The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Sticking Torque Convertor

I know, this is the Stovebolt site, but I am looking for some expertise. Anyone ever used Sea Foam Trans additive? In my 02 Dodge the torque convertor seems to stay engaged when it's cold out. After the truck warms up and I've driven 5 or 10 miles it's fine. But on a cold startup it will practically drag me through the first half dozen stop signs unless I pop it into neutral. Any ideas?

If you have a automatic transmission problem that would prompt you to use an additive to fix, the symptom may go away for awhile if you use it, but the problem will still be there. And inevitably, it will come back.

A mechanical failure of the lockup clutch in a converter will likely not be cured by any amount of additives.

These are just my humble opinions, but if it were me, I'd be looking for a new converter because the longer you let this go, the more damage is being done to the clutches in the tranny.

Have the truck scanned to make sure you don't have a sensor bad causing the lockup or a bad solenoid in the transmission. The torque converter solenoid may not be operaing correctly and when the fluid is cold it doesn't flow through as quickly. If the fluid looks and smells burnt you have deeper troubles.

That truck will tell you a lot about what is happening through the computer and a scanner.

But be ready, usually if you are having that kind of trouble, there is a deeper underlying cause.

Well, any luck? As a member of the Dodge truck forum ( I also own a 2007 Ram 1500 ), I would have to agree with Roy Rodgers on this. The computer should tell what is wrong, or, like he said, smell the trans fluid. Auto trans. was NOT a Dodge strong point !!!! ( We have had a new Tq. Conv. put in our '07 at 10,xxx miles allready!!! Thank goodness for warranty!!! )

Being a dodge, simply put the key in the ignition, turn the ignition on, off, on, off, on, off, on, off, on and read the codes displayed on the odometer following is a link of one of many Dodge trouble code sites http://www.ptcruizer.com/computer-codes.html

However any dealer can also diagnose the problem. With my 2000 it was the trans side of the VSS. Dodge transmission problems are generally caused by someone putting in the wrong transmission fluid during a service. GM uses Dexron, Ford uses Type F or Mercon, and Dodge uses plain ATF. VW/Audi/Porsche use their own fluid, Honda uses a special fluid, and the new Mazda 6 uses JWS3309. Basically, each manufacturer specifies their own additives so that you will usually need to purchase the fluid from the dealer, or a knowledgeable supplier.

I believe in the KISS principle. The reason you're getting an unwanted pull during warm up is high idle speed. Figure out why the engine is idling too fast while it's warming up, fix that problem, and the "transmission" problem will disappear.
Jerry

Thanks for the replies. I've actually already had a scan and the computer has been flashed. I've even done a trans flush along the way (By the way, the fluid looked just as good as the stuff I poured back in.) No luck though. The sticky TC is just one of my many complaints over the last 110K. The truck idles fine and for all intensive purposes drives fine. On cold start ups it doesn't like to stop, go in gear, or even shift up to Overdrive until it warms up. It almost seems as though I'm not getting good fluid flow, which is why I suggested the Sea Foam. Contrary to popular demand I have already dumped it in, so for now I guess we'll just have to see.

Thanks guys.

Chris