdrive clutch are acting up? How do you adjust the rear band? Do you think it is something that I should tackle myself or should I leave it up to the pros? I like to think I can tackle any job if need be, but I am afraid of running the risk of creating more problems. Once again, thank you for your help.

 

There are write-ups on this forum on how to adjust the bands. It isn't that hard to do, just make sure you follow the instructions and torque measurements correctly. To adjust the rear bands, you will need to drop the tranny pan, but the front bands can be adjusted from the outside of the tranny housing. I tried adjusting the bands on my old tranny, but I couldn't get the thing tightened down enough to reach the correct torque setting. I believe tranny was worn too much, or maybe something was broken, so it didn't seem to be working for me. I have read however that this is not a difficult procedure, and others have experienced the same conditions that I did with mine. If you like to wrench on your own truck, then I'd say "go for it."

 

If you can replace a front pump then you can adjust the rear band.

BTW did you get a new pump gasket? Goes between the pump and the case.

 

The pump did come with a new gasket that we replaced as well. I forgot to mention and figure it might be worth it that before I started working on my trans it never once slipped, it would just hesitate to engage a gear right after a cold start. Is it possible that my bands are seeming loose/slipping now because of the new clean fluid?

As far as adjusting the bands, I have read that it was easy to do, I am just nervous that I will end up with more problems than I already have. Also, a little more background, my truck has 130K on it but the trans was rebuilt about 25k ago.

Should I readjust all of my bands to the correct tension or should I just leave the ones that are working ok alone and assume they are right?