Hello, have had two second gen rams (96 1500 LWB and '01 1500 SWB quad cab 4x4 w/ Off Road package) both bought new and have loved them both. Except for the fuel, but hey, can't have it all. Anyway, my current ride, the 01 4x4 w/ the off-road package has recently developed what I believe is a tranny problem. Four months or so ago the truck would lag while accelerating from a stop. Almost like it was trying to drive off in 2nd gear instead of 1st. At about 20 mph it would accelerate like it was supposed to. This lasted for maybe three or four days, then went away. Now it's back, been with me for several weeks now, it runs fine once you get up to speed, but like I said from a dead stop acceleration is completely gone until you get to about 20. Also it has picked up a bad habit of lurching abruplty when deccelerating and even when at a complete stop will bump like its trying to shift gears. I am not going to fix this myself, but I want some ideas what to expect from a shop. It has not given me any idiot lights on the dash.
Anyway, happy to be here, hope you can help.

 

when it starts to do this when you are starting off, if it feels like it is real doggy it might be taking off in second, try manual putting the truck in first, if nothing count the shifts to see if it is shifting twice or three times.....if only twice you probably have a pressure sensor or/and governor pressure sensor that is gone...

 

year that sounds about right.I dont think its the trany itself,just a sensor

 

Yes, manually shifting into low 2 helps, but that gets frustrating as much as I drive in traffic. And yes, it usually only shifts twice.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but I'd say the tranny is fried. I've lost 2 before 60k miles. The first one acted like you are describing. Go have it checked out - by a dealer if you still fall under the 7/70 powertrain warranty, or by a competent tranny shop if you are out of warranty.....