Hey all, I'm hoping one of you will be kind enough to help me with a problem I'm having with my tranny. I've got a '96 1500 SLT, 5.9, 2x4, all stock. Just turned 111,000 miles and its run like a top until today, no problems at all.

Last month I took it on a 3,000 mile trip to Wisconsin and back, towed a fishing boat up there but not back, maybe 1000 pounds if that. Drove home without the boat fine EXCEPT for the last 30 or so miles when I noticed a rumble/rattle sound coming from... somewhere under the hood. The best way to describe the sound is if you get a plastic grocery bag caught underneath and it whips around while you're doing about 60 mph. In fact that's exactly what I thought it was, the sound actually seemed to change with wind gusts/speed and would stop at lower speeds. I'd turn the engine off at 65mph and I could still hear it. No bag but it drove fine so I finished my ride.

Anyway, I got home about 2 weeks ago and haven't driven it again before today. I went to my dad's and back, about 70 miles round trip. As I returned on my block I noticed the tranny felt a little "funny", too much RPMs to keep it at speed. I'd lug the throttle and it wouldn't "jerk" quite like I'd remembered. But at the time I was thinking it was probably my imagination...

So my wife and I take it to go to the store tonight and I immediately tell there's a major problem. I have to keep it at about 3,000 rpm to get it to move down the street and it's feeling like it's getting worse the more I drive it. I turned it around and immediately parked it in the back yard. It was so mushy I couldn't even tell if it was going from 1st to 2nd as I drove it at about 25 mph on my street. Reverse feels very mushy as well. Popped the hood, fluid is red and full, smells like it might be burnt but I'm not sure (I've literally never had a transmission problem before in my life so I've never smelled burned fluid). When I'm parked and put it into reverse or drive, it actually feels about normal. You can feel it go into gear and there's what seems like the normal little "thud" when the gear engages. But when I try to go the problems start.

Now here's the thing: I took the truck for a tranny service before I left for Wisconsin, full fluid and filter change. While he was filling it I noticed the tube was labeled "Dextron". I asked him about that, I was supposed to get ATF, right? He takes a small bottle of something and dumps it into the fill tube and says this additive makes it a direct equivalent of ATF+4. I noticed he had NO tubes labeled "ATF" so I figured he knew what he was talking about... but I never heard of this before and I'm skeptical.

Anyway, I'm having it towed to a shop tomorrow. After all this here's my questions:

1. Is there such an additive that turns Dextron into ATF?
2. Can I send some of the fluid somewhere and find out if the shop gave me the wrong or defective fluid?
3. Could it be a sensor (please)? TPS sensor?
4. Should I take it to a transmission specialist OR a general automotive shop that I trust?

Dunno guys, think I'm screwed here.

Thanks in advance,
JP

 

Welcome to the forum.

You're right, that guy did not know what he was doing. There are only two fluids I'd ever use in our trannies: ATF+4 (it replaced ATF+3, ATF+2, etc.) and Amsoil Transmission Fluid. They are the only two so far discovered that will not cause issues with our transmissions. Any others seem to cause or at least contribute to major issues. I was brought up that additives to transmission fluid is bad practice, and will usually muck up stuff more than it will fix it.

So, to answer your questions...
1. No.
2. Yes, there are places, but I wouldn't bother. If he told you that an additive would turn Dextron into ATF, he's either lying to your face or doesn't know what he's doing. Its the wrong stuff, and he possibly knew that and did it anyway. The manual states that Dextron can be used IF and ONLY IF ATF+3/4 is not available. I wouldn't do it even then. More than likely, he was lazy and didn't want to run down and get some ATF+4, rather use his in-stock stuff.
3. I highly doubt its anything to do with TPS, MAP, or any of those other sensors up there. If it feels more like a complete loss of power rather than a tranny issue, it may be a clogged catalytic converter.
4. A place you trust first, then if they determine its the tranny, a tranny shop you trust.

Thats my two cents.

 

when it acted up on you did you have a light on the dash that said od off? when the transmission overheats it will kick off the overdrive and with the overdrive off it will rev really high over 40mph. when i first got my truck the torque converter went out and it kicked off the overdrive because it was too hot.

have a tranny guy check it out because i believe you may have had your torque converter take a dump on you.

 

Either your pump in the trans is going or you have stuck valves in the valve body or torque convertor is going bye bye. Any way you look at it you will probably need to take it to a trans shop unless you have plenty of experience working on transmissions. Check around and find out who has a good reputation working on transmissions in your area but whatever you do don't go back to the knot head who serviced it. If you have a receipt from him check it and see what it says for the fluid that was put in. You may be looking at having him pay to fix his mistake.

 

My guess is that he used Dexron because it's cheap.

Your tranny guy probably threw in some lubegard platinum or smart blend in the black bottle. It's supposed to be able to convert Dexron to highly friction modified ATF like the Dodge uses, though if it wasn't enough, it could have caused the issue. Also, the dexron isn't as resistant to thermal breakdown as ATF +4. Read the Q and A here:

http://rstraussauto.com/transmission_additives.htm

My guess is you probably had them "flush" the trans. What that means is they "reverse flushed" the trans and threw all the junk that collected in the filter backwards thru the transmission valve body and TC. Clutch debris that got caught in the filter more than likely clogged up a VB passage or the check valve in the Trans feed line and you starved the trans for fluid. I'll bet they didn't even drop the pan and replace the filter. It's a time and cost saving hack job that usually leads to trouble.

Sorry your trans is hosed, unfortunately all I can suggest is to go to the shop and ask them exactly what they did and see if they'll be stand up about it.

Next time you go in for a job, stop by here and get a few guys opinions on the best route to take before you dive in. You'll note if you search around the forum that the transmissions in these vehicles are a weak link.

 

No I never had a light go on. This is ridiculous to say the least. I take it in for preventative maintenance and I end up breaking it.

It was a black bottle of whatever he put in. There was literally NO ATF option in his hose selections so I thought it was kosher.

I'm taking it to a guy I trust, I'm getting to the bottom of this. I'm ticked.

Thanks all

 

well, here's my opinion...

i'm not saying this is your problem, but its a common problem for older mileage vehicles that have never had transmission service, to suffer transmission failure after being serviced, even when the proper fluid is used.

for that reason, some fleet managers will either service them regularly, or never service them at all. a friend of mine thats involved in a big utility company fleet claims they did a study, and determined that it cost them far less money to never service a transmission, and just replace the ones that failed, than it did to spend time and money on transmission service for all of them.

anyway, here's why they mess up so much. the transmission is a stupid design that contains lots of debris causing friction materials, gobs of sensitive little passages and valves, and doesn't provide a serviceable filter system for keeping the damn thing clean. its like taking a bath for the rest of your life in the same tub of water, and having to drink it to boot.

so all the clutch and band materials wear out and start floating around as sludge. its sort of heavy and sticky and it settles out on every surface in the transmission including the pan and magnet. ever notice the thick, gummy paste around the magnet? well, that $hit's everywhere inside the trans. so you put 10 years and 150k miles on it, and then decide to service the tranny. lets be optimistic and say you drop the pan, clean it out, and change the filter. heaven forbid that you don't drop the pan and clean out the sludge... so you put in nice, new, clean, atf with super-duper detergents guaranteed to "clean out the sludge". it does exactly that - it puts all the sludge deposits into motion, where they go straight to the filter, and CLOG IT UP. next comes overheating, then bye bye tranny.

so what do you do. just my opinion, but change the fluid and filter, then wait a week or 2 (and a couple or few hundred miles) and change them again. this is no guarantee, but the odds are better.

sorry you got problems. its best to take it to a trans shop and let them check it out. it might be repairable for not too much, or it might be the big kahuna. when they go, unless its just a sensor or solenoid, they often need a full rebuild kit.

 

easy check.. pull the trand dip tube and look at color.. then smell it if it smells like a burn clutch or not red 99% you got a toasted trans...... second start up truck and put it in neutral and pull a hose(prefer to do it with to people cause if your trans is pumping it will go all over you just wanna see if it is....) if eaither of theis comes up not pumping or bad fluid you may need a new trans or pump... my truck did the exact thing yours did... never tow a trailer with over drive ingagued...but my guess is take it to a tranny place tell them what the retard did and get it fixed have the other shop repair it....

 

another possibility is you have a bad governer pressure sensor or governor position soleniod....When I bought my ram two weeks ago i drove it about 5 miles before it wouldn't shift out of like 1st (or might have been second gear) if i gased it real good or put it in nuetral for a couple mins I could sometimes get it to shift up and did this to get home.....to make a long story short I bought a code reader at harbor frieght but you could go to the autostore although they all told me to go to transmission shop (yeah right!) and the code reader threw a 1741 (or something close manual I got from here explains what code is what ) and I googled it and found its a very common issue with our trannies according to the mopar techs....cost about $100 t0 $200 for parts depending on where you get them and you just have to drop the pan...first time I ever touched a tranny....140 mile later and its shifting great....(I did use atf+4)
Needless to say I was very scared because most of the advise given said that the tranny was shot and or someone used the wrong fluid (although I got to believe it would take longer for dextron to really screw it up since my dipstick and manual say its ok to use? I would think they would have recalled that statement from tons of complaints of instant tranny failures from using it if that was the case?. lawsuits anyone?...If not I'm not so sure I should think highy of Dodge...I do believe ATF+4 is better for our trannys just not sure I buy the instant failure days later thing unless the tranny was on the edge of failing to begin with and it changed the viscosity and or friction values just enough to help it along...