Lost the transmission & sourced one from the local wreckers. Its from a 97 2wd Ram 1500 5.2 with about 80,000 miles and will be installed in a 96 2wd Ram 1500 5.2. I have a 101 day warranty.

The truck is currently safely stored in a fairly remote town ... any parts will be via a NAPA store but may have to be ordered in. I am in a city with multiple transmission shops, 2 dealers. What should I consider doing before I haul it to the truck for installation?

 

Filter, fluid, solenoids and sensors. Maybe a band adjustment, if that won't void your warranty....

 

If you're this far, why not go the extra and have a reputable transmission shop rebuild the junkyard transmission? I'll admit to being OCD ****-redundant, but it always pays off for me.

 

I will have the original transmission and can rebuild that one if mecessary. I am thinking a spare is not a bad idea and a rebuilt trans for these trucks won't be hard to sell should I replace the truck.

The wrecker has inspected the take-off and graded it "A" so I'm expecting it should only require what any 80k tranny would need. They have Journeyman on staff doing the inspections prior to resale.

I suspect failure was vacuum modulater related, if that matters as far as next steps go.

 

Look for sings of debris inside tranny. What are you doing about TC? You might consider a new one.

 

I will definitely check pan and replace filter. I'm in the process of moving home after a 3 month stint at the jobsite so all I have right now is the Phone for internet access. I work in a remote area 300 miles from the nearest town + my computer is on a pallet somewhere, so I can't refer to the manual available here. Search via the phone is a pain due to so many non-relevant threads to grind through so any pointers to relevant threads would be a big help.

Any tips on checking sensors?

 

Just replace them. Governor stuff with BW heavy duty units. TCC and O/D solenoids with whatever best quality you can get from the parts store.

 

Dealer TCC and O/D OK?

 

Probably. I think you could find equal quality for less money though..... Check out WITTRANS.COM.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but , although a 97 will bolt in and the plugs will fit. You may not have OD. So the TC/OD solenoid unit may need replace anyway. And the the Gov. pressure sensor(transducer) might be different. It mounts differently. So don't turn in the old tranny until the new swap is working. (you may need the gov body bracket).