Hey all,

I'm looking for some feedback about what might be happening in my '98 Ram 1500 after starting up and putting it into drive. I've noticed this issue to some extent for a least a year and it does seem relatively minor.

After shifting from park and putting it into drive, when I press the accelerator lightly, the engine revs (not too much) and the truck only moves forward slightly. After what seems like a second or two, the revs drop and the truck moves forward as usual. The easiest way for me to explain it is as if this was a manual transmission and you were engaging the clutch from a stop.

However, after this one occurrence, it doesn't happen for the rest of the time I drive, even if I stop at a light. It also doesn't seem to happen if I then drive the truck after it was sitting for 8 hours or so while I am at work.

Because the Ram isn't my primary driver, it gets driven about once a week. Could that play a role? The driveway has a slight pitch back for water where the truck parks, but certainly not enough to slow forward progress substantially. Thanks for your help!

 

Check valve has either been removed, or, it has failed open. (not a bad thing...) Normal behavior on trucks that have had it removed. Just put it in gear, wait a bit, then go.

 

Okay, good to know, thanks! Can this issue get any worse, and is it worth repairing?

I tried what you said this morning by waiting 5 seconds after putting it in drive and it was perfect!

 

So far as I am concerned, it isn't a problem. I usually just put my truck in gear, light my cigarette, and off I go. No issues. (this is not a suggestion to start smoking though....)

 

Works for me, I'm all about getting ahead of the curve but if it's not causing a major issue then I'll live with it!

 

How many miles on the truck? If it's well over 100,000, your front seal on the transmission might be slightly worn. It won't leak enough inside overnight but every several days, the fluid can seep down internally. It then takes a bit for the front pump to pump it back up. The next time it sits for a bit, slip the transmission into neutral for the count of 5, then go in gear. I'll bet it goes right into gear.

If this works, live with it until the transmission goes out. It's a minor issue but a major pain to fix.

 

Mine does it also but only overnight. You can get the sure cure kit from sonnax but you need to pull out the valve body to install it.

 

I have the same "issue". Years ago I pulled the stock cooler lines out as they were patched and rather unreliable, and replaced with hoses. By getting rid of the stock lines, check valve was also removed so the lines drain over night. No big of a deal, as I let that trusty old Cummins idle for a minute or so before taking off. I have parts to fix this, though, and might even install them sometime near future, as the turbine shaft seal is leaking quite badly, so I'm pulling the trans anyway.

 

Good to know there are some kits out there to fix it. I'm not too inclined to pull anything apart, but only if it doesn't worsen much.

The truck has ~171,000 on it. High miles for sure, though in the last 9 years I've owned it, I've only put on about 30,000 miles. Back in 2014 the transmission was rebuilt as it was not right when I got the truck. Since then, it's been good, so I hope part of the transmission isn't going bad, but the seal idea seems like it has value. She's been sitting for a couple of days, so next week I will try these tricks again.

 

All has been well the past few months by just waiting a few seconds before pulling away. Today, after being in drive for a bit, when I touched the gas lightly, it revved a bit (as if in neutral) then there was a clunk and it moved forward.
How screwed am I over a transmission potentially? What does a rebuild cost these days 😅