When I bought this beast it was idling low so for like 2 weeks I was stalling it every time I gave it a blip. I first slightly raised the idle at the linkage where the throttle cable is stopped against the pacbrake kill switch, which helped some. I saw where you guys said that's no bueno so eventually I got a manual and adjusted my rpms at the pump, to where Dodge recommends,

"750-800 RPM with transmission in drive and air conditioning on."

While this did solve my stalling issues completely, I can drive my truck up my steep offroad driveway in 4L with no skinny pedal! Just sit back and creep home on auto pilot!

As fun as that is, my tranny temps gradually creep at long lights or thick city traffic in general. I try to pop it in neutral whenever I can but that's alot of wear and tear. My truck wants to go so I'm sure the brakes get a bigger work out too. I'm wondering if I should back the rpms down some and look for a 'sweet spot'.

Is this normal?

 

You set the idle with the air on and trans in gear. What did the idle raise to when you turn the ac off and put the truck in neutral?

 

It is normal for the tranny temps to creep up when idling in gear...

 

Did you go back and adjust the linkage where it's supposed to be?
Very important.
I usually shift to N at a traffic light but we only have two within 50 miles of my house.
Do see the temps creep up if I stay in D but they aren't alarming.

 

I would set the idle in neutral, hop in and put it in gear, turn a/c on and check. When I got it into the 750-800 range I stopped. In neutral, with warm fuel it idles at about 900. Drop in gear and it pulls down to the 750-800 range. A/C doesn't seem to make much difference.

I did not readjust the linkage as I'm not sure right where it was exactly and the movement was pretty minimal. What are the pitfalls of linkage adjusting, TPS?

Thanks for your input guys, creeping tranny temps seem to be the norm, I'll just pop 'er in N on long lights.

 

You got it, TPS and TV cable out of adjustment.
Figure 11 here shows proper linkage adjustment http://dodgeram.info/tsb/recalls/970/repair.htm

 

The low-stall convertor is the culprit - you'll need to shift to NEUTRAL at stops and in very slow crawling traffic - keep an eye on the trans temp guage, shift accordingly - engine may idle at ~1000rpm in PARK\NEUTRAL, no ac, if adjusted to idle at 750 with low-stall TC and ac on

 

Thanks for that link infidel. GMCTD, I think you're on the money, I've been popping it into neutral at longer lights and I do monitor that temp. One day I sat there in gear for a long time arguing with my chic, looked down and holly crap was my tranny temp up there. It was my previous tranny and read almost 300 degrees, which can't be right. In any case I watch it pretty carefully now.

While on the topic of tranny temps me and a tranny guy test drove my truck around with his monitor hooked up. It read all stats like when solenoids went on and off and such. I watched his temp gauge (probe in oil) and closely compared it to the temps my gauge was reading. My gauge was accurate in the lower temps but read higher than his machine at higher operating temps. Not sure why...guess it's better than reading too low!

 

Where was his probe compared to yours?

 

In addition to Infidel's sage input (location, location, location), best mechanical guages are accurate only to ~10% of full scale reading - cheap versions are way worse, electric and full mechanical, inclusive - a scanner is digital, where accuracy is function of the sensor - guages and scantools can therefore show dis-similar readings, even if sensors are in same location - trust the scantool: remember if guage readings are similar at low end or high end for later interpolation - imo, best if temperature guage reads high, which serves to keep you on your toes, eh............

 

I believe his probe went through where the dipstick goes whereas mine is the standard tapped probe in the side.

Thanks gmctd for the outstanding explanation on gauges vs. scan tool. Yes, I'm happy it's accurate throughout normal driving temps, and reads extra high in the upper operating temps...helps keep honest.

Are you guys running that 750-800 rpm recommendation on your idle? I'm wondering how many rpm I can dial it down to find the best of both of these worlds:

Zero stalling with throttle blip...

Least amount of forward idle energy causing tranny temp creep, brake wear, drivetrain jolt, fuel waste, etc...

 

Suggestion: set idle as close to ~750rpm in NEUTRAL, ac on, lights on, as possible such that engine will not die when any gear range is selected - then follow thru with selecting NEUTRAL at stop - fuel used at idle is 0mpg..................