Truck is a 2004.5 CTD 3500 4x4 automatic with 57500 miles on it that I've now owned for maybe two months, i'm the second owner. I was heading up 65 in Indiana and had the cruise set to 78 with no load on the truck and was not pulling anything. got off at rt 10 to head across into Illinois and came to a stop at the exit. Sat there for about 30 seconds as two cars went past and stepped on the pedal to turn left and the transmission slipped. Immediately stopped the truck and sat for another minute tried it again it slipped slightly and them moved with no problem after that I had no problems with slippage the rest of the trip and then Sunday drove home and experienced no problems.

First thing...I was told by the dealer that I purchased this truck from that the 2003-2005 had a different warranty offered with them from Dodge when they were first sold 7yr/70,000??? is this correct? if not what warranty is still left with this truck or how could I find out what warranty (if any) is still left?

Second...What if any action should I take with this transmission problem? If its not still under warrenty I honestly cant afford to at this point spend another $4K on a new transmission after just buying this truck. Alternatives? ideas? I can't get it to repeat the problem right now so do I just ignore it till it goes?

I'm alittle frustrated at this point we've had a ton of problems with the left front end that we cant get the original dealer to even talk to us about. Convientially everyone we worked with on this sale of this truck no longer works for the dealership and its been very frustrating. Now with the transmission having slipped i'm extremely worried about my purchase.

Any help guidance/help is appreciated cause I'd really like to stop spending money on fixing this truck and actually get to enjoying having fun with it.

 

I know that my '04 came with a factory 7 year 70,000 mile warranty. It was a 3/4 ton with the Hemi. Not sure it that factory warranty was also on the diesels, but I would check into it.
Do the obvious stuff first, check/change the transmission fluid. If you can find the previous owners name, call him and see if the truck has a history. One alternative is to go back to the dealership you bought it from and get an extended warranty contract on it.

 

What he ^^^ said. Check the tranny fluid carefully: Hot, in Neutral, park brake set on and truck level. My tranny is very sensitive to the amount of ATF in it, and if not checked properly will give an erroneous reading (usually showing there is enough ATF, when in fact there isn't).

 

Could it be that I overheated the tranny doing 78 for 130miles? If I pull the trans pan andcheck I should be looking for what type of damage?

I dont have gauges on the truck yet but the engine temp gauge was just below 200 never budged through the whole trip. No warning lights, etc. came on.

Is a mag-hytec trans pan worth getting for the extra fluid? What other benifits would it offer?

Sorry for all the questions but my wifes all worried about it and I'm just trying to clear up some of the questions.

Thanks!

 

PM me your vin and I can print off any warranty that is left. You can take that to about any Dodge dealer and they can see the same. Double check the fluid, but if it is more than that and is still under warranty , why spend the money!

 

I've ran several times that distance pulling my 10,000# trailer at those speeds and higher. Shouldn't be a problem, that's what the CTD lives for ('cept with a real load).
The condition of the fluid can be checked at the dip stick, should be a nice bright red color, not dark red or brown. Also should not stink like burnt almonds.