Notchyness is that a word? Oh well I think you guys know what I mean.

I have an 04 HO with a 6 speed. The shift between 2 and 3rd (and to a lesser degree, 3rd and 4th) is VERY notchy, almost like you are feeling your way thru the gears. I only have about 2300 miles on it and I am thinking of changing out the factory oil and using Redline MTL.

I hear everyone saying the tranny will shift better with age, but in my case it has gotten progressivily worse since new. I read here a while back about using Prolong trans additive and am curious how, in the long term, it is working out. I am even considering leaving the stock fluid in (for now) and adding the prolong additive.

Are there any mechanical adjustments that can be made to the tranny? Could the synchros be bad? (this early) I hate to take it to the dealer for ANY reason including warranty work...it runs to well to have them screw it up!

Any help/advise would be appreciated!

Otherwise the truck is literally perfect! Not a single hiccup with it since I got it getting 17-18 MPG combo city and freeway, hand calculated!

SCORE 2 POINTS FOR DODGE!

 

Mine got better when I changed out the fluid. I wouldn't start messing with snake oil; just good oil.

Only two points? ?? Thats it?

 

...an answer to my own post!


http://dieselram.com/cgi-bin/ultimat...;f=29;t=001098

 

what was the answer?

 

It should loosen up - - mine did. I just had the dealer change it to synthetic. I had them do it so there was no problem with possible future issues that might come up. Don't have enough time on it to tell if it changed any. I am quite comfortable with it now. You do need to slow down a tad in the shifts.

 

Give it some time and it will get better. Mine has been real tight also, but now at 12K it is beginning to come into its own. I have Red Line MTL for the trans, +C for the transfer case and 75w90 for the pumpkins sitting on my work bench ready to go in at 15K or when I get to it and I expect to see some improvement from Red Line or at least I hope so. I also have heard good things about it. So, we will see.

 

Changed my fluid at 25K miles. I used the Penzoil Synchromesh fluid that meets the factory spec. Trans got noticably better immediately.

 

Have you considered the BD short shifter?
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "notchyness" or the problem you are describing. So I can't say if your problem is in the gears or somewhere else. I find the BD short shifter to be a big improvement over stock making finding the gears much easier and more direct.

 

I had the same issue with my tranny when it was new. Now with 10k miles the tranny shifting is very smooth. Probably will be even better when I change the fluid.

MikeyB

 

Mine has the 2-3 notchy issue. It's only an issue on the first couple shifts through 2-3 in the morning (it was much worse in the winter). I usually double-clutch the first few 2-3 shifts in the morning to keep it from catching. I can't tell if it's gotten better due to the warmer weather or the miles (go 6000 mls on it now).

 

my trans was a bit notchy at first but now is near silky smooth [just under 10k kilometers on it]