why are dodge transmissions labeled as crap(no offence)

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1966 dart wagon

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well i get alot of crap in my area about that dodge transmisions are crappy. that they always go out and such, my friend is gonna by a 2000 jeep witha 4.7 auto, would this also be a truck prone to the bad transmission. I wasnt sure where to put this and cant find anything on google. Why do the transmisions go out, is there a way to solve the problem, does anyone know of a write up i can read to better understand this. Also the older dodge trans 727/904 from the 60s-70's arnt bad too are they, i havnt read anything bad about em. can someone give me some pointers here?
 
the hemi 4 speed and 727 have always been known to be basically the best out there... the newer stuff . who knows.
 
I have seen good trans go bad just becaus the linkage was not set up write.
Don't let a chebby man work on one!!the kick down linkage can do this and as Far as the romer's I disagree.
Mopar tranny's are tank tuff.

Just my apinion, have been driving them for 30 year's
 
Mopar got it's bad rap with the early 4spd overdrive automatics in mini vans in the 80's and early 90's, they were prone to failure. The very first A500's used in pickups also had issues with lubrication to the OD unit on the back of the tranny that resulted in failures. Since the mid 90's mopar trannies have been as good as anyone's out there.

The 45RFE that is behind the 4.7 is as good as anyone's tranny.

I had an 89 Dakota with an A500 that I put 256,000 miles on. Only tranny issue I had was a rusted out cooler line that when I repaired I moved the line enough during the repair that it rubbed on the kick down rod and it shiffted funny until I realized what I had down. I am currently driving a 99 Dakota with a 42RE tranny that has been totally trouble free for 125,000 miles and my wifes 03 turbo PT cruiser has almost 50k miles with lots of spirited driving and the tranny has been perfect.
 
Hey Ive beat the piss out of many trannys 727, 904 and new in my day. The abuse they can take is endless unless you overheat it or do not have the kickdown linkage set up right. We trashed several trannys plowing snow and/ or 4 wheeling simply by bending a trans cooler line. If you kink or bend one of them and do not realize it the trans is toast for sure. The kick down needs to be set so that the trans gets more pressure as you hammer the throttle. My trans guy always told me to set it so that the kickdown lever is all the way back at full throttle and it will be fine. This has always worked good for me. There was some trans issues in Dodge rams I believe in 96 or so but they were corrected. I had a 98 Ram over 100k a 99 Durango currently 48k and a 01 Ram 70k never had an issue...oh yeah the exeption was the 01 but that was from hitting reverse while going forward @30mph. Not the trannys fault.
 
I sold my 87 Ramcharger a few years ago. 460K miles on the original 318, 727 & 9-1/4. The guy who bought it is a buddy and still drives it. That 727 never had a problem. Just flushed the fluids every 100k.

Greg
 
as said before the the earlier OD trans were the ones that had alot of problems.this was corrected around 98-99.
 
The guys are right, the earlier OD trans were prone to failure and have since been corrected. The real bad rap Mopar trans got was in the late 80 through the 90's with an overdrive automatic called the 604. (nickname the sick-0-4) It was Chrylser's first venture into an all electronic trans with no bands, just clutches, solenoids and computer control; and it was awful! It was used in the minivans and cars. I had several "transmission only" technicians in our shop and they became wealthy repairing those things. The engineers evolved and corrected it and Mopar's tranny's are as good as anybodys. My wealthy trans tech's actually are crying poor now because they have nothing to fix by comparison. Two had to file bankruptcy because they thought the cash cow would never stop producing milk! As Keith Urban sings: "Stupid Boy!"

Tim
 
From all I have seen, the 604 isn't even as bad as some people will claim. I've got one with 120,000 miles that still shifts fine, it's just leaks. A lot of shops have been known to put the wrong fluid in and that will shorten its life.

The worst transmission on the planet when it came out was the 700-R4 from good ole GM (or maybe the 200 was worse, but nothing Chrysler has ever put out has been near that bad). The 727 was the most reliable automatic from the 60s to the 80s.
 
thanks guys, this finaly give me something to say when I get to hear the awh dodge transmisions pos. :angry4: i'll have to mention the chevy trans also i hear the 4l60e is pretty bad which is in my blazer i just got...but its free :thumbup: only way to get a chevy..free :toothy7: :lol:
 
Jim Lusk,

You are a lucky man. I remember replacing 3 or more transmissions in vehicles before they reached 70k and the end of their warranty. Then because of the problems we replaced many after the warranty expired as goodwill adjustments. Don't believe a word of anyone; the trans was awful. Worse than the 700R4 and the Ford AOD. I've got a friend who's a p&s director at a big chevy store and we own 3 Ford stores in our mix. Trust me when that trans came out I had blond hair and was thin. Now what little hair I have is gray and well... I weigh more!
 
Reading old 60s and 70s Motor Trend and Hot rod magazines you'll find that they held the 727 as the best automatic and the rock crusher as the best manual. Im sure some mopar manual guys could argue that but im just telling you what i got from reading these old magazines.
 
The reason Chysler Trannys got a bad rap is beacuse starting with the Ultradrive families (4sp autos), early 90s IIRC, the friction materials were designed to use the + series fluids with proprietary friction modifiers developed by Lubrizol which were not compatible with Dexron. Unfortunatel,y the owners manuals didn't get updated in time and that along with cluless techs in transmisison shops with drums full Dexron all over the country were gleefuly pumping Dex into anything with a chrysler, Plymouth or Dodge logo on it, resulting in parking lots full of minivans with trashed Ultradrives in front of them.

Pretty simple really. Use the right fluid and they run fine.
 
I wish is was as simple as using the correct fluid. We are a Dodge dealer and used at that time the type 3+ fluid. That wasn't the issue. Mostly it was Electronic. We went through so many updated trans controllers I lost count. The computers would tell the trans to do foul things. They'd come in in limp-in and burned up half the time. But you are correct that you had to use the correct fluid or cause permanent damage. Mostly with any transmission; watch the heat, keep the fluid fresh and clean and the trans will last a long time.
 
I big bad rap the trucks had especially the diesel trucks wasn't even a tran problem but a TC problem. Chrysler went cheap and used the v10 converter behind the cummins and the cummins ate the TCC for lunch and sent all the clutch material through the trans and killed it.....
 
Yes the converter is a weak link on the diesels. There are few aftermarket companies that sell converters that will last. We get into some problems here because of the intense heat of Arizona. Heat kills tranny's! The aftermarket converters that I've seen have a band around the outside of the converter that looks like armour plating. Very strong, and very pricey; close to a grand. Highly recommended if you're towing heavy loads. As far as the 727's, they are bulletproof. They will stand up to anything you'll likely throw at it. I've seen a 904 behind a 600+ hp small block that was properly built take it all day long. Trans was in the car for 5 years that I know of. But, you have to know how to build and modify the 904 to make it last. It's more expensive to build as I understand. The reason the 904 is popular with some is that it has less reciprocating weight (as I understand it) and is anywhere from .2 to .5 faster in the 1/4. For the average joe build a 727 with good parts and it will be forever true.
 
I disagree, dodge trans are durable as long as you don't go over board with power upgrades. I own 3 dodge rams, two with 5spds but I also have a 98.5 Dodge Ram 4X4 with the Cummins 24 valve backed by the 47RE 4spd overdrive trans. The trans is bone stock. I've done alot of truck pulls/racing with it and use it as my daily driver. Its got 169000 miles on it and so far NO trans issues. The 47RE which came out in the late 90s and the 48RE which were put in when cummins came out with their common rail inject diesel in 2004 and newer trucks were built alot stronger then the a500s that backed the 12 valve cummins. Dodge also made the error of choosing a torgue converter that could only handle about 250 hp and maybe 450 ft lbs even in these trans. Any attempt to add power to the motor would 9 times out of 10, blow the trans. So if you leave the truck stock, and perform proper maintance, the trans will last forever. And dodge corrected that torque converter issues with their new allision beating 6spd trans. I've heard rumors of these new trans capable of handleing upto 700 ft lbs of torque.
 
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