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

Would appreciate any insights into what I really need to get.

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 ?

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

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.

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.

^^^^^

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

http://www.cumminsforum.com/

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.

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.

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.

Not certain, but '08 I think.

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.

A hotrod shop knows more than a reputable trans shop?