I used to have a 2004 Ram 1500 with the 4.7 and 5 speed auto. My wife got that in our divorce agreement. I recently bought a 2007 Ram with 5.7 Hemi. It runs great, but when I put it into drive, the transmission starts to whine. Put it in park/neutral, and no whine. I also noticed that, while driving at a steady speed, it seems to find an "in between" spot, if that makes sense. Kind of a drone sound. If I accelerate, it finds the gear I should've been in to begin with. Is this a transmission issue, or torque converter problem? Thanks in advance for any input!

 

Have you verified fluid level is correct? Usually a whine is the pump going out, but without hearing it it’s hard to tell you what’s going on

 

Yeah fluid level is good. I'm kind of afraid that I'm looking at a rebuild. But then again, am I looking at a torque converter that's falling out of lock up? Maybe a little of both?

 

It’s possible it could need just a TC, but if TC is failing how far behind is rest, TC would fail due to fluid level low, dirty/burnt fluid, overheating trans….which is turn would also stress the internals

 

Sure it's not the MDS kicking in and out? It will sound funny when it turns off 4 cylinders and the rpm usually goes up about 200-300rpm while it is activated. 06-newer Hemi's have the cylinder deactivation system on all 1500's.

 

Never thought about that, but what about the whine when I put it in drive? Doesn't make the noise while in park. Once it goes into drive, it whines and increases with engine rpm.