Common Problem with Trucks of all Brands: My truck running great as usual, never had a problem with it before, all of a sudden it started to smoke and quit moving. After limping off the road, all my customer could see was all of the automatic transmission fluid was gone. Explaining the smoke. Transmissions can’t smoke like an engine, but when a transmission dumps 3 or 4 quarts of fluid on the hot exhaust pipe, it smokes and can catch fire also. It also gets spread all over the bottom and back of the vehicle. With that in mind, it is time to call AAA or a tow truck and have your vehicle towed to a competent transmission shop for a diagnosis.
Lets say it is a 1997 Dodge Ram Pick up truck with the diesel engine and a 46RE automatic transmission. The 46RE is a heavy duty Dodge truck transmission and is known for puking automatic transmission fluid out the front pump seal when it’s working hard in the hot weather. Simply put, the cooling system is the culprit in this situation. This article is not about cooling system repairs or updates, which is the cure for the front pump leakage problem, but it is about choices.
When a transmission spews the fluid in a unceremonious manner all over the road, it means that the front pump seal at a minimum is bad and no longer is ‘holding fluid’. Why is this you ask? Because the transmission looses most of it’s cooling ability under heavy loads, and wide open throttle, and eventually, at the wrong time, the seal starts to lose transmission fluid like a screen-door in a submarine leaks water. The problem is correctable with a good update kit and an add on auxialiary transmission cooler.
The transmission has to be removed to repair a front pump leak, and you already have been told that the transmission shop has to remove the transmission to fix the leak as well as inspect the transmission for damage. There is a good chance the transmission has some other wear in it, or enough wear to justify a Dodge replacement transmission. With that in mind, depending on how much wear and what is worn, a decision has to be made on how you want to fix your truck. Fix the current transmission, buy a used transmission or have a rebuilt transmission installed in the vehicle. Everything depends on what your intentions for the vehicle are. Don’t cheat here by buying the cheapest transmission available.
My suggestion will revolve around the fact that most of the time this happens when: A. It is a work truck carrying lots of weight, B. The fluid is burned from getting too hot all the time, taking the elasticity out of the front seal, or C. The front pump has failed. It is made of aluminum, which is a soft metal.
The bottom line is that if you do nothing other than drive regular errands and drive in a normal manner, at least make sure you buy a rebuilt transmission that is updated, not to over heat under heavy load conditions. If this is a commercial truck, which is usually overloaded with just the tools and equipment on the truck, it is time to get serious. BTW: The pumps we used in our shop were rebuilt with a metal sleeves, where the gears wear the aluminum pump body, thus preventing a repeat situation.
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Getting serious involves purchasing a rebuilt transmission with the most effective update kit installed and add a couple of external auxiliary transmission coolers to the transmission cooling system. Finally, use or request full synthetic automatic transmission fluid as a refill. Synthetic transmission fluid is like icing on the cake. It allows your rebuilt transmission to last it’s longest and function it’s best. Don’t forget to ask about the warranty, it is usually a good indicator of how much confidence the transmission supplier has in it’s product. Meaning a short term one year warranty does not mean much, when you can get a long term 3 or 5 year warranty. Now your talking.