Okay folks, I am here trying to bit the bullit but cheaply. My forward clutches are going out as 2 tranny shops tell me. It shakes violently at take off from the red light, so much so that anything in the cup holder falls out & wiggles all the way to the door. I can not afford the rebuild at 1100 to 1300 bucks. I see that the tranny rebuild kits are less than 200 in my area. I have done lots to autos, but never rebuilt a tranny. I am asking you guys if you have tried it, what special tools you needed, how long it took and what stuff may have had to be taken into a shop to get something pressed off or on, etc. I saw a tv show that made it look simple enough, but I dont have a press to use and I am just a little afraid of spring loaded check ***** flying off to china only to leave me stranded or some other small nightmare.

 

If your clutches were going out, your truck would barely be able to move but it wouldn't shake. The engine will spin internal parts of the transmission and the clutches will slip because they don't have enough grip to hold the torque of the engine. That would allow your truck to move forward but not when applying lots of throttle since the more throttle you apply, the more torque is created, and the less the clutches will have the ability to hold onto that torque and transfer the power to your rear wheels.

Or on the other hand, your engine will spin and the clutches will have no holding ability left which will be like putting the transmission in drive but for some reason the thing seems like its in neutral.

In any case, neither of these issues should create vibration of any sort.

Start by checking your spark plug cables. Make sure they are all tightly fit around each of your spark plugs. Recently I dealt with a similar issue.

I changed spark plugs and the new plugs had a smaller diameter nut on their end. When I installed the spark plug cables, they loosely fit around my plugs thus causing my truck to run rough and vibrate under acceleration. Took some pliers to the cables, squeezed them so they would be tighter on the end of the spark plugs and my problem was solved. It might be a good idea to check this out. Go one step further and check your spark plugs if you like. Some of these Dodges are notorious for fouling plugs towards the rear of the engine which could potentially be another reason for your issue. Start there first. A misfiring engine is sure to shake rattle and roll during acceleration.

The tranny shop blames the forward clutches but you say that you can still move forwards. If you can still move forward, it's possible the clutches are ok. Before doing anything to that tranny, service the damn thing. Drop the pan, check the fluid, change the fluid and filter, and finally adjust the bands properly. I had a tranny go 170,000 miles on practically the same original tranny fluid and filter and when it finally stopped working properly, it was because the band was out of adjustment which wouldn't have cost anything to adjust.

Do that before you start buying parts and rebuilding the tranny. Also, when you drop that pan, install a drain plug in that tranny pan. It will be the best thing you can do to that tranny for less then 20 bucks. I guarantee it.

 

Same thing with me, turned out my 6 and 8 wires were bad and once replaced it didnt shake during acceleration.

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...-progress.html
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...nsmission.html

 

This is all amazing news guys. And J415, your write up is really great! I have not tuned it up at all, I just bought it 3 weeks ago. It has 42k miles on it, so a bad tranny seems weird to me too. The V6 in it seems to run great. I noticed it slips more & more when I take off, but only marginaly so. If it is a band adjustment, how do I adjust the bands? I think I should look deeper into the write up from J415 on that.

 

http://dodgeram.org/tech/transmissio...T_band_adj.htm
front band can be done without dropping the pan.

 

Medicnathan, thanks for the link but I am going to have to learn greek to get it through the box of rocks in my head. I will look at it again after lunch to see if it makes sense then.

 

Also, I am going to another tranny shop today for more info. Another odd circumstance here is that after warming up, the tranny dipstick is VERY foamy, hard to read the level correctly due to the foam, but at cold there is plenty of fluid in it. The 1st tranny shop said the airiation may be caused from a faulty pump. I dunno at this point.

 

An over full tranny will foam.

 

In addition to what has been suggested I would also suggest foing to the FAQ/DIY section and download service manual.

Also, check trans fluid in neutral, not in park. It makes a difference on these transmissions.