My Ram 2014 has the 8 speed ZF 845RE and a couple of months ago I noticed that there was a shudder when it was driving at low speeds (40 - 60kph). Took it to the mechanic and figured that the transmission oil was due for a change. It was time for a major fluid change anyways, considering the mileage.
The mechanic opened up the transmission sump and this was what greeted him.
I looks like the water has gotten into the transmission or it mixed with the engine coolant. Even the radiator has the same mess.
It would appear that the Thermal Management unit has a leak / failed.
What is worse, is that there is no availability of the part anywhere here in Dubai.
A friend suggested this part seems to be something that helps heat up the transmission fluid for cold weather. Is this true?
If that is the case and this is truly some sort of heater, then I don't really need such a thing on my truck because we don't have or get weather that requires it here in Dubai. The mechanic suggested a plan that we isolate the TMU and we loop the output of transmission cooler to additional aftermarket one for better transmission cooling.
Anyways, the mechanic did all that and flushed the transmission 3 times the new oil, etc. He said that there was still some shuddering and that there might still be some remaining water in the valves or something and it would take more flushing to do its thing. So he has used what he called a chemical, based on a recommendation from a transmission specialist.
This is what he used.
I've driven the truck for quite a while now and initially the shuddering seemed to be getting less and less. Then we did another gearbox oil flush, and now the shuddering seems to be getting more frequent. Also the torque converter seems to be making a sort of supercharger faint supercharger whine as well.
Not really sure what I should do.
The gears seem to be shifting OK. There is no fault code showing the scan gauge or anything. It is just that when shifting gears or when accelerating to join a highway or something, it shudders a little.
The mechanic did this for a Range Rover with a similar ZF box and around the 6th oil change/flush everything was back to normal for that vehicle. If the oil strategy is not working, we might mechanic says, probably might need to go for a transmission rebuild, which is pretty expensive here. Any ideas if we did the right thing by the oil?
The mechanic opened up the transmission sump and this was what greeted him.
I looks like the water has gotten into the transmission or it mixed with the engine coolant. Even the radiator has the same mess.
It would appear that the Thermal Management unit has a leak / failed.
What is worse, is that there is no availability of the part anywhere here in Dubai.
A friend suggested this part seems to be something that helps heat up the transmission fluid for cold weather. Is this true?
If that is the case and this is truly some sort of heater, then I don't really need such a thing on my truck because we don't have or get weather that requires it here in Dubai. The mechanic suggested a plan that we isolate the TMU and we loop the output of transmission cooler to additional aftermarket one for better transmission cooling.
Anyways, the mechanic did all that and flushed the transmission 3 times the new oil, etc. He said that there was still some shuddering and that there might still be some remaining water in the valves or something and it would take more flushing to do its thing. So he has used what he called a chemical, based on a recommendation from a transmission specialist.
This is what he used.
I've driven the truck for quite a while now and initially the shuddering seemed to be getting less and less. Then we did another gearbox oil flush, and now the shuddering seems to be getting more frequent. Also the torque converter seems to be making a sort of supercharger faint supercharger whine as well.
Not really sure what I should do.
The gears seem to be shifting OK. There is no fault code showing the scan gauge or anything. It is just that when shifting gears or when accelerating to join a highway or something, it shudders a little.
The mechanic did this for a Range Rover with a similar ZF box and around the 6th oil change/flush everything was back to normal for that vehicle. If the oil strategy is not working, we might mechanic says, probably might need to go for a transmission rebuild, which is pretty expensive here. Any ideas if we did the right thing by the oil?
