Bought a used 2001 1500 Sport 5.9 last November. Put 4,000 miles on it using mostly as a car and dropped the transmission. It has 42k on it now. The warrantee covered most of it and I kicked in to have the whole thing rebuilt from stem to stern. They said the main clutch pack was destroyed.

My questions relate to those that have had a similar experience and will this complete rebuild solve the problem in the long term. I knew when I first drove it I had a real strong truck and it would pull a trailer easily, but now I have some questions about relability under heavy load. Is this a problem with the trany itself or will a rebuild with proper parts solve the problem?

I don't abuse my equipment, but I didn't buy a truck that gets 12 mpg to drive to the grocery store!

 

It's a complete crapshoot with these trucks when dealing with the auto tranny. Some last 150,000+ miles, some blow up at 30,000. If it was properly rebuilt with kevlar bands, a mild shift kit, and a quality aftermarket torque convertor, you MIGHT be in good shape. Most of the failures I've seen were caused by the torque convertor. Mine litterally exploded at 78,000 miles. Overall, I'd rank the reliability as poor. I just flat out do NOT trust them.

That being said, when mine died I swapped it out for a 5-speed manual so I do not have to worry about the auto dying again. I did it myself, and it came out $500 cheaper than what most of my friends paid to have their automatics rebuilt and installed.

 

there is a shop that will build you one that is bulletproof from what I've heard... aps precision when mine goes bad... they will be getting a call from me... [sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

Doesn't say much for DC and their fancy german engineering does it. Sounds to me if I want to tow I should go look for another Chev in a couple of years. I was raised on Mopars and used to beating Torqueflites to death. I guess everything changes, and not necessarily for the better.

 

If you're gonna be towing and you insist on an automatic, Chevy/GMC is the way to go. If you can find one with a manual trans, a Dodge will do fine.

 

my treansmission double shifts sometimes, maybe 10 times a week. i got it 2 years ago with 85000km and now have 125000km on it. i dont feel concerned about the reliability whatsoever. no other dodge guys in town here have seemed to have any problems with their autos either. the only dodge tranny that i know of that failed (within my little circle of people) was a manual, but her had an 8inch lift too.

 

One more question. Have they solved the auto trans reliability problems in new models? I really like this truck and if I could just move up a few years to solve that problem, I problably would be money ahead and have some piece of mind.

 

02' and up is supposed to have solved the tranny issues.

 

They were supposed to have fixed them in '98 when they opened up the oil passages to the overdrive box and redid the cooling system. That didn't help much at all.

One of the mechanics here in town blew the hell out of the auto in his bone stock '04 1-ton with 18,000 miles on it. It litterally exploded all over the road as he was cruising at 55mph. I know one of the service guys at the local stealership, he said they're changing them out on warranty just as much as the old ones. His boss denys that. I personally wouldn't chance it, but I've already had one explode on me prematurely so I'm pretty damn gunshy on them.

 

the story i heard is they did get it fixed for the 2000 model year. i have a 2000 with 115k on it, without a blip. i have towed a trailer a couple of times, but most of my miles are in commuter traffic here in atlanta, a real tough environment for an automatic. i couldn't be more pleased with mine. I should add that it does get a fluid and filter change every year, whether mileage warrants it or not, and that it is electronically controlled, so there are no adjustments or bands to wear out, so i'm told by the dealer.