I have a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 I occasionally tow my 22ft Enclosed trailer or my Super dumper 6T, anyways When do u think I should get my transmission fluid changed ???? Also I have a extra transmission cooler ... 1 more Question my truck runs very cold like a quarter up the gauge not halfway I replaced my water pump thermostat and I have thoroughly cheaked for leaks Everything looks fine why cant I get my temp up ? think the gauge is broken?

THANKS

 

The general rule of thumb I've always known for auto trannies is to change the fluid by dropping the pan and change the filter every 15-25K miles depending on what you do with it. Since you tow, I'd lean closer to the 15K side of the interval. Also, avoid tranny flushes. Doing the pan drop and filter change will be fine.

Far as the temp guage, what thermostat did you put in? A 180* or 195*? Also, how cold is it where you are?

 

Make sure overdrive is OFF when towing also.

 

Who has a professional opinion???? = MonteC

 

how come I should avoid tranny flushes can u explain please Thanks
And dodgeram07 I think anyone who has had these problems or questions and found awsers from people, they are some what of a profesional on the topic

 

ZMAN17 do u recomend allways keeping overdrive off even when Im on a 80kmh highway?

 

by turning the O/D off while towing, it eliminates "gear hunting". with O/D on, the trans will upshift into it whenever possible, so as soon as you take your foot off the throttle it will upshift, but as soon as you try to accelerate again it will downshift depending on the load you put on the engine. When towing, the load on the trans is much greater than an empty truck by itself, so that means everytime you take your foot off the throttle, it kicks into O/D and as soon as you hit the throttle again, it kicks out. This constant "hunting" along with locking and unlocking the converter (which is necessary for the trans to shift) causes alot of wear and heat, and heat is an automatic transmissions worst enemy.
When your driving around town turn it off, but when you get up to a constant highway speed you can turn it back on, but if you can, turn it off before you get to a hill to prevent it from down shifting under load which creates more heat.
I drive with O/D off all the time even when empty, the overdrive unit in these trannys arent very strong so i try to save it for when i need it.

 

and for peice of mind, my temp guage stays 1/4 up all the time.

 

Thank you very much for the Info I really appriciate it

 

Do u know if its bad to push the od Off button if im allready in od ?