Hello, I own a dodge ram 1500 5.2 2001 quad cab, 4X4, short bed.

Part of a snap ring broke out of the transmission back in 2008, i discovered it when my transmission started slipping a tad in 2010 during a transmission fluid change. It has been about 30-35K miles since i last changed my fluid.

2 days ago on the freeway i was getting very heavy shifts while doing about 55Mph. up ship and down shift with perhaps 3 seconds between them equal force to doing a break check with less than optimal break pads. i got off the freeway and stopped at the lights. i was unable to shift out of first gear... so doing 10mph i went to a store and got some tranny fluid. the dip stick was about 1/8the of the way above the safe margin. i added more to about 7/8th of the safe margin. it has not slipped since however i wounder... should i change the filter/fluid now or not?

back in 2010 i put in some transX upon the recommendation of a high school auto teacher who works as a drive line tech at the dodge dealer.

im looking to push this truck a few months untill i can buy a 2500 cummins.

thanks

 

Just to be clear - a problem in 2008. Did you have it fixed then...or wait until 2010?

And most, if not all, additives for transmission are like snake oil imho...and dealers have been known to use additives to correct symptoms instead of the cause of a problem, to get the customer off the lot and down the road if they don't want to pay for an trans overhaul.

Did you check the fluid while in neutral?
Is the fluid clean? Does it smell burned?
If fluid appears good, you may want to check front band adjustment just to be sure it is good.

 

wait, what... How do you know a snap ring broke in 2008, if you didn't even discover it until 2010?

 

Ooops. Forgot. Tranny should not need fluid changed after 30-35k unless it is burned. But then, clutches or bands need to be changed also. New fluid with burned clutches only continues to contaminate new fluid.

I don't think you have a major problem....but I would check to see if there is a leak, like at cooling lines or pan. Fluid had to go somewhere.

 

[quote=gdstock;2648422]Ooops. Forgot. Tranny should not need fluid changed after 30-35k quote]


I keep seeing this, but why does my manual say every 24,000 miles or 24 months?

 

i shall clarify. i know the transmission broke in 2008 because back then i was delivering a TV in st paul MN with circuit city. we had to get across a street with busy traffic so i held the break, revved to 2500RPM and jumped across the road when i had a small window. this caused the truck to not rev up past 3K rpm and the check engine light came on. no issues after this

fast forward to 2010 when i changed my fluid i find a snap ring, clean break about 4 inches in length in the pan, no other shavings. all i did was transX and fluid change, i did not drop the tranny or do any other repair. this truck is a sport and thus i have no desire to rebuild or fix it.

the fluid does smell burnt however this is nothing new, the fluid smelt burnt a week after changing it in 2010. this truck has been across the country and back as well as done towing, uprooting tree trunks and recovery towing since 2008.

yes i check the fluid in nutral

 

[quote=newman1367;2648442]
The important thing is to change it when you feel it is appropriate for you and how you use your vehicle, and if the number is what is stated in the manual, then that is a good interval. But if your vehicle sees heavy usage or extreme duty, a shorter frequency should be utilized. (I think it is 60,000 on my wife's car, but not sure.)

I used to work for the corporate office of an automotive manufacturer, and drove a company car. We were provided all maintenance on vehicles at a frequency of 2x what is stated in manual. Manufacturers typically understate mileage intentionally as most consumers push the limit. I have never changed transmission fluid before 100,000 miles, and never had a problem, and fluid has never been burned. And in case you have seen my postings on rebuilding my Ram transmission, I bought this truck with the tranny issue. 100,000 is probably waiting too long, but I put on a lot of highway miles each year, use added transmission cooler. My vehicles don’t see any extreme duty – well, except my Tacoma that has a 5sp manual trans.

 

Don't bother with routine maintenance, if you found broken parts. It's gonna have to be torn down and rebuilt. Unless you're a shady fella, and try to pawn it off!

 

well i intend to sell it in a couple months, only someone who has never driven a vehicle would not notice the issue in the first gear. it feels as if i have a 5th wheel behind me at all times when going from a stop.

aside from that im mostly just concerned about making it last the couple months untill my life situation is better suited to buying a new truck. I am looking for a 2500 of a certain era/type for around 4K. seems every month or so there are one or two up on autotrader that meet this.

 

Well that little bit of info probably means it's in limp mode and not even starting off in first gear. Get under the truck and remove the main harness plug from the tranny. Start the truck and put the shifter in 1st gear and manually shift as you go. See what it does then.

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