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Car Forum / Dodge / Dodge Trucks / May 2006Transmission Question
I have a 1996 1500 Ram 4X2, 5.2 engine, 4 speed auto, extended cab, and 8 foot bed. It has 280K miles on it and the transmission has about 100K since the last rebuild. At the moment I am having no problems with the transmission, however I know it will not last forever. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with swapping the auto trans with a manual. I did it with a few cars back in the late 60's - early 70's. However I realize things are much different with today's trucks, sensors, computers etc. I am just wondering if it is ; 1. Possible 2. Worth the effort and cost. The bottom line being, I plan to hang onto this truck from as long as possible Thanks David > I have a 1996 1500 Ram 4X2, 5.2 engine, 4 speed auto, extended cab, and 8 > foot bed. It has 280K miles on it and the transmission has about 100K since [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > just wondering if it is ; > 1. Possible Sure it is. > 2. Worth the effort and cost. Probably not. > The bottom line being, I plan to hang onto this truck from as long as > possible There comes a point where is simply is no longer worth it. At 10 years old, the truck still has some life left in it but it will start nickel and diming you and if you maintain this trans as well as the last one, it should give you about another 80K. It will easily cost you as much if not more to convert it then to replace that auto one more time and last another 6 or so years where your truck will be close to 18 years old. I guess that you have to determine how long you realistically want to keep it (provided nothing happens to it between now and then).  SignatureIf at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving >There comes a point where is simply is no longer worth it. At 10 years old, >the truck still has some life left in it but it will start nickel and diming >you and if you maintain this trans as well as the last one, it should give >you about another 80K. That really depends on how you use it and care for it as I have a 17 year old 4x4 burb that I bought new and it is sill solid and reliable and it does not nickle dime me at all and I would drive it to Colorado tomorrow if the spirt moved me without reservation. The biggest enemy of a automatic tranny is heat keep it cool and properly serviced and it will last a very long time. I always add a small aux tranny cooler to all my trucks and 4x4's. I even have a semi retired 1979 J20 Jeep P/U that had a hard life pushing snow for many years but it original engine and trany still work fine (it has had a small aux tranny cooler on it since day one). THere is no milage rule for tranny life expectance that is set in stone and keeping it cool and changing the fluid and filter regularly can greatly extend its service life. ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com Well I do everything I can to keep this truck on the road. I have the factory tow package, with factory cooler and an aftermarket cooler w/temp gauge. The Temp has never gone above 140 degrees, I change the fluid and filter every 12K and even adjust the bands, which is no fun, but necessary. I am aiming to keep it on the road for a long time, I hope...LOL. Thanks to all >>There comes a point where is simply is no longer worth it. At 10 years >>old, [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > The SnoMan > www.thesnoman.com >The Temp has never gone above 140 degrees, For what it is worth, this is a little too cool. The ideal tranny temp is about 180 with a working range of about 160 to 200 being good. Too cool a fluid shears harder and can actualy strain seals more than warmer fluid. ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com Mmmm, 160 to 200... Guess I'll have to rethink my extra cooler. Thanks >>The Temp has never gone above 140 degrees, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > The SnoMan > www.thesnoman.com I don't know if this makes any difference, the sender for the trans. temp gauge is on the return line. As per gauge manufacture's instructions, I have no idea what the outlet temp is. Also the extra trans cooler is the type, that does not allow flow to it, until the fluid is thin enough (hot enough?) to pass to the cooler area. At least that is what the sales pitch says..... >>The Temp has never gone above 140 degrees, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > The SnoMan > www.thesnoman.com > >There comes a point where is simply is no longer worth it. At 10 years old, > >the truck still has some life left in it but it will start nickel and diming [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > and it does not nickle dime me at all and I would drive it to Colorado > tomorrow if the spirt moved me without reservation. LOL, then you must live in Maxworld where the impossible is reality. Then again, you may simply attribute these failures to maintenance. When they get that old things simply wear out such as dashboards cracking, seats tearing, headliners falling, cigarette lighters failing, hoses cracking, intermittent electrical problems, ect. This is just age dude, and it happens to everything, us included. SignatureIf at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving > LOL, then you must live in Maxworld where the impossible is reality. Then > again, you may simply attribute these failures to maintenance. When they > get that old things simply wear out such as dashboards cracking, seats > tearing, headliners falling, cigarette lighters failing, hoses cracking, > intermittent electrical problems, ect. This is just age dude, and it > happens to everything, us included. LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban could easily be reliable as he claims. If you'd like pics of my 72 Dart, all original body, you'll find that it too has no tears in the seats, no cracks in the dash, headliner is fully intact and where it belongs, cigarette lighter might actually work if I plugged it back in (it now supplies the constant current to keep the digital tuner online when ignition is off). Hoses "crack" on anything with heat put to it, but mine are doing just fine, and I've got no electrical problems, let alone an intermittant one. Maybe its just because Snodude and I both live in Maxworld, where maintenance and normal care by knowledgable individuals adds years to a vehicles life. Or maybe its because you treat your vehicles like disposable diapers. SignatureMax "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) >> >There comes a point where is simply is no longer worth it. At 10 years > old, [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > intermittent electrical problems, ect. This is just age dude, and it > happens to everything, us included. > > LOL, then you must live in Maxworld where the impossible is reality. Then > > again, you may simply attribute these failures to maintenance. When they [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban could > easily be reliable as he claims. If you say so but I really don't recall saying anything different. There is a difference between nickel and dimeing and being undependable. > If you'd like pics of my 72 Dart, all > original body, you'll find that it too has no tears in the seats, no cracks > in the dash, headliner is fully intact and where it belongs, cigarette > lighter might actually work if I plugged it back in (it now supplies the > constant current to keep the digital tuner online when ignition is off). Like I said, in Maxworld everything is perfect. > Hoses "crack" on anything with heat put to it, but mine are doing just fine, > and I've got no electrical problems, let alone an intermittant one. You also have a very simple vehicle compared to his. I guess that your 72 Dart is not used all that much as Chrysler vinyl from that times was not known to last forever. > Maybe its just because Snodude and I both live in Maxworld, where > maintenance and normal care by knowledgable individuals adds years to a > vehicles life. I never said that the vehicle would not last, but the cost to maintain it goes up as they get older as exhaust systems, cooling systems, brake systems, drive train, suspension, and front end components wear our and need to be replaced. Thinhs that are used wear out Max, no matter how good of care you take of them. SignatureIf at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving >> LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban could >> easily be reliable as he claims. > > If you say so but I really don't recall saying anything different. There > is > a difference between nickel and dimeing and being undependable. And that would be? Since you decided to rebut his claim of reliability with claims that it would nickel/dime him, it follows that you think nickel/dime maintenance somehow translates to unreliable. In fact, MOST people would think that a slew of minor repairs indicates a lack of reliability.... except YOU when called on your inane comments. Then you flip like a flag in a good breeze, changing your tune. > Like I said, in Maxworld everything is perfect. So long as you stay on the internet and out of reality, yup, its perfect. > You also have a very simple vehicle compared to his. I guess that your 72 > Dart is not used all that much as Chrysler vinyl from that times was not > known to last forever. I dunno, its got over 110k on it, that should be enough to wear out the seats in your imperfect "Chrysler vinyl sucks" world, shouldn't it? > I never said that the vehicle would not last, but the cost to maintain it > goes up as they get older as exhaust systems, cooling systems, brake > systems, drive train, suspension, and front end components wear our and > need > to be replaced. Thinhs that are used wear out Max, no matter how good of > care you take of them. Right, so now you are claiming that the truck WOULD be unreliable, as it'll have various things wearing out and needing "to be replaced." Flip flop. Back to your lamo bullshit..... SignatureMax "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) >> > LOL, then you must live in Maxworld where the impossible is reality. > Then [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > to be replaced. Thinhs that are used wear out Max, no matter how good of > care you take of them. > >> LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban could > >> easily be reliable as he claims. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > claims that it would nickel/dime him, it follows that you think nickel/dime > maintenance somehow translates to unreliable. LOL, first of all, when I was talking about nickel/dime, I wasn't talking to snowman. Second, many things can fail while the vehicle is still very usable so yes, it can nickel/dime and still get you to where you need to go. Care to spin again? > In fact, MOST people would > think that a slew of minor repairs indicates a lack of reliability.... I guess that depends on what is failing now, doesn't it? Funny how you don't see many cars on the road from the 60's, 70's, or even the 80's. I wonder why not. > except YOU when called on your inane comments. Then you flip like a flag in > a good breeze, changing your tune. Only under the wind from your unstoppable spin. > > Like I said, in Maxworld everything is perfect. > > So long as you stay on the internet and out of reality, yup, its perfect. Then perhaps you should take a tiny step into reality. > > You also have a very simple vehicle compared to his. I guess that your 72 > > Dart is not used all that much as Chrysler vinyl from that times was not > > known to last forever. > > I dunno, its got over 110k on it, that should be enough to wear out the > seats in your imperfect "Chrysler vinyl sucks" world, shouldn't it? LOL, a 34 year old car with only 110k. Gee, you really drive the hell out of it, don't you, LOL!!!! My 9 year old truck has more miles on it than that. Hahaha, I don't currently own a car with less miles on it than that. I bet it spends most of its time either in the garage or under a cover, yea Max, a great example there. > > I never said that the vehicle would not last, but the cost to maintain it > > goes up as they get older as exhaust systems, cooling systems, brake [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Right, so now you are claiming that the truck WOULD be unreliable, as it'll > have various things wearing out and needing "to be replaced." I would say that it will get less reliable as it ages and eventually, yea, it would become somewhat unreliable. If that were not the case, we should still see lots of cars from the 20's. SignatureIf at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving >> LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban could >> easily be reliable as he claims. The only one full of it here is you. I have been owning and driving 4x4's for over 30 years now and likely longer than just about everyone that posts here. My 89 has been extremely reliable and has made more than 1 dozen cross country trips without fail or problem. I have been somewhat impressed by it relabilty. It has been very well maintained and never abused and is now used only as a trip vehicle. I can sit for a month or more at times without even being started and yet will go at a moments notice. I also have a 1979 J20 that plowed snow until a few years ago and it never left me stranded either and it made a trip to Montana and back about 10 years ago too with any problems at all. It is all in how you treat them and maintain them. Not much to go wrong on 79 (I had to rebuild carb several years ago) and even 89 is not too complex either as TBI is extremely reliable. I have seen a lot of TBI engine go well past 200k without problems. ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com >>> LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban could >>> easily be reliable as he claims. > > The only one full of it here is you. I have been owning and driving > 4x4's for over 30 years now and likely longer than just about everyone > that posts here. Doubtful. >My 89 has been extremely reliable and has made more > than 1 dozen cross country trips without fail or problem. I have been [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > The SnoMan > www.thesnoman.com >>>> LOL, although I often think Snodude is fulloshit, his 89 Suburban >>>> could easily be reliable as he claims. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Doubtful. He got me beat by 5 years. SignatureRookie > 2. Worth the effort and cost. It's been discussed here several times, and unless you get a manual transmission for free - the cost of the parts and labor for such a project exceeds the cost of a typical AT rebuild. If you're a competent DIY'er, you can cut a good chunk of the rebuild cost out if you're willing to pull/re-install the transmission yourself. Thanks for the thoughts, they're just about what i expected. I am going price a manual trans. just to see how much that will be. But I doubt I will do the swap, you both make sense. I may just buy a auto trans. from a junkyard and rebuilt a little at a time, money being the main factor, and swap with the one I have now. When and if it goes. Again thanks for the input. >I have a 1996 1500 Ram 4X2, 5.2 engine, 4 speed auto, extended cab, and 8 >foot bed. It has 280K miles on it and the transmission has about 100K since [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Thanks > David > Thanks for the thoughts, they're just about what i expected. I am going > price a manual trans. just to see how much that will be. Remember when you're pricing it that you include things like driveshaft modifications, crossmember, clutch/flywheel, master/slave cylinder assembly, brake/clutch pedal assembly, replacement (or reflashed) PCM, and a small "miscellaneous stuff I forgot about" fund. I don't know if this makes any difference, the sender for the trans. temp gauge is on the return line. As per gauge manufacture's instructions, I have no idea what the outlet temp is. Also the extra trans cooler is the type, that does not allow flow to it, until the fluid is thin enough (hot enough?) to pass to the cooler area. At least that is what the sales pitch says..... |
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