45RFE transmission issue
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45RFE transmission issue
Hi guys,
I need some help please. Sorry for the length. Just trying to be detailed.
Vehicle: 2003 Ram 1500 SLT, 4 door, 4.7L, A/T (45RFE), RWD, 264,000 miles
I got the truck about 6 months ago from an uncle. It was giving a CAT Insufficient code then so the first thing I did was bought an entire exhaust system and replaced everything from manifolds to tailpipe. Code went away, passed emissions ran great ever since. I then did all the expected things you would do when you take ownership of a vehicle without much of a previous maintenance record. Replaced filters, plugs with factory recommended champions, flushed radiator, oil change, ect... My next item on the list was to replace the tranny fluid which I'm doing now because of what's going on.
Last week I was under the weather but had to go across town to get an armoire. I was laying back in the passenger seat sick and sleeping while the wife drove us back home. It was probably 40 to 50 mile drive. I am in Phoenix, AZ and that day ended up being the hottest day of the year at that time and was something like 110F (give or take). Anyway, I woke up when we were still on the highway and a few miles from home. The wife said the truck is acting funny. To me it sounded like the tranny was slipping. We pulled over and switched seats. It seemed normal. Normal shifts, normal everything until I stepped on it a bit. The RPM's jumped up as expected, we accelerated but half as fast as it should, Definitely felt like the transmission was slipping. I drove us home with no problem. The truck was parked until I could check it out.
A couple days later when I wasn't sick anymore raised the hood and the first thing I was was a broken vacuum hose. It was the vacuum that goes to the Cruise Control Speed Servo. Unrelated to the tranny slipping but I fixed it and because it sounded like there was another vacuum leak I thoroughly hunted for another. I did find one more leak and fixed it too, EVAP related. This info will all begin to tie in soon. I took the truck out for a test run hoping the two now fixed vacuum leaks took care of the tranny slip some how. I forgot to mention I checked the tranny fluid too which was at the perfect level, bright red and did not smell burnt what so ever. On the test drive, as I left my house I jumped on it a bit. Still had a trans slip but now I also hear a loud whistling sound. This new sound only happens when I'm on the gas pedal heavy. I drove around the block and back home. Confused about this new sound I figured it wasn't there, I fixed two minor vacuum leaks then it appeared right then. Although I can't come up with a good explanation for this it was unrelated to the tranny issue.
Skipping forward, I re repaired the two vacuum leaks that started the new noise. I still hear a possible vacuum leak coming from the passenger side firewall area. The truck idles right. It's not idling rough or fast but there is a hissing sound coming from the passenger side firewall area. I know there is no vacuum going to the transmission but at this point I'm spit balling anything possible trying to fix the slipping issue. Lost and spinning my wheels at this point I stopped for the day. So at this point, tranny fluid is at proper level, bright red and smells new. Engine run's great and idles smooth. Still hearing a hiss coming from the passenger side firewall area. (when you suspect a vacuum leak notice how everything starts sounding like a vacuum leak?) No service lights or codes but the transmission still feels like it is slipping. I does shift through the gears normally on it's own or manually. The only time anything goes wrong is if I get on it.
Here's the thing, from the very first sign of an issue when my wife was driving until today there has only been maybe 10 miles put on the truck. In that 10 miles it has gone from everything shifting fine but when jumped on the RPM's raise as expected but the tranny slipped to now. Now it runs good, idles good. In park, if I touch the gas at all it makes a very loud whistling sound! It sounds like a loose belt or a bad pulley or something but it is very loud. I believe this is the same, whatever it is, that began sounding like the vacuum leak at the passenger side firewall area. I have been able to track it down further to it coming from the passenger side transmission area. Although, I can not definitively place it in the transmission. I used the long screw driver to the ear stethoscope trick and poked everywhere but nothing conclusive for it's origin. So it runs good, idles good but give it any gas it makes a loud whistle/whine sound that is engine speed related in all gears. If I try driving the truck I can only get it up to about 25 MPH. I have to let it get to that speed very easily because now when I give it any gas it no longer raises the RPM's and slips it way up to 25 mph, when I give it gas dumps up like it wants to die but it never shuts off. I can keep it floored and it will bog down and lose RPM's and speed. It feels and sounds very much like an 18 wheeler using a Jake brake with that loud, very loud, whining noise! I can't get it to go any faster that 25 mph but it does shift as normally as it can under these circumstances. I can manually shift through all gears with or without over drive on and it shifts correctly on it's own. I just can't try and get up to speed by pressing the gas pedal at all. The hotter the transmission get the more it acts up.
Once it began looking like this might be a bigger problem than I first expected it to be I asked my wife when did she first notice it was slipping when she hit the gas? I was hoping it just started before I woke up but nope. She said it started right as we turned off our friends street. So when this first started because I was sleeping I didn't know there was a problem, she drove it 40 or 50 miles, all freeway at speeds about 75ish MPH with the transmission slipping on the hottest day of the year at that time, about 110 F.
Yesterday, I pulled the oil pan off the tranny. The fluid was still bright red and smelled new still and I saw no metal shavings. There was some grey sludge but it didn't seem excessive to me. I don't know how much grey sludge should be expected for a tranny with 264,000 miles on it or even when the last time the tranny was serviced. I will replace the two filters in the pan and the cooler return line filter but hoped to get some opinions on what I have going on first.
I have read all over to replace the governor solenoid and the pressure sensor but as far as I have read it always says to replace those parts when your transmission does not shift at all between two gears. Mine does shift though. That is where it sits right now. What do you guys think. I don't want to start throwing parts at it hoping to get lucky. I appreciate you taking your time to read all this if you're still hear. I hoped to give as much detailed information I could to hopefully find a proper fix ASAP.
Thanks everyone and if there is anything else needed to know please holler.
Hugh Jass Koda
side note: I came across this thread that is exactly what I am experiencing except I replaced my cats already less than 500 miles ago.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...2000-rpms.html
I need some help please. Sorry for the length. Just trying to be detailed.
Vehicle: 2003 Ram 1500 SLT, 4 door, 4.7L, A/T (45RFE), RWD, 264,000 miles
I got the truck about 6 months ago from an uncle. It was giving a CAT Insufficient code then so the first thing I did was bought an entire exhaust system and replaced everything from manifolds to tailpipe. Code went away, passed emissions ran great ever since. I then did all the expected things you would do when you take ownership of a vehicle without much of a previous maintenance record. Replaced filters, plugs with factory recommended champions, flushed radiator, oil change, ect... My next item on the list was to replace the tranny fluid which I'm doing now because of what's going on.
Last week I was under the weather but had to go across town to get an armoire. I was laying back in the passenger seat sick and sleeping while the wife drove us back home. It was probably 40 to 50 mile drive. I am in Phoenix, AZ and that day ended up being the hottest day of the year at that time and was something like 110F (give or take). Anyway, I woke up when we were still on the highway and a few miles from home. The wife said the truck is acting funny. To me it sounded like the tranny was slipping. We pulled over and switched seats. It seemed normal. Normal shifts, normal everything until I stepped on it a bit. The RPM's jumped up as expected, we accelerated but half as fast as it should, Definitely felt like the transmission was slipping. I drove us home with no problem. The truck was parked until I could check it out.
A couple days later when I wasn't sick anymore raised the hood and the first thing I was was a broken vacuum hose. It was the vacuum that goes to the Cruise Control Speed Servo. Unrelated to the tranny slipping but I fixed it and because it sounded like there was another vacuum leak I thoroughly hunted for another. I did find one more leak and fixed it too, EVAP related. This info will all begin to tie in soon. I took the truck out for a test run hoping the two now fixed vacuum leaks took care of the tranny slip some how. I forgot to mention I checked the tranny fluid too which was at the perfect level, bright red and did not smell burnt what so ever. On the test drive, as I left my house I jumped on it a bit. Still had a trans slip but now I also hear a loud whistling sound. This new sound only happens when I'm on the gas pedal heavy. I drove around the block and back home. Confused about this new sound I figured it wasn't there, I fixed two minor vacuum leaks then it appeared right then. Although I can't come up with a good explanation for this it was unrelated to the tranny issue.
Skipping forward, I re repaired the two vacuum leaks that started the new noise. I still hear a possible vacuum leak coming from the passenger side firewall area. The truck idles right. It's not idling rough or fast but there is a hissing sound coming from the passenger side firewall area. I know there is no vacuum going to the transmission but at this point I'm spit balling anything possible trying to fix the slipping issue. Lost and spinning my wheels at this point I stopped for the day. So at this point, tranny fluid is at proper level, bright red and smells new. Engine run's great and idles smooth. Still hearing a hiss coming from the passenger side firewall area. (when you suspect a vacuum leak notice how everything starts sounding like a vacuum leak?) No service lights or codes but the transmission still feels like it is slipping. I does shift through the gears normally on it's own or manually. The only time anything goes wrong is if I get on it.
Here's the thing, from the very first sign of an issue when my wife was driving until today there has only been maybe 10 miles put on the truck. In that 10 miles it has gone from everything shifting fine but when jumped on the RPM's raise as expected but the tranny slipped to now. Now it runs good, idles good. In park, if I touch the gas at all it makes a very loud whistling sound! It sounds like a loose belt or a bad pulley or something but it is very loud. I believe this is the same, whatever it is, that began sounding like the vacuum leak at the passenger side firewall area. I have been able to track it down further to it coming from the passenger side transmission area. Although, I can not definitively place it in the transmission. I used the long screw driver to the ear stethoscope trick and poked everywhere but nothing conclusive for it's origin. So it runs good, idles good but give it any gas it makes a loud whistle/whine sound that is engine speed related in all gears. If I try driving the truck I can only get it up to about 25 MPH. I have to let it get to that speed very easily because now when I give it any gas it no longer raises the RPM's and slips it way up to 25 mph, when I give it gas dumps up like it wants to die but it never shuts off. I can keep it floored and it will bog down and lose RPM's and speed. It feels and sounds very much like an 18 wheeler using a Jake brake with that loud, very loud, whining noise! I can't get it to go any faster that 25 mph but it does shift as normally as it can under these circumstances. I can manually shift through all gears with or without over drive on and it shifts correctly on it's own. I just can't try and get up to speed by pressing the gas pedal at all. The hotter the transmission get the more it acts up.
Once it began looking like this might be a bigger problem than I first expected it to be I asked my wife when did she first notice it was slipping when she hit the gas? I was hoping it just started before I woke up but nope. She said it started right as we turned off our friends street. So when this first started because I was sleeping I didn't know there was a problem, she drove it 40 or 50 miles, all freeway at speeds about 75ish MPH with the transmission slipping on the hottest day of the year at that time, about 110 F.
Yesterday, I pulled the oil pan off the tranny. The fluid was still bright red and smelled new still and I saw no metal shavings. There was some grey sludge but it didn't seem excessive to me. I don't know how much grey sludge should be expected for a tranny with 264,000 miles on it or even when the last time the tranny was serviced. I will replace the two filters in the pan and the cooler return line filter but hoped to get some opinions on what I have going on first.
I have read all over to replace the governor solenoid and the pressure sensor but as far as I have read it always says to replace those parts when your transmission does not shift at all between two gears. Mine does shift though. That is where it sits right now. What do you guys think. I don't want to start throwing parts at it hoping to get lucky. I appreciate you taking your time to read all this if you're still hear. I hoped to give as much detailed information I could to hopefully find a proper fix ASAP.
Thanks everyone and if there is anything else needed to know please holler.
Hugh Jass Koda
side note: I came across this thread that is exactly what I am experiencing except I replaced my cats already less than 500 miles ago.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...2000-rpms.html
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 332
Likes: 1
From: North Jersey
It could be Torque converter wine.Usually goes with engine when revving it sort of like a whistling. Have had a lot of vehicles in our trans shop same problem. Eventually will get worse. A word of advise if you need a trans it is cheaper to find a low mileage one at junkyard than to reduild. Depending on solenoid connector color you would just have to change that.
Last edited by Kevno6; Aug 31, 2018 at 11:46 PM.
