first off i bought this truck from my dads friend. he takes care of his stuff like he's rich. its a 1998 dodge ram 3500 4x4 with a v10 and auto trans. engine and tranny were both rebuilt at the same time by Jasper at 62,000 miles truck now has only 96,000 miles on it. engine and trans had a 100,000 mile 4 year warranty, well its been 5 years but only 34,000 miles since rebuild.

driving last night through some back roads and had it in 4hi because of the rain we had. came up to a washed out section of road and put it in reverse to back away and turn around. as soon as i put it in reverse i heard a thud and then just grinding. put it in drive and it grinded worse. checked tranny fluid it was spot on full and was as red as the day is was put in, no burn smell or anything. had a buddy tow me home and we put the rear end on jack stands, and finally got it out of 4hi back to 2hi. the rear tires would turn with no problem in drive but put it in reverse and they wouldnt move and the grinding was gone, got on it a little bit and the grinding came back. put it back in drive and hit the gas and it was fine, had a little whistle coming from trans but it still worked. put it back on the ground and checked tranny fluid again and it was still perfect.

im kinda stumped cause every time ive had a tranny go the fluid would be burned up. im wondering if something else happened since this tranny is basically new. any ideas? maybe transfer case? maybe torque converter?? truck has never been abused any more than it should, plowed a little snow here and there but nothing serious. idk. any help would be appreciated.

thanks - Sparks

 

Honestly, I would be thinking the t-case.
What type of back road were you driving on? Sh1tty pavement or dirt/mud? If it's pavement you may have caused the t-case to bind having it in 4WD and made something break.

WELCOME TO DF!

 

it was all dirt and mud roads. spun tires a few times but nothing a rebuilt 47re couldnt handle you know? we could feel the grinding in the tranny when we put our hands on the tranny but still, every tranny ive messed with that blew up ha=d tranny fluid that was burned and black. mines still good. its weird.

 

Check the t-case...... probably require removing it...... (I think it would be easier to inspect that way...... Or, drop the trans pan, and see if you find anything interesting in there. (or both....)

 

i was goig to but i didnt wanna pull the pan before talking to jasper and possibly break the warranty but ive talked them and they arent going to do anything for me. question i have though, is even in 2wd is the transfer case taking a load or is that only in 4wd? when we got it back in 2wd 1,2, and drive worked.

 

transfer case is only thing that has not been replaced or rebuilt since truck was new. which makes me think its the 'weak point' in my drivetrain. and because it all happened while i was in 4wd makes me lean towards it as well.

 

T-case is the final step before power goes to the wheels. If the t-case grenades.... well, you quit moving. Pull the fill plug on the t-case, THEN pull the drain plug, see if anything interesting comes out...... if you have crunchies at the bottom of the t-case... that's likely where your problem is.

 

sounds good, will try that first. thanks guys! much appreciated!! will be back with results within next few hours!