@&#^%*^ Truck!

[muddycreek]

Took the oldest out to see the GSP Nationals today, or should I say attempetd. We were both excited to head out, he for the horses and the dogs, me for the dogs and his companionship. Once there we were to meet up with Hotpepper and he was going to show ne around and talk dogs. Well about 15 miles from the grounds the truck starts acting funny like it's missing, or I have some bad fuel in the tank. It wasn't wanting to accelerate or shift correctly. Well the boy needed to use the facilities so we stopped qiuck for him. After he finished, it's back on the road. Well, the dang transmission is caput , wouldn't get out of second. so we turned around and limped home at 30mph max, but pushing the rpms. Well, it's back to the POS dealership to get a new tranny.

At least it's covered by warranty. I hope to sneak out next weekend to check it out.

[kylenicholas02]

I had a Dodge 3500 that did this... Fought over two years, and then sued Chrysler and got a new truck... It was horrible.. Good luck

[muddycreek]

Na Chevy- my last one lasted 10 yrs without any mechanical issues at all. What do ya expect outa Gummerment Motors.

[TEX-X]

dodges automatics are crap....stick with the manual....also the new dodges are having wicked turbo problems/power steering pump problems/ they're shelling motors for what dodge says is "bad fuel" Chevrolet is having intermittent head gasket issues..... is it an allison? thank god for warranty...it would break the bank to put a new allison in it.... and everyone wonders why i drive old stuff....

[TEX-X]

i have an 83 chev pickup... it shells a tranny....500 bucks....blow a motor i'll build another one for 1500.... rear ends are a dime a dozen.... she has a nine inch ford in it right now.... downside is fuel mileage.... that hotrod 454 will drink the gas

[Shadow]

Tex- good point- before the SW I used a 2 wheel drive ranger with a topper- 83

fella wanted a pup of mine, didn't have much spare money, so we swapped pup for pickup
I rebuilt the 4 cylinder engine, rebuilt the three speed auto transmission- put in a used higher geared rearend- cost- $900.00- at 60 I could get good gas mileage-

on the modern day pickups there are quite a few things that can cause a transmission to not work properly- on the older ones- pretty simple really
I like to see that some use the older pickups for hunting rigs- sometimes you get permission to hunt because you don't look like you have a lot of money

[TEX-X]

a few weeks ago i changed a heater core in an 2003 dodge ram 4.7l....i coudn't figger out why the book called for 16 hours of flag time.... and the stealership wanted 1000 bucks to change a 90 dollar part...well let me tell you I found out why.... the steering wheel has to be dropped, the entire dash has to come off, drain the coolant, unplug the powertrain control module, Evac the airconditioning system....and when all said and done with the the hvac box is held on by 2 bolts....flip it over and the heater core has two screws in it. fricking retarded on dodge's part... good luck with your transmission...

[Ruffshooter]

03 Chevy truck, 4x4 : 2 transmissions one differential, fuel pump, two front axels, 8 broken exhaust manifold bolts, Motor has 272,000 miles no issues, burns no oil, truck rides great, I beat on it, plowing my yard and the office building.

I am looking right now at $1,500 to be able to take a sticker, three months overdue. Still cheaper than a new truck at $30,000. Even the used are high priced, $18,500 for an 05 ford f150 4x4.

Since the Obamamotors, cash for clunkers the price of used vehicles has gone throught the roof and you can't get a good trade on a decent truck. They will only give me $3,500 for my wifes 05 dogde 2x4, it is a nice truck.

Anyway.
I won't be in anything new ever again. All vehicles are paid off.

[BigShooter]

A few pieces of advice for truck owners that tow:

!. Obtain & use a transmission temperature gauge - over heating is your biggest enemy
2. Obtain the largest transmission cooler available that'll fit in your truck - overheating is your transmission's biggest enemy
3. For four speed automatics, always tow anything other than an empty featherweight trailer with the tranny in third gear - NOT OVERDRIVE. The transmission components for the fourth gear in most four speed overdrive transmissions were not built tough enough to withstand the rigors of towing.
4. Change your tranny fluid often enough

[bpenn1980]

A lot of vehicles starting in '95 (I think) have OBDII computers. I think you can pick up a OBDII plug-and-play monitor so you can see real time information on your whole truck. Good for monitoring trans temps and pretty much everything else you have a sensor for.

I agree with used vehicles. I have a '94 toyota land cruiser that drinks gas with a 4.5L straight 6 and is gutless for towing, but it'll go anywhere I ask thanks to two solid axles, 3 locking diffs and a set of BFG AT tires. DIY maintenance seems to be easier on older stuff too. Anyway, after not having car payments for a while it gives me a headache to think about.

[Shadow]

owned an auto repair shop into the mid 90's- these overdrive transmisions I left to a specialist-I'd take them out and bring to Certified Transmission- got to admit- transmision extra cooler was a good idea- changing the fluid seemed to get bypassed

these new vehicles are nice- wonder why many don't go with manual transmissions-

[Russmill84]

had tranny problems of my own with my 07 Classic Silverado. Dealership helped me out like no other. Hopefully the same happens for you.

[muddycreek]

Sent her in today to get worked on. We'll see tomorrow what they say. Trying to remind myself that all things mechanical do break (why can't it just happen to the other guy?). For what it's worth I haven't towed much with the truck, I had a transmission cooler put on, when I do haul anything with decent weight Ido use the Tow/haul mode not overdrive. Heck I've towed more with my wifes Honda Pilot than this pickup. Believe me I use my pickup for what it's intended for, but I don't abuse it like our old farm trucks that you couldn't kill. More than likely just a fluke, I just wish I could bring it to a different dealership. We are currently having discussions on some items supposedly "fixed" during the full warranty period, but are now acting up again and or were never touched.

[Shadow]

why are you taking it to a dealership you don't like- hope you said you wanted to be called before work is started- did you get a loaner

unless something has changed you aren't comitted to the dealership you purchased from

[muddycreek]

Since it was towed in, you are required to go to the closest dealer. I did have a discussion with the service manager and things are looking good. A new tranny is being put in, loaner secured, and other issues are being taken care of.

The prognosis was one of the clutches failed, throwing metal everywhere and causing catastrophic damage. Hopefully good as new in a few days.

[Shadow]

thanks for explaining- I was service manager for a Ford dealership

[TEX-X]

hmmmm a clutch pack failed? was the tranny slipping before hand? that's one of those things where you have a few symptoms before hand....i'm glad you're getting it taken care of...

[Shadow]

good one Tex-

question- you getting a brand new transmission, rebuilt, used, or removed from another vehicle

[muddycreek]

noticed some rough shifting for about a week, nothing consistent, and it's a brand new tranny.

[Shadow]

what kind of warranty are you getting with the new tranny