Transmission:
Driving around locally on the 35 mph roads with the engine cold I had no problems. I go onto the main road and the transmission shifts into drive and is fine at first. It shifts into O/D and the trans starts slipping. It slips a lot, the engine revs like the clutch is in on a manual. So I turn O/D off, still slipping. So I put it into 2nd and it still is slipping. I can't tell if it actually shifted down though. I was going slow enough it should have worked. I shift down into 1st as I'm slow enough and it is the same as whe I shifted into 2nd. I start to pull over and about the time I'm doing 10 mph, I can feel the trans kick in and I can go again. I shifted the lever to second and I stepped on the gas hard (had to test it while I was going up a slight 5* hill) and the trans did great through 1st and 2nd then when my rpms got higher in 2nd, the trans started slipping again but I was on level ground now. I had to stop at a light and when I went to take off, it was fine again. I was now on a 40mph road and it was fine until I got around 40mph. I had to stop and when I started moving, I was on the 35mph road again and it did fine the rest of the way home. So basically, once I stop or slow down enough and it kicks into 1st I can take off hard through first and second until I get to aroud 40mph and it slips. That is what it seems like.

Front End:
When I turn the wheels or go over a bump, I assume either the suspension or the steering is making a groaning creaking noise. It's pretty loud and anybody standing around can hear it. I also seem to have another noise like it is the power steering pump squeaking at times but that is a seperate noise. Maybe then make that sound on these trucks, I just bought this so I don't know. I just moved to a new area and don't have anyone to lend a hand diagnosing this so I'm hoping someone here could help. Otherwise it seems to steer fine and the alignment must be ok because the tires are evenly wore.

 

This is on a 2001 Ram 1500 2wd 5.9L 46re trans.

 

My frint end make a growning sound when it was turned all the way...its my tires rubbing on my lower control arm. They're stock tires too, kinda wierd. But check that, it sounds like a grown actually.

 

I still have stock wheels/tires also. But, my steering groans throught the entire range of motion.

 

Low PS fluid can cause a groan when you turn the wheels.
Low trans fluid can cause slipping and hard shifts.



For the front end problem there could also be an issue with the shock tower bearing (?) don't know if it's the same with trucks but what you describe sounds alot like shock tower bearings.

 

The fluid levels are fine except the power steering fluid is a dirty brown color. It might be ok. It's hard to tell. Some oils just do that with use. Actually, the noise has practically gone away as I've drove the truck a little. Not much as I can't go far with the trans the way it is. For the trans the fluid is bright and clean but the previous owner said it was changed to try and troubleshoot the problem. I did notice that the sound that I thought might be the power steering pump whining only happens when in a gear and it does come from about where the torque convertor is. Is it normal for the trans/convertor to make a light noise when in gear and not in park/neutral? I suspect I may have a bad torque convertor. Could that be the whole problem?

 

I have a 97 2500 V10 that did the same thing. Slipped in and out of gear. I took it to 3 transmission shops and they all told me my trans selonoid was bad. Replaced that and the code was gone but the transmission was still slipping. Took the truck to another transmission shop, they too could not find anything wrong with the transmission itself but did find the reason behind the slippage. My throttle cable leading from the transmission to the throttle body was broken. Of the three prongs used to hold the cable on to the transmission, only one was still attached. Replaced the cable for around 25 bucks and haven't had a problem with it since. Something to take a look at before dropping the trans. It seem that there was at time not enough tension on the cable to keep the transmission in the proper gear causing my RPM's to jump and the transmission to slip. Once I let off the gas and pressed the pedal back down, I had reset the tension on the cable again and all appeared fine. Until, of course the cable lost tension.

 

Thanks, I checked the cable. The cable is fine but I decided to adjust it. Hopefully it is like my Mustang in that you want the trans and motor to be full throttle at the same time. I held the trottle body full open and pulled the cable as tight as it gets and clipped it there. I went for a test drive and it shifts better now, but it didn't fix the whole problem. After I test drove it a little more I did decide that the trans. was just taking a long time between gears. That's why it seemed to be slipping even in 2nd. Tightening the cable fixed that. I still have an issue with Drive and O/D though. They are still slipping. I have enough of them to lightly accelerate downhill and that is all. But, if I shift down to 2nd now, no slipping at all. I can drive anywhere. What would make Drive and O/D both slip?