Julie H

Help!!<br><br>Jim and I are planning on towing a 30 foot 5th wheel. We have only towed it once and that was from the dealer to our house. That was when we found out that we needed more power and installed a TST plate.<br><br>The vehicle is all stock except for the steering and the TST plate. We are going to beef up the suspension system soon. Parts are here and we will get to it in a month or so. We have the tow package and modified the tow package to include a controller and an extra wiring connector in the bed of the truck. Do we need to do tranny mods on our automatic? The 5th wheel gross weight is just under 12K.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Hi Julie Welcome to the site!<br> <br> A temperature gauge installed in the hot line of the transmission is a MUST have. Without it you are rolling the dice on the longevity of your transmission.<br><br> With the power upgrade of the new plate you will be needing an upgrade of the Torque converter and valve body at the very least. <br><br> If you take it easy and no jack rabbit starts you can baby the tranny along for a while, I got 106,000 on mine but it is time for some work to be done.<br><br> Give the people at ATS, DTT, Suncoast or Goerand a call and they can lead you down the right path on keeping that transmission running top notch.<br><br>The truth is you have more truck than transmission in these vehicles, but with a little help from those people I mentioned it can become a really strong machine that you can rely on daily.<br><br> Again Welcome to DTR!<br><br>Lary

Julie H

We have just received the gauges and the piller mount from autometer. We will be installing that next weekend. :<br><br>My husband has never heard of tranny problems with the dodge. I know that Ford has major problems in that area and that is driving it without towing a thing. However, you both are telling me that the tranny is not as tough as the truck.<br><br>It was about a year ago when we rebuilt the tranny on the van. &gt;Jim and I swore that the next time that tranny goes out, the van is out of here. I am going to show him the web pages on Suncoast and ATS. If we are going to do this, we have to do it now because we won't have the chance for a few years from now. I believe that once we install the gauges he will see for himself that the converter and the valve body should be replaced. I will prepare myself to hear him say that it does indeed need to be done. [undecided]<br><br> :'( I hate pulling trannys. And Dodge parts are sooo heavy! Why couldn't Dodge do things right and put good quality stout parts on the truck in the first place. Poor steering, poor suspension, poor braking and NOW poor tranny. At least the diesel is top notch. I hear that they fixed most of these things on later models.

DPG

Julie H:<br><br>Welcome to the site. You can learn a great deal about your truck here. It would help all of us advise you if you would fill out your signature so we can see what kind of truck/equipment you have. <br>First of all, IMHO, the tranny isn't that bad, it's just that the CTD is so powerful, that it is easy to overpower it. I have a friend that had a 96 2500 with no mods whatsoever, and he put almost 100,000 miles on the truck, pulling an 11,000 lb fiver, and never had any problems. But he knew how to drive, and didn't abuse the rig. He now has a 2001.5 2500, and has already added an ATS torque converter because his stock TC started to slip. <br><br>I have the DTT mods, and they have served me well so far.<br><br>Good luck with your decisions. I'm sure that you will love your truck.<br><br>DeWain

cwsoules

Get the gage set recommend above. Mine are on the driver's door post and easy to read. I alos got the DTT mods and find the Smart Box to be very useful. I have much more control of my transmission and can lock the tranny to keep my tranny from getting too hot.<br><br>Before you get any tranny mods call Bill K at DTT and talk to him he is very helpful. Their web site is www.dieseltrans.com

boehunter49

;D Hi Julie it would be nice to know what your truck is, but everyone here talks DTT, ATS, sun coast there great places but also there is Phoenix reman. trans. who I think builds a great unit for these trucks at a much BETTER price.<br> If you want any info on them just e-mail me an I'll send you the phone #<br> Bob

Bill1374

Julie,<br> Me thinks that these transmissions are much maligned. In my other life, many years ago, we drove Plymouths with the 440s which use the same basic tranny minus the od. These things were abused something fierce for 80 to 90 k miles and they held up.<br> Now, the Cummins torque comes in a lot earlier than the gassers did which is where the problem arises. However, I'm at 90 k on my truck now with about 30k of that pulling a fifth, half of that at a gross a little over where you are at. My maintenance is scheduled regularly. <br> Given all that, at my gross and with the TST plate, I expect at some point I will be looking at tranny repairs. With added power and over Dodge's recommended weights, i will not complain.<br><br>Bill

46mech

Julie and Jim,<br><br> First of all, welcome to the world of CTDs. Just like SFtopSGT said, check them all out to see what each recommends that you do. I think keeping in mind how much mileage you have on the tranny, and what you want to do with the truck/engine, is important when you begin your quest. <br><br>46mech

DBF

Julie &amp; Jim,<br>With your engine, your gages, a modified valve body in the transmission &amp; a good torque converter, you'll be able to tow for a long time. <br>Since the mods (see signature), we've towed to Florida, Oregon, Alaska, &amp; Newfoundland.<br>Regards, DBF<br>

Julie H

Hi everyone,<br><br>Well Jim was sick yesterday so we had time to discuss the transmission. He did some searching on the internet, called a few people and came to the same conclusion that I did. We needed to do tranny mods to make sure the truck would live long.<br><br>We have a 2500 Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel. It is a 96 with about 170-180K miles. Considering the miles and the recreational towing we want to do, it was recommended that we rebuild the transmission. DTT is going to customize our transission for our truck and our needs. The best part... this will be the first thing that we will not be doing ourselves. ;D However, there is other work that we are doing on the truck before and after the tranny is rebuilt. Expected rebuild date: first weekend in March.<br><br>We are even getting a controller for the tranny. <br><br>Cost of the tranny... expensive. Will include timing adjustments, customized valve body, new springs, linkages, basically guts of tranny and a torque converter.<br><br>Now I can look forward to getting back to finishing the remodeling on the house. Instead of working with greasy tools, I can use the old familiar nail guns and saws.<br><br>Thank you for all your information!! Bob quarantees that we will be very happy with the truck and the improved power of the truck when he gets done.

P Stevens

Hi Julie,<br>From what I can see, no one seems to have a great suspension anymore. The Dodge system is very simple and easy to service. It is actually the Jeep Cherokee Suspension upgraded to fit our trucks. They work fantastic off highway in four wheel drive situations and given the purpose of our trucks, they ride good.<br>The brakes on my truck are literally the largest that could be squeezed within those 16&quot; wheels. The brakes are huge by comparison. Of course, 4 wheel disc would have been better. The newer trucks have 17&quot; wheels, and I understand stop better. The newer trucks have a better tranny as well.<br>I have to agree with you on the trannies. While mine isso far holding up just fine. It seems that is not necessarily the rule.<br>But, it seems all of the diesel light trucks have this problem. I have even read where the Allison has its own issues.<br>Mind you, you would think that the engineers would take the raw torque into consideration when selecting a tranny. Of course, it is a lot different running these trucks on a test track then in the real world.<br>From what I have learned from experience and reading, when you get your truck in a position where the grade or load causes it to need to down shift, get out of over drive. That will lockup the torque convertor in third gear. Thus help to keep the heat down. Even your owners manual makes those kinds of recommendations.<br>Watching yoru tranny temperature is key to a longer life as well and I have heard that from those who make their living working on them. That Tranny Temp gauges is critical. Also, for your engine's sake, get a Pyrometer.<br>Slowing down or down shifting is way easier to deal with than tranny or engine rebuilting or replacement.<br>Good Luck! <br>Preston