Newbie here - transmission question (kinda long)
 

Hi all. I'm new here and I am in the market for a 98-01 CTD. I have some questions I'd like to pose to current owners.

My IDEAL truck would be a 24V with a 5-sp tranny but I'm finding that there just aren't too many of them out there. I've only been looking for about 3 weeks, but they've been hard to come by. However, there are a TON of automatics.

The truck will primarily be used to tow a relatively light camp trailer in the summertime (<5000lbs). Eventually we may opt for a little larger trailer but certainly nothing more than about 8000lbs. I've driven a couple of CTD's already (5-sp's only) and I'm quite impressed with the power and I don't really think I'll be dong too many mod's to it as I'm sure it'll pull our trailer pretty easily.

So my question is this: should I really be limiting myself to a 5-sp tranny? Will an automatic hold up? I realize that the vehicle's previous owner/history has more to do with the longevity rather than my intended uses. But if I find a clean truck (mechanically), do I really need to worry about the automatic crapping out?

I've done a lot of searching on the subject and it seems like those folks who've had problems are towing a lot more than I am going to and/or have BOMB'd their trucks. I'd appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks.

-Neal
Boise, ID

my best advice would be to get what you prefer. there have been guys who have gotten well over 100k on the original autos and others that havent gotten 50k. If i remember reading correctly there some issues that the NV4500 had also, with loosing OD and maybe something else. I would just recomend you get what you prefer to drive. The standards may be a little more reliable but if you dont really like to drive them then you wont enjoy your truck.

and where are my manners WELCOME ABOARD :)

I have an auto and love it. I did however get an aftermarket unit. If you want to tow with an automatic I would suggest one of the them or at least a valve body and torque converter. They shift down in the torque curve and have beefier parts and with proper maintenance and common sense will last the life of the truck.
Here are a few places to get you started.
http://www.suncoastconverters.com/dodge.html
http://www.dieseltrans.com/dodge/index.htm
http://www.atsdiesel.com/products/products-dodge.html
http://www.gbtransmissions.com/default.htm
Just my $0.02 worth

So basically a stock automatic tranny is likely to die behind the Cummins?

I just got home from test driving a '01 CTD with an automatic. The tranny in that truck is on its last leg - at 60mph, RPMs were bouncing between 1800 and 2500 at a constant speed. This only confirms my desire to stick with a 5-sp and avoid the whole thing. Now, if I could just find a truck with this setup...

I'd say go with a 5 speed. I kick myself in the butt everytime I drive my auto equipped truck.

Welcome to the site. I wasn’t paying attention on your first post.
That must have been one heck of a ride. If it were jumping 700 rpm at 60 mph it would not have been a constant speed. The torque converter is locked up at that speed and it would have jerked you around in the cab. It sounds like there’s something wrong with the tach. I would leave it, it sounds like it has other troubles.
The auto tranny is a weak spot if not taken care of when towing. They can be made to be very reliable. There are guys on this site with over 600+ HP with autos that drag race their trucks and drive their truck daily. I got the upgrade because I don’t like to baby anything. I tow an 8080 lb 5th wheel and when the speed limit is 70 mph I want to do 75. I also tow in overdrive with no problems but I wouldn’t want to do that with a stock unit. If I had a manual there are a few things I would change with that as well. The stock clutch and pressure plate would be the first thing to go. I’ll let the manual tranny guys address anything you should be made aware of.
It does sound like you should get a manual tranny with your distrust of the auto tranny. If you are worried about it all the time you will never feel comfortable. There are some things to think about with a manual tranny. There is some information in the post below for you to consider. I would also do another post with any questions you might come up with about that setup. The guys here will be helpful. You can also do a search on “5-speed” and get a lot of info already talked about.
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ghlight=5speed
Good Luck with your search.

both the five and the six speed are great trannys, with big loads i have been extremely satisfied with my conversion from the five to the 6 the 4th gear filled that gap beteween 3rd and 4 th on the older five speeds adding almost 10 mph to my speed when climbing passes.

as to five speeds availible by factory numbers it was somewhere around a 40-45% manual and 55-60% anuto split for quite afew years there IMPO the problem is most guys who ordered manuals don't give them readily because they have had great service from them. just my .02

my five speed (a p&^s poor rebuild) spit the OD off at 15000 miles 3k past the tranny shop warranty when i installed my motor. after that i found a 1-3/8 input 6spd for 800 bucks (ebay) used with 60k on it and a gear/ bearing clatter problem (they said), i never opened it up just ran it and i have used the 6spd now for 160k miles of the 175000 on my truck since the Cmns-conversion and have had no problems with the clutch or the tranny. I have run redline MTL since the day i put it in, change the fluid every 30k and beat the ever loving crap out of it with heavy loads 20K lbs+ trailers, long hauls 20-30hrs non stop, 4x4ing and the occasional immature stoplight race with a little power shifting.

I did have a little trouble down shifting from 4th to third with both the five and six speeds but if you get in the habit of rpm matching instead of lazy footing it the gear will fall in.

IMPO that should say quite a bit about the longevity of these things in sever operating conditions.

Just keep looking
Dusty

My auto has 98,000, I adjust the bands, and change the fluid, never had a problem. I tow 10% of the time 8,000 to 14,000 trailer weight. No Problems.

I'm in the same boat you are. Still looking. Not much around the Twin Falls area either.

I missed one oportunity, 97 with 69k on it. The dealership called me but I was out of town and would be back till the next day. They sold it that morning for 17k.

slim choices.

I did see a 98 advertised up in Emmett. I haven't been able to get out of work long enough to go up and check it out.

Good luck.

I had a 98 turbo with the auto and 246,000 on it and pulled a 30 ft trailer pulling large tractors about 3 times a week. NEVER had a problem. Now I have an 02 with 96,000 on it and almost all those miles were racked up pulling big loads. Again not a single problem. MAINTENCE is the major deciding factor for the auto's reliability.

By maintenence, do you just mean changing the fluid/filter at the given intervals? Is there more to it than that? If so, please explain. Thanks.

Also, have you owned your automatics since they were new? If I were buying a new truck (or if I had the money to do so, that is), maybe I wouldn't worry so much about them. That's just not in the cards for me right now and I worry about what Joe Blow did or didn't do to the engine and/or tranny that worries me about buying the automatic. If I dropped an automatic off at a tranny shop, could they quickly (and cheaply) determine the state of the tranny before I buy? Or would determining such status basically require a complete tear-down? Guess I'll hafta make a few phone calls tomorrow...

TRANSMISSION QUESTION
 

Yes by maintenence I meant changing fluids and filters. Also getting the bands checked from time to time isn't a bad idea either. When I bought my first truck it had almost 160,000 on it. The first place it went was the tranny shop because like you I had heard some spooky stories about the automatics. My second truck only had 40,000 when I bought it and again it went staight to the shop to be checked. Any good tranny shop can tell a lot about abuse and neglect from the fluid and filter. Also every time I have had my fluid changed I have them put in at least 2 quarts of Lucas transmission fluid. I race almost 3 nights a week every week and use Lucas in every fluid in my car. The stuff really works. If you are going to be pulling heavy loads day in and day out the standard tranny is the way to go. If your like me only a couple times a week the automatic is unbelievably dependable and durable.;)

I to was in your spot abnout 7 months ago when deciding weather to go with the auto or manual. I'm glad i went with the auto. I've spent seat time in both before and like how fast the auto's will do in the 1/4. I dont tow much so that wasn't a big factor. I did however just do the TC and VB and BI on the auto at 61000 miles because my TC was starting to slip a little. I went with the triple disk from suncoast and man what a difference. The tranny shifts like a champ, and doing the swap took a lot of the worries about it off my mind.

kdawg62 i see your from ut also. who done your install and for how much for vb and tc. my tc is starting to shudder under heavy load.

Mooseman. I did the install myself, but i work at gillett diesel in bluffdale so i would reccomend taking it to us, because we do quite a few. We are a suncoast dealer... I think we're the only one in utah. I got it at dealer cost so i'm not sure what it would be off teh top of my head, but its something like 1300 for a triple disk, and i believe its 295 for the valve body. The single disk is 1100. Not exactly sure on those prices, but i think its pretty close. Labor is 350-400 I think. I could find out exact amount if you want.