I have a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi 4x4 QC that just turned 131k miles...Driving home from work on Wednesday doing about 60 mph, I hit a bump (small frost heave) on a slight corner and the truck felt like it popped out of gear like someone jammed it into neutral but it was still in Drive. When I gave it gas, the motor would just rev out with a slight 'engine whine' that was never there before. I pulled over, no D, 1 or 2...no reverse, truck wouldn't move...with 4x4 engaged, still no movement forward or back.

I had it towed to the stealership who gave me some BS that my best option was to put in a reman transmission (they never even dropped the tranny pan), just based on codes...codes that they didn't write down and apparently cleared to try and get the tranny fooled back into gear (didn't work). They said they were codes related to 'gear ratio' and the 'torque converter'. I had it towed outta there to a transmission place but they won't get to look at it until Monday.

Anyone have any ideas? I really don't think it could be the tranny itself (although I could be wrong)...I didn't hear ANYTHING when this happened, no grinding or metal on metal, no gear slippage or any fluid leaks. It just felt like it jumped into neutral and won't move (with an additional subtle whine from the engine that wasn't there before).

My fingers are crossed and I can't find any info on something like this...

 

Wow, I have no answers for you, but dude i feel your pain...Can't even imagine...a 05 at that.....

 

Kinda impossible to diagnose without the codes it threw.

'Panama, an '05 yeah, but 130k plus miles on any tranny is a lot of miles for an original automatic transmission, especially in a truck...

 

Hey Hammer, aside from offering advise. Is there anyway you can maybe contact a dealership near Parker, who can assist him, without bleeding him dry in the process?

 

Heard back from AAMCO today (had no other place to take it that I new/trusted)...external exam OK, fluid level OK, fluid a bit burnt...pulled the tranny out and found a blown torque converter, did a soft parts overhaul (gaskets, etc), input & output speed sensors, filters, solenoid pack and other stuff....fully disassembled and inspected (or so I'm told).

$2670...

...I need another beer...

 

Wow! I dunno how those people can sleep at night. I got a quote about a year and a half ago from my local performance shop on a higher stall converter, really bulletproof one for just under $1500 installed.
I'm at the point with my mods that if I put in the cam I had custom ground, I'd be over the HP limit of the stock converter, so I looked into an aftermarket.

It sucks when something breaks and you have no choice but go to the closest shop for work because your truck is down.

On the bright side, if I had to put $2600 into my tranny every 130k miles and all else ran fine, I'd still take it...

 

Some asshats sleep quite well at night with a nice smile on their face too thinking how they just ripped someone for their hard earned money.

 

It has a 12month/12k mile warranty on the rebuilt tranny, I can get a 3 year for 15% of the bill ($2650 x 15% = $400) or a lifetime for 20% ($534).

I plan on keeping this truck a while...I feel like its cheap money in the long run. What are your takes on it? After having to shell out more than $2600, I feel like what the hell is another $500...although we are going broke, but if something happens in month 14 or something I'd go postal!

 

Here's the breakdown:

Torque Converter - $279
Input Sensor - $36.21
Output Sensor = $36.21
Assembly stiels (sp?) = $178.49
Filters (3) = $35.49; $15.23; $2.15
Solenoid Pack = $215

9.4 hours labor (drop/reinstall)
8.5 hours rebuild

Funny thing is before they even knew what was wrong with it, he gave me a worse case scenario number based on what I described happening and his experience with these types of trucks...$2600. Ironic...I'm beginning to think not.

 

Really? 9.4hrs to drop and put it back in? OMG. No way. Not with the pneumatic and hydraulic tools and lifts they have. No way. I could drop and put one one back in with hand tools and a floor jack faster than that.

8.5 on a full rebuild I can see though.