97 Dodge ram 1500 transmission problems

My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?

Schism > wrote:
>My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
>few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
>drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
>light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
>the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
>that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
>common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
>circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
>models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
>it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
>saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
>kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
>65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?

My opinion: change your transmission fluid, then keep driving. If he
is right, the torque converter will eventually fail catastrophically
and you will have to be towed. When this happens, you get a new
transmission, and pay about the same amount of money. In the meantime
you've got months or even years more mileage out of it.

But do replace the transmission fluid regularly, even if you are not
driving the thing very often.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Schism wrote:
> My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
> few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
> drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
> light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
> the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
> that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
> common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
> circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
> models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
> it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
> saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
> kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
> 65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?
>


Well, the guy doesn't have a flying clue about Mopar transmissions. No,
they don't circulate fluid in park, but NO, it doesn't hurt anything
either. Yes they make kits to circulate the fluid in Park, but the only
advantage is that it fills the TC immediately on startup in the event
its drained down overnight. BFD, start it in neutral and idle it there
for 30 seconds if it feels sluggish first thing in the morning.

Try a fluid and filter change, see what happens.

Even if the transmission were as shot as he says, I'm really suspicious
that he wants to replace the GEARS too. The planetary sets just about
never fail. Sounds like he's looking for a fast profit off you.

"Steve" > wrote in message
news
> Schism wrote:
>> My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
>> few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
>> drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
>> light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
>> the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
>> that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
>> common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
>> circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
>> models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
>> it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
>> saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
>> kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
>> 65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?
>>
>
>
> Well, the guy doesn't have a flying clue about Mopar transmissions. No,
> they don't circulate fluid in park, but NO, it doesn't hurt anything
> either. Yes they make kits to circulate the fluid in Park, but the only
> advantage is that it fills the TC immediately on startup in the event its
> drained down overnight. BFD, start it in neutral and idle it there for 30
> seconds if it feels sluggish first thing in the morning.
>
> Try a fluid and filter change, see what happens.
>
> Even if the transmission were as shot as he says, I'm really suspicious
> that he wants to replace the GEARS too. The planetary sets just about
> never fail. Sounds like he's looking for a fast profit off you.

Yikes.... sounds like i paid a little too much too...part of the resaon
though is because I brought it to a repair shop.. er more like had it towed
to a repair shop .... they dont do trannys, so they sent it out to a tranny
shop..er towed it there.....i guess my gears broke the roll pin that holds
them on the shaft (spider gears maybe?)... anyway.... they also put in a new
radiator as they said all the shavings were gonna get back thru to the
tranny and id be doing it all over again.... hmmm... now that didn't sound
very honest...
i have a 97 dodge caravan with a 3.3 liter engine... it had 126,000
miles on it. I bought it with 70,000. Changed fluid at 100,000 and was
thinking of doing it at 125,000, but never did....hmmmmmm. What happened
was i was driving along and when i went to take a corner, the vehicle felt
like it was going to stall via bogging... well after taking the turn, it
seemed to go away, but all of a sudden the tranny locked up.. skidded to a
complete stop while i was still in the travel lane and next thing i know ...
no gears... forward or reverse....like i was stuck in park.... anyway....
2800 with towing and radiator....
I had it done cuz i am keeping the vehicle... its stil in good shape,
and i feel i can get another 80,000 miles out of it at least...plus it was
cheaper than buying another vehicle, so if you still feel 1500 is gonna get
you at least that much wear and tear out of it, then I would have it done,
but if you feel that youve gotten your useful life out of the truck, then
you might want to strt looking for another one....

good luck..

Fwed

2 different transmissions, 2 different problems and issues.
"fweddybear" > wrote in message
news:jXCBf.69470$QW2.63821@dukeread08...
>
> "Steve" > wrote in message
> news
>> Schism wrote:
>>> My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
>>> few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
>>> drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
>>> light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
>>> the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
>>> that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
>>> common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
>>> circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
>>> models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
>>> it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
>>> saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
>>> kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
>>> 65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?
>>>
>>
>>
>> Well, the guy doesn't have a flying clue about Mopar transmissions. No,
>> they don't circulate fluid in park, but NO, it doesn't hurt anything
>> either. Yes they make kits to circulate the fluid in Park, but the only
>> advantage is that it fills the TC immediately on startup in the event its
>> drained down overnight. BFD, start it in neutral and idle it there for 30
>> seconds if it feels sluggish first thing in the morning.
>>
>> Try a fluid and filter change, see what happens.
>>
>> Even if the transmission were as shot as he says, I'm really suspicious
>> that he wants to replace the GEARS too. The planetary sets just about
>> never fail. Sounds like he's looking for a fast profit off you.
>
> Yikes.... sounds like i paid a little too much too...part of the resaon
> though is because I brought it to a repair shop.. er more like had it
> towed to a repair shop .... they dont do trannys, so they sent it out to a
> tranny shop..er towed it there.....i guess my gears broke the roll pin
> that holds them on the shaft (spider gears maybe?)... anyway.... they also
> put in a new radiator as they said all the shavings were gonna get back
> thru to the tranny and id be doing it all over again.... hmmm... now that
> didn't sound very honest...
> i have a 97 dodge caravan with a 3.3 liter engine... it had 126,000
> miles on it. I bought it with 70,000. Changed fluid at 100,000 and was
> thinking of doing it at 125,000, but never did....hmmmmmm. What happened
> was i was driving along and when i went to take a corner, the vehicle felt
> like it was going to stall via bogging... well after taking the turn, it
> seemed to go away, but all of a sudden the tranny locked up.. skidded to a
> complete stop while i was still in the travel lane and next thing i know
> ... no gears... forward or reverse....like i was stuck in park....
> anyway.... 2800 with towing and radiator....
> I had it done cuz i am keeping the vehicle... its stil in good shape,
> and i feel i can get another 80,000 miles out of it at least...plus it was
> cheaper than buying another vehicle, so if you still feel 1500 is gonna
> get you at least that much wear and tear out of it, then I would have it
> done, but if you feel that youve gotten your useful life out of the truck,
> then you might want to strt looking for another one....
>
> good luck..
>
> Fwed
>
>



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fweddybear wrote:

> "Steve" > wrote in message
> news >
>>Schism wrote:
>>
>>>My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
>>>few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
>>>drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
>>>light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
>>>the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
>>>that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
>>>common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
>>>circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
>>>models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
>>>it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
>>>saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
>>>kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
>>>65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?
>>>
>>
>>
>>Well, the guy doesn't have a flying clue about Mopar transmissions. No,
>>they don't circulate fluid in park, but NO, it doesn't hurt anything
>>either. Yes they make kits to circulate the fluid in Park, but the only
>>advantage is that it fills the TC immediately on startup in the event its
>>drained down overnight. BFD, start it in neutral and idle it there for 30
>>seconds if it feels sluggish first thing in the morning.
>>
>>Try a fluid and filter change, see what happens.
>>
>>Even if the transmission were as shot as he says, I'm really suspicious
>>that he wants to replace the GEARS too. The planetary sets just about
>>never fail. Sounds like he's looking for a fast profit off you.
>
>
> Yikes.... sounds like i paid a little too much too...part of the resaon
> though is because I brought it to a repair shop.. er more like had it towed
> to a repair shop .... they dont do trannys, so they sent it out to a tranny
> shop..er towed it there.....i guess my gears broke the roll pin that holds
> them on the shaft (spider gears maybe?)...

Planetary gears, and yes they CAN break. But its not a usual part that
has to be replaced. But (skipping ahead) you're talking about a minivan
transmission, not a truck transmission. Night and day difference.


they also put in a new
> radiator as they said all the shavings were gonna get back thru to the
> tranny and id be doing it all over again.... hmmm... now that didn't sound
> very honest...

A competent shop should worry about that, but the usual solution is to
flush the trasmission cooler lines and the cooler itself, not replace
the whole radiator.

> i have a 97 dodge caravan with a 3.3 liter engine... <snip>

> but all of a sudden the tranny locked up.. skidded to a
> complete stop while i was still in the travel lane and next thing i know ...
> no gears... forward or reverse....like i was stuck in park....

A minivan tranny is a VERY different animal than a Ram 1500 tranny.
Minivan tranmissions break gears a *WHOLE* lot more often than truck
transmissions.


And that price isn't out of line for a van transmission, either.

"Steve" > wrote in message
...
> fweddybear wrote:
>
>> "Steve" > wrote in message
>> news >>
>>>Schism wrote:
>>>
>>>>My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
>>>>few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
>>>>drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
>>>>light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
>>>>the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
>>>>that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
>>>>common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
>>>>circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
>>>>models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
>>>>it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
>>>>saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
>>>>kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
>>>>65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Well, the guy doesn't have a flying clue about Mopar transmissions. No,
>>>they don't circulate fluid in park, but NO, it doesn't hurt anything
>>>either. Yes they make kits to circulate the fluid in Park, but the only
>>>advantage is that it fills the TC immediately on startup in the event its
>>>drained down overnight. BFD, start it in neutral and idle it there for 30
>>>seconds if it feels sluggish first thing in the morning.
>>>
>>>Try a fluid and filter change, see what happens.
>>>
>>>Even if the transmission were as shot as he says, I'm really suspicious
>>>that he wants to replace the GEARS too. The planetary sets just about
>>>never fail. Sounds like he's looking for a fast profit off you.
>>
>>
>> Yikes.... sounds like i paid a little too much too...part of the
>> resaon though is because I brought it to a repair shop.. er more like had
>> it towed to a repair shop .... they dont do trannys, so they sent it out
>> to a tranny shop..er towed it there.....i guess my gears broke the roll
>> pin that holds them on the shaft (spider gears maybe?)...
>
> Planetary gears, and yes they CAN break. But its not a usual part that has
> to be replaced. But (skipping ahead) you're talking about a minivan
> transmission, not a truck transmission. Night and day difference.
>
>
> they also put in a new
>> radiator as they said all the shavings were gonna get back thru to the
>> tranny and id be doing it all over again.... hmmm... now that didn't
>> sound very honest...
>
> A competent shop should worry about that, but the usual solution is to
> flush the trasmission cooler lines and the cooler itself, not replace the
> whole radiator.
>
>> i have a 97 dodge caravan with a 3.3 liter engine... <snip>
>
>> but all of a sudden the tranny locked up.. skidded to a complete stop
>> while i was still in the travel lane and next thing i know ... no
>> gears... forward or reverse....like i was stuck in park....
>
> A minivan tranny is a VERY different animal than a Ram 1500 tranny.
> Minivan tranmissions break gears a *WHOLE* lot more often than truck
> transmissions.
>
>
> And that price isn't out of line for a van transmission, either.


I realize they are different trannys... (truck and van), but you did ask
my opinion on this, so yes, my scenario is completely different.... I was
just telling you about my woes.... but the question was worded such that it
was asking an opinion, and along with my story, I did mention my
opinion.....the part about if you felt you would get more than the 1500
bucks you might be spending on fixing it..... and if you didn't feel like
you would that you might wanna consider looking for another vehicle.....I
guess that was the point i was trying to make... i just made it at the end
instead of the beginning....

Sorry for the mix up..

Fwed

"Schism" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> My 97 dodge ram 1500 has been making odd noises in reverse for the last
> few years, though it didn't seem to affect anything and I very rarely
> drive it (I've put 18,000 miles on it in 5 years) but the check engine
> light has been on for a while so we sent it in to get it checked out,
> the guy told me I need a new torque converter, bands and gears, and
> that the circulatory system is basically ****ed, he said the most
> common cause of this on dodge is because the transmission fluid doesn't
> circulate when it's idle in park (and that it applied to all dodge
> models), I very rarely do this, or have had a chance to do it, he said
> it's likely because the previous owner did it, but worst of all he's
> saying it's going to cost $1500 or so to have it fixed and install a
> kit where idling in park will not damage it. The truck itself only has
> 65,000 miles on it since it was new, what is your opinion on this?

He is likely dead wrong about that tranny. There is a tech service
bulletin out about that noise in reverse. Mine does it too. It is likely
caused by a vibration in a valve. They have a replacement for it,
if this is what your problem is.

My Dodge has 107,000 miles on it and the tranny is still as strong as
an elephant.