Rebuilding a Dodge truck transmission.

The transmission in my FIL's 1997 Dodge Ram has been out for about five years, and with the selling of the truck he's been using for his side business, suddenly there's a huge rush to get the trans out and rebuilt.

So today we get the dude out, and my brother in law, a 17 year old high school senior who is pretty handy, is going to try to rebuild it depending on what's wrong and what needs to be replaced.

He's a smart kid and does his homework on this stuff, and I have faith in him, but can the two of us rebuild this thing in what is essentially a barn?

Also, on the bellhousing it says 064-8. Which one do we have?

He's brave. I took one look at mine and decided it looked like a box full of guts and paid someone else to do it. A Transgo shift kit might be a good thing to stick in it at this point. I also got a tranny cooler for mine.

Is it V6 or V8? RWD or 4x4? If it's a 1500 RWD V8, it's probably a 46RE, a V6 then 44RE. RH if it's 4x4.

Here's a thread:

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t21960_ds517561

Have the Chrysler book on hand, read it carefully.

Totally Do-Able! Search out videos on youtube for A518 rebuild/refresh. The only tool you might need is the special spring compressor fixture. You could do the compressing with some generic spring compressors and a screwdriver but its much easier with the tool. The tool is easy to find generic or make yourself (which is what I did).

And clean, clean, clean! Sounds simple, but in my opinion a bunch of failures come from reassembling with dirt and grit all over hands and tools. Gloves and cleaning supplies are much cheaper than a second rebuild kit. Egg cartons are handy for organizing and they are disposable. I will clean the outside of the transmission and put a new plastic drop cloth on my "bench" when I start a rebuild.

I just realized that I gave completely opposite advice on another website when a kid asked me about rebuilding the transmission in his Rover( told him to take it to a shop).

I assume a much higher level of ability and positive attitude here.

I have always thought of the auto transmission as full on smoke and mirrors. so I am of no help. This is why my cars are always manuals. some of them give people a double take like my BMW X5.

Chris

What was the symptom that got the truck parked in the first place?

The '97 should be the 46RE automatic. That's the electronic version of the 518. Check to see how many wires are going to the transmission. The 518 will have 3 wires for the neutral safety/reverse light switch, and a second three wire connector for the lockup converter and overdrive. The 46RE will have a bunch of wires going to the second connector to control the solenoid pack in the valve body. If you have a 46RE plan on spending the money for a fresh solenoid pack.

If there is debris in the trans pan, it's possible there's debris plugging the oil feed to the overdrive unit. That could be fatal to the OD.

Ditch the drainback check valve in the trans cooler line. Flush the trans cooler, or depending on the failure, replace the trans cooler. I've seen fresh rebuilds fail shortly after getting reinstalled from the debris still in the cooler. Either from the debris itself or the cooler being plugged up.

I second the Trans Go shift kit Lesley recommended. And second the cleanliness Ojala suggested.

Rob_Mopar wrote: What was the symptom that got the truck parked in the first place? The '97 should be the 46RE automatic. That's the electronic version of the 518. Check to see how many wires are going to the transmission. The 518 will have 3 wires for the neutral safety/reverse light switch, and a second three wire connector for the lockup converter and overdrive. The 46RE will have a bunch of wires going to the second connector to control the solenoid pack in the valve body. If you have a 46RE plan on spending the money for a fresh solenoid pack. If there is debris in the trans pan, it's possible there's debris plugging the oil feed to the overdrive unit. That could be fatal to the OD. Ditch the drainback check valve in the trans cooler line. Flush the trans cooler, or depending on the failure, replace the trans cooler. I've seen fresh rebuilds fail shortly after getting reinstalled from the debris still in the cooler. Either from the debris itself or the cooler being plugged up. I second the Trans Go shift kit Lesley recommended. And second the cleanliness Ojala suggested.

Should be a 46 if a V8 and a 42/44 if V6.

Either way, inside the main case they are 727 or 904 Torqueflite respectively.

I'll go with the shift kit mod. Stock they shift like E36 M3.

Always put in OD/governor pressure solenoids and a new pressure transducer for RE's.

The OD unit is a complete separate unit that is a bit more complex then the "caveman" front half.

Ditch the drainback check valve in the line and install a Sonnax manual valve that allows the converter to fill in Park.

There is a lot more that can be said, but doesn't need to be said.

Truck was parked because it wouldn't move under it's own power. He had another truck to use, so it wasn't deemed important.

On a hunch, they decided to see what adding fluid would do. It moved! But it was stuck in second, and still didn't feel right. At least that's how I paraphrased it.

I got over here and the kid has the trans propped up against the work bench taking it apart. The clutches looked pretty charred, the planetary gears turn fine, and he said there was a small amount of metal shavings on the magnet in the pan.

UPDATE: Just now he brings in what he called the overdrive clutches and they are burnt to a crisp. I asked my father in law if the trans or cooler had been flushed and he said no. This thing was rebuilt before, so we don't know if it's a crappy rebuild, a plugged cooler or what.

Step 00 NEW trans cooler!!

Step 01 read above lots of good stuff.

Step 02 flush the cooler lines

Note: The OD unit has a very large and strong spring inside that wants the berkeley out, you will need a shop press to take the unit apart and put it back together.

Other than the OD unit not that hard to fix.

Good luck Paul B

on a similar note, im hopefully picking up a 4l60e this friday that is supposedly rebuilt. for 100 bucks, ill take a chance. is there any preventative maintenance to a trans, or simple inspections, that can be made prior to putting it in and having to remove due to issues? other than fresh filter/fluid.seals, that is. is tehre ways to bench test these things?