Guys, I checked this morning with a friend of mine who is the parts department manager at a Dodge dealership. He looked a little perplexed when I advised him that there were people saying that 2009-11 Ram 1500 torque converters were bad. He stated that his dealership has not replaced one, although he indicated he sells torque converters for older Rams and even stocks one for pre-MDS 5.7s. According to him there are four converters used on '09-11s and that according to the online ordering system national usage was "very low." He said on one converter version twenty-eight had been used within the last 11 months.

That's a very low failure rate by any automobile manufacturers standards. If you were the head of a large manufacturing firm would you advocate for a universal recall and replacement that affects 700,000 units with a warranty cost of nearly $2700 per vehicle? I wouldn't.

I apparently have experienced the symptom outlined in the Star Case #S1121000005 on my 2010 Ram 1500 5.7. It started around 17,000 miles and has come and gone with irregularity. I have not heard the noise in the last five or so months and I currently have 43,000 miles on the truck. I will investigate this further, but I'm not sure I'm going to force a replacement until I can get an understanding what is mechanically at fault with the converter and whether there could be a long term impact. My 5.7 and 545RFE performs perfectly in every other way and the noise is so infrequent when it's there that I'm not yet alarmed. There could be a risk factor with a replacement since manufacturers sometimes fulfill warranty requests with rebuilt units.

Regards,
Dusty

 

What puzzles me, is that 1819 folks have viewed this thread but only 16 have voted?

 

It is not just a noise it is a feeling and if you felt it you would know what I mean.

I took my truck in today they had it from 7am to nearly 11a and told me it was just tires out of balance. I believed them paid the rip off $50 and then headed to work only had 5 minutes to get there. (so it sat all day until I was done).

Tested it out after work and I could feel it right away but on the interstate 70mph and above it got terrible i could feel it through the pedal so bad I just felt sick that it still had not been fixed.

The feeling is almost like I can feel the fluid going through the pump with a lot of vibration and it intensifies as speeds increase.

Dropping off again tonight (early bird drop) and left VM with the advisor and I am going to leave it there for them to try again. God damn this is frustrating.

I want my smooth Ram back.

 

I have felt a throb in the accellerator pedal on occasion, but it has occured at varying speeds whether the torque converter is in lock up or not and goes away when I turn the steering wheel. I've had issues with the Goodyear Wrangler 20-inch tires before and right now the fronts are scalloped very badly (my fault for not rotating them). Christmas is a bad time to buy tires and I'm trying to put off replacing them.

 

Its probably because they dont understand what it is, most dont even know what to look for or even the noise of the TC issue. Most will just read a few threads and move on. I have a few friends with mds hemi trucks with the TC issue, they didnt have a clue until i pointed it out to them on their very own trucks. Now they are like, OHHHHHHH, holy ****...!

 

For the last three days, since my first post on this issue, I have put almost 100 miles on my Ram trying to replicate the exhaust noise that I've heard in the past without success. As I stated earlier, it's been months since I heard that noise which corresponds identically to the symptoms mentioned in the Star Case. Since I keep fairly detailed records of such things, I looked back at my fuel and maintenance log for my notes. At first I thought there may be an ambient temperature correlation. However, the temperatures here in Western New York State have ranged from 20 above zero to the upper 40s since mid-November and should be optimum for the problem.

Based on memory and using my notes the symptom was predominately present during a period between 17,000 and 30,000 miles. The one element that corresponds almost exactly to this mileage range is the octane of the fuel I used as this was in the period when fuel prices rose quite a bit and I substituted 87 octane instead. Prior to that I used the recommended 89 Mobil or Sunoco, and have fed the Ram a steady diet of 89 Sunoco since. (Mobil is the most expensive around here.)

Regards,
Dusty

 

Ther are 3 different issues with the 4th gen trucks....
1) Single exhaust drone AND vibration
2) Torque convertor issue (per Star Case in thread #1)
3) MDS buzzing sensation felt in seats, gas pedal, steering wheel (at low speeds)

Sounds like you`re looking for an exhaust issue to me, and not the TC issue or the MDS issue. (???)

Lets all keep in mind, the torque convertor noise is exactly that, a noise, not a vibration.
The MDS issue however, is a vibration/buzzing feeling, and NOT a noise.
The exhaust issue is both, a noise AND a vibration. Both are felt AND heard.

 

Then my symptom doesn't match any of those. All I've ever heard is a noise that sounds like an exhaust resonance that pretty much matches the symptoms outlined in the referenced Star Case (I have factory dual exhaust). I have never encountered at any time a vibration that correlated to the state of the MDS, nor for that matter, related to engine speed or the state of the torque converter. I have experienced vibration related to road speed with the 20-inch Wranglers and there is a technical bulletin on this issue. This vibration is present even when the transmission is moved into neutral. The speed at which this occurs has varied, although my tires are scalloped so bad now it's present at all speeds over 60 MPH.

Whatever is causing the exhaust noise in my Ram has subsided greatly since I first noticed it last year. I currently have 43371 miles on it.

Regards,
Dusty

2010 Ram 1500 Big Horn Quad Cab, 5.7, factory dual exhaust, 545RFE TRS, 3.92 LSD, 20-inch Goodyear Wrangler

 

I do not agree with you. The reason I had my original TC replaced was because of a shudder that could be heard and felt. It occurred at constant speed of about 38 to 42 and during a slight incline such as an overpass.

If you are in tune with your vehicle and it feels like mine felt you know the difference between MDS and a TC issue.

1. I have dual exhaust anyway
2. I already had it replaced with new and improved TC because of shudder AND noise
3. The buzzing occurs when MDS is disabled by programmer too so it cannot be that in my case. I know the feeling and sound of MDS.

 

Just FYI. According to Dodge service manual, depending on throttle pressure 38-42 MPH is the target road speed for fifth gear lockup on 545RFEs, and that's when it has occurred on my 2003 4.7 Dakota and 2010 5.7 Ram as well.

Regards,
Dusty