Specs:

1995 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Lar. Automatic 4x4 with a 5.9L 360. 191,000 miles.

Just got it and drove it 3 times and wham the transmission is done.

It wont shift into gear, it's like it's in neutral all the time. If you leave it sit, sometimes it will slip into gear and make a loud whine. Drives fine until you shift and then it slips out again.

The guy who sold it to me even took it to a shop to confirm the tranny was fine and they said it was, but said the fluid should be changed and did that for him. It drove perfect 3 times before the first "slip" was noticed. Now it just slips all the time and you cant drive it more than about 10 feet.

I was hoping someone could answer a couple of questions for me:

1) Is this transmission a 46RH? And is there a way to look at it and be sure? My Haynes says it is, but I want to make sure it is and IF I go get one from a junk yard I want to be sure I can tell that that one is an RH.

2) The fluid in it when I checked read all the way up at the bends in the dipstick each time I checked. The truck was in park though, havent had a chance to check it in neutral. Obviously this is WAY too much fluid if this is the true reading. Is there any chance it's over full and that's causing this? Also if it was over filled could it have blown the seals out and caused this?

3) I am somewhat mechanically inclined, but the thought of rebuilding a transmission myself seems rather daunting. This would definitely be the biggest car repair project I would undertake. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being expert) can you rate a transmission rebuild and reinstall?

4) I love this truck and bought it for $2500. I dont want to sink much more into it. I found a couple of yards around me with transmissions off a truck like this for between $500 and $650. Is that the best way to go in the end (if I do the install)?

5) If I go with a "new" transmission from a junkyard, are there any tips I should know? Should I turn in my torque converter with mine and make sure I get the one that comes with that one? Should I look out for any obvious problems with the yard's transmission that would lead me to believe it wouldnt fit or work right?

Just looking for some guidance here. Like I said, I fell in love with this truck and would love to get it running. Any help is appreciated.

 

its sad to read new owner stories like this. its bad enough that these crappy transmissions fail on the owner that's driving the truck. its really ****ty when people unload them on unsuspecting buyers.

your 95 has a 46RH. its also an OBDI (94-95) rather than an OBDII, so your trouble codes are in a different format.

the guy who sold it to you is probably a liar, and probably never took it to a trans shop. if you get a chance to ask - ask exactly what shop was that, and go down there and ask them if they'd like to warranty it. i don't think he actually had it checked.

anyway, check fluid level in neutral only, brake set, engine running. dip stick is on a funny angle, so read it on top side, at the lowest of any voids on the stick. be aware that you must ATF+4. not Merc or Dex or ATF3. Your owners manual probably calls for 7176 or ATF+3, but those have been replaced with an even better synthetic - ATF+4, use that and nothing else.

If your dumbass previous owner overfilled the trans (as measured by the lowest point on the dip stick, NOT the highest), then he probably used the wrong fluid too. that might explain why it ran ok for 3 trips.

your transmission may or may not be shot. one of the few things you can do is drop the pan, drain the fluid, change the filter and refill with atf+4, available at walmart, it takes about 7 quarts. this will cost you about $60. it doesn't get all the old fluid out of the torque converter, but its a good start to see if your trans is going to straighten out or not.

you could replace your trans with one from a junkyard, but what are the odds that its going to be any good. unless you get one that was rebuilt sometime in its recent life. you might end up going through a couple to find a good one. if i did a junk yard swap, i'd buy a new torque converter. oem one's were crappy and once installed, they're way to hard to replace.

in my opinion, transmission rebuilds are best left to those with some experience.

if you confirm that the trans was overfilled, and setting proper fluid level doesn't fix it, i'd go talk to a trans shop, and tell them the story, and ask them what are the odds that they could fix it by working on the valve body only and not rebuilding the trans. it might be a little risky regarding success, but in truck valve body repairs are often in the 250-300-400 range.

 

Thanks for the reply. I checked it today after running the engine for about 20 minutes and I was able to drive it forward and back a few times (with the most success in 4low) to get the transmission good and warm.

In neutral with the brake on, the transmission fluid is about a 1/4inch above the MAX line on the stick. The fluid looks pretty clean and doesnt smell burnt, so I think it's new fluid. Dont know what kind the shop he took it to used though.

I found a couple of rebuilt transmissions that I have leads on, and my friend knows how to change them and said he would help me drop it and replace it with one I got.

I think I might go talk to the transmission shop up the street from me and find out how much they'd charge just to look it over and see what they think. Depending on what they say, then I might just change the fluid myself and go from there and see what's up.

Thanks for the help and insight. I appreciate it.

 

Almost every mechaninc shop will do a free inspection of a vehicle, they will tell you "what is wrong" so take it with a grain salt, but it will give you an idea.

If you change the fluid, change it once with new filter and crap, then about a week or so later do it all over again to help get all the **** out of it.

 

A friend of mine dad is retired from tranny shop he owned. I replaced mine last November. 1 thing he made very clear was to add fluid a pint at a time when appoching the full mark so as not to overfill it. Overfilling can cause the fluid to foam and then your sucking air and that can cause all kinds of problems.
I would do the fluid and filter change as suggested and see if that doesnt help you.
Dave

 

I got an appointment with the local tranny shop for it. Going to tow it up there tonight and drop off the keys. See what they have to say about the whole situation before I make my next move.

I have a good feeling about these guys, I've talked to a few people and they all give good reviews.

*crosses fingers*

 

Final update. The transmission was indeed shot. I toyed with the idea of pulling it myself and replacing it with a junk yard tranny or having it rebuilt.

I ended up going with a good estimate from a local shop for a pro-rebuilt one with a 2 year warranty for $1800.

I got taken for a ride on this truck but at least it's running strong now.

The only issue now is the 4wd light isnt coming on. I need to call the repair guy about that. The 4wd kicks in, just no dummy light. No biggie, just kind of annoying.

 

are you sure there was ATF+4 in it? ATF3 will kill our trannys

 

go under the passenger side front axle. (the fat part in the axle tube) and see if an electrical connector fell off the axle (THis is where the CAD is). that would cause 4x4 light to not come on.