hibiscuslvr

New to the site...First and foremost, I am female. (in case the user name was throwing you off...). Was in a car accident 6 wks ago, someone numbskull wasnt paying attention, Plowed into my toyota camry, totalled it out,and put me in physical therapy.So I did the only thing I knew to do..Went and bought a truck... 2002 Dodge 2500 automatic lwb... wanted to make sure people saw And heard me coming from now on. And boy , am I loving it...already attached to it. (One day, itl be used for more than my 100 mile a day commute, when we buy a boat....probably later now..). Anyhow.. 3 days ago, (have had the truck for 4 wks now, has driven wonderfully.). Started it up, and it would not shift past what appears to me 2nd gear. I shut down. , re-started and it seemed fine.. Did it again , an hour later, after stopping for diesel. SO... I took it to local dealer, paided them 81 dollars and some change, for them to tell me that basically the valve body needs replacing, ($1200), but I should probably go ahead and get a whole new transmission... to the tune of $3700.00 + tax.. They said that the torque converter was putting debris into the body, causing this to happen, and that most likely The TC need replacing too..this seems a little much to me..but not knowing a lot about these things yet, wanted to get some advice from people who know these things... (excuse my mistakes, I m learning , and I am a fast learner...)So ..called another place , that just builds transmissions, and was told that it could be done for around $1800.( a rebuild on the transmission.)I believe he said it s a 47 RE... So if anyone could give me some pointers, since most of my mind is gone already.. I d really appreciate it... The dealer guy did say that they hooked it up to a computer, but there were no codes in the history, so he s convinced it isnt electrical. BTW.. second owner of the truck, it has 52,800 miles... thanks to anyone in advance!

Geico266

I would go with the rebuild for $1800 and upgrade the torque converter $800. The stock ones are really lame. FYI when towing under 50 mph turn the OD off. This keeps the temps down in the trans by locking up 3rd gear sothere is no slipping.

Welcome to the site. Search and read about any subject on your truck. From seats to paint we cover it all at some time or another.
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Good choice on buying a truck! Sorry you got stuck with the bad tranny thought. I hate people who sell stuff and know its bad.

j-fox

Fill out more info for us. Where are you located?
Yes the truck has a 47RE.
It sounds like a limp home mode the trans is going into. Several things can cause this. for $3700 you can get a correctly done aftermarket, or very close to it. Even a stock truck likes a good trans.
Welcome!

DPG

Welcome to the site! What brand valve body and TC are going to be used in the rebuild? You don't want parts that are only as good as the original parts, you want stronger. Some are better than others, so you might want to run that info by the membership here. Also, if we knew your general location, we might be able to direct you to a reliable transmission shop where you might get better than average parts and service.

DeWain

cnielsen

Ouch!!! $3700 for for a rebuild!!! I've looked into the pricing of a new trany and to get a new one built by DTT. This was going to cost $3000 out the door. Look around, there is another one that is supposed to be really good, i dont remember the name, sorry. Good luck with the truck, i wish i could get my wife to drive one!!

Dr. Evil

for that kind of money you can get a performance rebuild which is much, much better than a stock rebuild. Shop around and make sure you ask lots of questions before you get any expensive work done. For the most part, you should not trust a dealer - most dealers do not know the first thing about these trucks.

nitrousn

what was the code that they pulled. it sounds like a governor problem. not to uncommon. if there is no debris in the bottom of the pan and the transmission works ok when this is not happening i would look at just a minor repair. let us know the codes and repost in the 24 valve engine section.

hibiscuslvr

Thanks to all of your replies.. I ll try to answer all the questions.. bear with me... I m in Southeast Louisiana.. The dealer said he found no codes... Also, what made me wonder was the fact that he said, (as i was leaving )they didnt even pull down the pan, so that makes me wonder how they can be so sure of what is wrong and tell me that... supposedly their "expertise, and 20 years of experience.."yeah.. whatever.. I just feel like they are trying to take advantage..
As far as the specifications, I was to understand that it would be a complete rebuilt stock transmission,no changes.. and that goes for the dealer as well as the other place.So why the difference in the price. Dealer offered 36 month/36,000 warranty (3700+tax total), and the other place, 12 month/12,000 warranty.. ($1800 total) NOt sure of the brands that they intended on selling me..and I need to try to do something by next week, since I will probably be returning to work.Are there certain brands , or specifications I should look for.as far as the valve body and Torque converter go.... Just dont want to mess up this early on, Because I intend on having this truck a long time.. Had my last vehicle for 13 years... thanks again...

Geico266

I like the fact that you ask alot of questions. Get a second opinion at a local tranny shop and ask them about a TC ( torque converter) upgrade. It does seem strange they never dropped the pan. I do not like dealers, they are money pigs and are uninformed about diesels. These trannys are pretty tough if you run them right.

Good luck. Fill out your signture thing like mine.

winkle

hibiscuslvr, welcome!

I would venture to say the reason the dealer said what they said is because the tranny is the weak link especialy the torque convertor. I had mine replaced at 70,000 with a new stock tranny and TC and then at 120,000 it started acting up again. So I had a stage V built tranny put in since I planned on doing some power enhancement and never wanted to worrier about the tranny again. Here's a link you can check out
http://www.atsdiesel.com/products/pr...ansmission.asp

I paid $5,000 for my up grade but that was before I found this site and after reading post from this site I think I could have gotting off cheaper. I love my tranny through. I would highly recomend a good quility TC at the very least.

MnTom

What my recomendation to you is go to the links page and look for the numbers of the "big 4" (DTT, ATS, Suncoast, and Goerend) and spend some time on the phone. You will get a lot of great info. You will also find there is a lot better transmissin out there for the same money. Mine was about $900 LESS than what you were quoted and there is NO comparison to the stock tranny. Oh, by the way, WELCOME!!!
Tom

farmer dave

There are a couple different brands that you can look into getting. There is DTT, ATS, Suncoast, and probably more now. Just start doing a search on dodge trasmission upgrades and you will get all kinds of information. I think that I would first take it to a tranny shop and have them look at it. The people at the dealer don't know how to fix them, so they just want to put a new one in. Once you get your upgrade done, if that is what you do, you will never have to worry aobut the tranny again. I have read that the upgraded trannies are almost bullet proof.
Good luck
Dave

thumper 549

One thing can do to offset it for awhile (if it is sheding metal Soot like paticles) is put a magnet in there and it will collect them to one spot.
If you elect to go minor surgury it can turn to major and out of your controll in a hurry..
So go to one of the places recomended by these (On this board) guys close to you - Make sure if comes to a rebuild it dose not go back "stock" or you get to do it again............better to pay alittle more now then twice as much latter

Dr. Evil

Check out Gorend Brothers..........I have heard that they offer excellent trasmissions/rebuilds/perfromance parts for much cheaper than the big boys (ATS, DTT, and Suncoast). My only advice is that if its broke and needing repair dont stay stock. Even at stock HP levels, the auto is questionable. Good Luck with it.

SWC

hibiscuslvr, did you check at the dealership if your truck is still under warranty?