Hey all, I got myself a 2wd Ram a few months ago, and it needs maintnence done to it. I know it needs oil change and tune up, and should I have the tranny fluid flushed. It also needs new wiper blades as well I think. Can you guys give me anymore suggestions on mainitnence tips? I am not that knowledgable about mechanical aspects of vehicles [sm=smiley19.gif] Thanks guys.

 

flush out the radiator and check for leaking gaskets onderneath the vehicle.

 

thansk man. I dont wanna let mah truck die.

 

Just a comment...I've heard horror stories about people that have flushed their transmission and shortly afterwards their transmission died on them. I have nothing to proof or disproof this believe but you might want to search around for tran flush on the forums to see what people have come up with

 

A few people up here in MN said I sahould flush it, but since I am not that mech. knowledgable, I decided to ask. Thanks for the input.

 

The horror stories you heard are true, and they don't just apply to Rams. Whenever you have a high mileage transmission (or a transmission that's having issues), flushing it is not something you want to do. It won't get everything out of the transmission, and will just end up stirring up all the shavings/metal flakes/etc. and they may end up in a part of the transmission where they could cause some serious damage. That's why it's best to just change & filter when they get up there in mileage, and put it some good transmission fluid...like Amsoil Synthetic.

 

thanks, boys. I appreciate it. Very much.

 

I'm not so sure I agree with that... your only swapping old fluid for new fluid. typically your sucking in the new fluid out of a bucket of on the return side of the cooler that goes back to the tranny. Anything else that might have power behind it could stir up some crap, but I'd expect the filter to trap any un-wanted gunk... (not an expert here.......)

 

I'm just speaking from experience. I've seen a lot of high mileage GM FWD automatic transmissions grenade after fluid flushes. Where as owners that never flush their transmissions (like me) end up getting much more out of them. My record is 175,000 miles on a stock tranny with one fluid change. I stopped driving it on the road at 175,000, but I still drive the car around in the woods. That's even tougher on the car. I've been doing that for 3 years now.

My current attempt at breaking my record is my 90 Grand Prix LE. When I had a slight shifting problem (at 115k), I didn't flush the fluid. I just changed it, and put in Amsoil. The problem went away, and still hasn't resurfaced at 155k.

 

I just got a 99 2wd. I just finished some transmisson work on it. Does anyone have a suggestion as to why Dodge decided to use paper gaskets on the syncronizers? (sorry bad spelling) I was able to find a brass alloy schro for 3rd and 4th gear. 3rd was gone and 4th was getting there. While was in there, there were three (about 1in x .5in in size), what looked like presure plates, that held the syncro in place on the 5th gear. One of the plates was missing when i get into the tranny. After replacing it and the two syncro and the plate all was well in my world, well almost. When I was filling the transmission back up with fluid, it was $22 per quart!!! Then this weekend when I was not able to pull the it out of 5th gear with having the clutch slightly depressed. What I believe has happened is another one of the pressure plates has broken and is jamming the gear, keeping it in 5th. I am going to tear into her this weekend and see what I can find. Does anyone know where I could find a a brass alloy syncro for 1st, 2nd and 5th gears. Any ways, back to the origional statement, why did Dodge decided to use paper gaskets on the syncronizers?