I have lost power in the overdrive feature of my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500, 4.7 Litre engine. I drove in 2nd gear up a mountain (paved road) from 2,000 ft. to about 9,000 ft. elevation and stopped intermittently to cool everything off (temperature was about mid 80’s). Now, the transmission shifts, but I notice a humming sound at 50 m.p.h. and there is not that nice rumble it made, plus no power, when going up a hill. The tachometer still shows a shift, but the overdrive just doesn’t feel the way it used to. The truck has 134,000 miles, but I am religious about oil changes and 30,000 mile check-ups. I am concerned that the check engine light will come on soon (I took it in to have it checked out and the dealer could not find anything) and something major will be wrong with the transmission. Thank you for this opportunity to ask a question.
Just out of curiosity. Were you towing anything while climbing?? If NOT, why did you go that distance in 2nd gear??
Also, are you sure its overdrive causing the problem or could it be TCC lockup??
When was the last time the transmission fluid and filter was changed?? With 134k on it the fluid and filter should have been changed at least 4 times now.
How does the fluid look now?? Is it burnt smelling?? Is it dark in color??
It sounds to me like it just got way too hot from traveling that distance in 2nd gear and the converter could be damaged. Hard to tell without actually looking at it for myself.
transman
Wow, I wish you could work on my truck! No, I wasn’t towing anything and the distance was actually only about 10 miles from the bottom of the hill to the campground at the top.
I have no idea about what the fluid looks or smells like, but I’m due for my 30,000 in about 10,000 more miles. I trust the dealership to change everything when I take it in; that’s why I don’t have to worry about the work done. I get the oil changes and everything done there (it was bought there, too) because they have the history.
I don’t know what the ‘TCC’ is, but I’ll take it back the next oil change (about 2,000 miles) and talk to them about the converter, if you think that’s a good idea. Is that something they can fix without their computer diagnosis saying something is wrong; nothing showed up when they did that. Thanks for all your feedback.