Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Dodge Ram Transmission Rebuild Issues and Problem... Experts?

My favorite niece, the College All-American air rifle shooter, from some years back has a problem with a local transmission shop and I get to go help again tomorrow morning...

196k on a diesel Ram...

Suddenly went into limp mode without warning or suspected issue...

Dealership says "PO753" is code but they cannot get to it for two weeks, $1,100 to repair via replacing solenoid and (damn, this getting forgetful pisses me off!) and the transmission wiring harness.

Another shop says they can get to it right away for $600.

A week later they drive it into their shop and change the parts...

Limp mode remains...

They suggest the transmission is seriously worn and they will rebuild for a fixed price and "eat" the $600.

The transmission is rebuilt but they find the batteries are completely dead and offer to replace them for "just" the cost of the batteries.

Limp mode remains...

They decide the solenoid may be the problem and they "order a new one" to replace the newly replaced one...

Solenoid is replaced and the truck goes out of limp mode...

The brand new batteries are completely discharged in a couple hours during the work...

It has now been over three weeks and bad blood is running bridle deep to a tall horse...

Thoughts or suggestions?

Oh, this morning's conversation with the shop owner did not go well when he insisted on calling my niece "Sweetie," "Sugar," "Honey," and "Dear" and drop an F-Bomb and more. She wanted to bite his head off, but she now realizes he was just trying to get her to goat (done!!!) and get the opportunity to chase her out the door.

Alaska Transmission and Gear for the interested.

I have a plan to be started tomorrow to get the obvious invoices, return notices, replaced parts, etc...

Would appreciate any insights into what I really need to get. I take over in the morning.

Sic 'em!

Anthony's here is a good Trans shop. Not cheap, but good with a good rep. FWIW.

NOW you tell me!!!

Sounds like he wants to find himself on the wrong side of a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Chris112 is on the right track. I'd threaten to charge them with sexual harassment and get BBB involved. I know AK is more informal than other places having lived there for 5 years, but that is still unacceptable, especially for Anchor town.

If you have any diesel high performance shops near you that's where I would take it to be rebuilt. They can rebuild it and replace the weak parts with good high performance parts. A good high performance rebuild makes the Dodge transmission pretty well bulletproof.

I feel for you. It's hard to deal with for sure, but honestly, is there any satisfaction to be had when dealing with that type of shop? Maybe cut your losses.

I had a '92 chevy diesel and had Advance Diesel put on a new injector pump. They came highly recommended by others that had diesel trucks. See if they can do it or who they'd recommend.

Dodge Diesel Forum is a place with a wealth of knowledge. They have steered me away from some costly "fixes" that only fix the shop's cash flow problem.

My best guesstimate is you're gonna have to take it to a diff shop and the old shop to small claims

They're in it for too much just to rollover and refund

It sucks but that'd be my guess is how it will have to go down to get any satisfaction from the old shop

I have a '97 Ram 1500 that went into limp mode right about that same mileage. The code your niece's truck threw is for shift solenoid A which is the same code mine threw. They are easy to change yourself as they are right inside the pan and you can do it for about $100. They should be able to either unplug the battery for 30 min or so to reset the ECU and clear the limp mode or reflash it (reprogram) and clear it. At any rate, something doesn't seem right with that shop. It appears they found a young lady they think they can fool into spending a ton of money or they are incompetent.

^^^^^

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/forums/

http://www.cumminsforum.com/

So it sounds like the truck now runs and drives, but discharges its batteries when sitting? What year of truck?

"Rebuild" is a relative term - I'd hope they have the extent of it on line items on the invoice. Share that if you would.

For a rig that's a) stock and b) not towing all the time, stock transmission parameters should work for a good while. Coach her up on staying ahead of it when driving: avoid full-power downshifts by being smart about pre-emptory downshifting to get up a hill; avoid constant locking/unlocking of torque converter, particularly under heavy load. I don't know how well Dodge programs that stuff...Ford is a crapshoot but can be worked around if you're handy with the OD lockout button on the shifter. the lockup clutch in the torque converter behind those diesels takes a beating. With that out of the way...

Sounds like ATG, one way or another, has caused a major electrical short/fault, to the tune of 20+ amps if it's discharging batteries in a couple hours. Idea: figure out the amp*hour rating of each battery (on label, or online for that battery size/make/model), multiply it by 2, and divide by the estimated discharge time. That's the amperage of the short (assuming full charge to start with). Inform ATG that that large of a short/fault cannot have occurred before they touched the truck, and a small claims court would agree, so it belongs to them - an assertion that is clearly made and understood if you have an idea of the amperage of the fault.

I have no idea what could cause a fault that large, but I've only owned manual transmission trucks...a fault that large should be blowing fuses or popping breakers.

I had a 2000 ram go into limp mode, cost me 1500 bucks , rebuilt the tranny, it was a cheap check valve that caused the problem. With my truck when it went into limp mode , just shut it off and restart it, limp mode went away for awhile.

Poke around the big battery cables to the starter and starter solenoid to see if they're properly routed and secured vs. rubbing on something. Those would have been disturbed during this work.

Wiring harness - if it was pulled hard or pinched during transmission removal - there may be issues within...If you are feeling like lying under a truck having dirty stuff rain down on you for a while, unplug the harness from the transmission (if accessible and easy) and poke around with a multimeter. Find the harness plug's ground pin(s) by checking continuity to the truck frame, then check other pins to see if they have continuity with the ground pin (or truck frame), which might indicate damage to wires within the harness (out of sight). Record wire colors if you find anything weird. It would strike me as unusual if the ground wire were a color other than black or white, but such is not out of the question. It could be that there is no ground pin...but my experience is that that sort of thing has its own ground path vs. grounding into the case to the bellhousing to the engine. This could be useful info for a cummins forum inquiry. 30 minute task or less if the plug is reasonably accessible.

Try it first with the positive wires disconnected from the batteries. If you find something funny, try it again with batteries connected, but check voltage on each pin relative to the frame instead of resistance/continuity. If voltage on the ground pin is anything other than zero point zero zero, you've found your problem - damaged wires in the harness.

What year is OP truck ?

My only experience with the same shop with a ram diesel was positive. They replaced the bad solenoid and sensor, replaced fluids in the tranny, diffs and transfer case all for ~$1000 and in a few days time.

I hate Anchorage Chrysler Dodge with a passion which is why I took it to AK Transmission.

First off, go shoot the sumbitch who recommended that place to her. (If it's one of these dudes here, give us a chance to pay our "good ridddances" first, (even if it's uncle-induced suicide! )

Next, bring that United video clip and remind them what "friendly" looks like......

..or you could take advice from someone less familiar with Smart-asses-R-US

Best wishes on sorting it out though; I do wish I had some solid advice other than trying to avoid getting too 'hot or threatening' with them. It does sound like they really don't have a clue about the job they took on.

Could be the flunky that was assigned the job on her truck?

I know I've dealt with some small shops where you'd get great advice as long as you talked to just the right person, and some large reputable shops where talking to the one wrong guy was worse than bad.

The classic mechanics shop saying: You have (1) good, (2) fast and (3) cheap. Pick two.

Someone went with fast and cheap to the detriment of quality.

I've only used that shop once and it was ~4 years ago so I have no idea if my experience or Art's niece's experience is out of the ordinary. Some places can be rock solid and then turn to crap. At the time it had been recommended to me and I wasn't about to let the dealership touch my truck after spending 11 days, 4 visits over a month and half to find and fix a broken hose clamp.

Sad to say my experience is that in the greater Anchorage area finding a modestly competent mechanic, carpenter, plumber, etc., is the exception to the rule. When you find one, be happy, pay what they ask and let them take their time to do the job right.

I recognized the problem after reading the first word in the subject line.

DODGE

Got a feeling you did not get called "sweetie".

You need to get a Ford.

That's why I cringe at the thought of taking stuff in for repair.

Very much appreciate the insights! Lots of electrical background, but very little automotive...

Owner was not in today. Employee sounded a bit disgruntled about being short-handed all the time.

Looked through the invoices and was surprised to see they actually did order two solenoids. I assumed they had decided not to and that was the issue.

Did not pick the truck up, but will tomorrow, whether the owner is there or not.

Not certain, but '08 I think.

Doubt that would fly... she is just a customer... and she is a hottie.

They came with several luke-warm recommendations from folks that had used them. There are no really good ones here, it seems.

67amp hour batteries (x2)... big fault... Your point appears very sound, thank you for that!

Thanks for the links!

Wiring harness was replaced... I suspect they abused it to the point of causing the fault... and possibly toasted the first replacement solenoid.

Had several other people that had reasonable success with them... you just never know when it will be your turn in the barrel.

Could not agree more on finding the right guy in any outfit...

To be fair they did do some research and they may be among the best we have here. A quick peek at Court View shows they have only been in small claims 4 times and won one. Same peek at other places shows far more legal activity...

Your point is very well taken...

okay I think the new style transmission started in 06 I know for sure 08 are not the same transmission as caused a great deal of headaches in the earlier Dodge diesels. Actually that transmission is pretty good I have seen more transmission problems from electrical issues that's really not in the transmission. You saying the battery has been replaced rules out my first thought of a corroded ground cable on the battery that I have seen cause many headaches and issues but possibly if they replace the wiring harness there could be a ground not hooked up, loose or corroded causing other problems which could account for a whole bunch of headaches. a bad throttle position sensor can make you think your transmission has Plum quick but I don't think that could account for your draining new battery issues.

Mostly good suggestions, and helpful, guys. Many years ago I was having transmission troubles behind a Cummins 12 valve. My wife went to a family reunion in North Texas, came back and told me one of her uncles had figured it out, said "them damn Dodge transmissions are crap!".She seemed to accept that assessment, but the engine in question - while originally from a Dodge Ram, was in my 31 Bertram (boat), and the transmission was a (marine) Twin Disc which I doubt her uncle had ever heard of, much less had any experience with. Not all advice you will be offered is as good as what you've gotten here.

I've had, besides Cummins 5.9's in boats, two 3/4 ton Rams with Cummins - one standard, one auto transmission - and a one ton 4wd dually Ram with the 6.7 Cummins. No transmission problems with any of the Rams.

Mike

A hotrod shop knows more than a reputable trans shop?

Sure they do. They know which parts are commonly subject to failure and replace those parts with heavy duty parts during the rebuild.

I know it's popular to bash ram's and auto transmissions, but other than the solenoid needing replacing at 90k, my transmission was solid for 150k. The caveats are I didn't chip the engine or drive like an idiot and I changed fluids are regular intervals. I did occasionally pull a real load or two up a hill or two with no problems.