DODGE RAM FORUM banner

Useless Overdrive Gear

11K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  the persuader 
#1 ·
Have stock gears for 3.7L V6 single cab short bed Dodge Ram, and the overdrive gear is just about useless on the highway. You need a level road with absolutely zero wind in order for it to keep a constant speed. Otherwise, it will always lose speed. I end up just turning overdrive off while on the highway. What can I do to fix this? Gear swap? Programming? I have a K&N CAI, Jet chip, and aftermarket 22" chrome wheels w/ low pro tires. If gear swap would do it, which one should I get?
 
#6 ·
perhaps a solution to our problem...

Hi Aggie, I to have the very same problem with my truck. if you have a dodge ram 1500 standard cab short bed w/ a 3.7L then chances are you are running a 3:55 gear ratio. i have done a K&N and a magnaflow exhaust so far but still experiencing the same problems as you. my next move is to up the gears from 3:55 to 3:90 or 3:92. there is really no difference in those two gears, but it does depend who you buy from, from any gear shop you will get a 3:90 if you go direct with dodge u will get 3:92. the difference is cost. from a shop about $250 just for gears from a dodge dealer about $500. plus labor from dodge is about $800 and the labor from an ASE certified shop is about $400. hope this helps!

JIM
 
#11 ·
My 05 Durango with the 4.7 was exactly the same way. Drove me crazy just driving cruising speed and it would just bounce in and out of overdrive all the time regardless of the conditions (hills wind etc.).

Only cost effective way to go is to change the gears. :smileup: you are not going to get enough power out of bolt ons to make a difference unless you SC it or turbo it.
 
#15 ·
I have a 3.7L 6 speed tranny as well and when i see a hill i turn around lol jk.. but mine is just as bad.. it don't make sense to me.. the 4.7 liter has 235hp and 295ftlb of torque.. 3.7 liter has 215 hp and 235 ft of torque.. that doesn't seem that different to me.. does 20 horse and 60 ft lb of torque really make that big of impacked? if you could gain that difference would the problem be gone?it's confusin me lol.. but my truck is for sale if anyone is interested.. very clean and very low miles(42,000) its a 2005 and some extra.. ara_ss@hotmail.com for pics
 
#17 ·
I have this same exact issue with my newly purchased (used) 2005 quad cab 1500 "v6 3.7 liter" manual 6 speed tranny. 1st through 5th gear seem super peppy and 5th seems like it could bring me all the way to 120 mph but i hit 3k rpms in 5th at 80 mph so natually you would think "time to swap into 6th" immediately the truck starts losing speed even with the petal to the floor unless I'm behind an 18 wheeler getting zero wind resistance. I'm glad I'm not the only one because I though something was seriously wrong with my truck and I've only had it for two days.
 
#18 ·
So i climbed under my truck and guess what!!! My quad cab 2005 1500 3.7 v6 ram has a freaking 3.21 rear end with stock 21 inch rims..... WTF???!!! What was dodge thinkin even letting this off the lot? They should have known this much truck with rims that large would make this truck try to buck out of 6th gear with the smaller engine. I've read where tons of people are swapping over to the 3.92 because of this very issue. I may be looking around for a rear end shop very soon.
I'll keep you posted.
 
#23 ·
I have the same issues with mine. I have a 2009 RAM 1500, it is a two-wheel drive regular cab. Everything is stock on mine. I have 17 inch tires and a four-speed automatic transmission. I was reading this thread to see if there was an actual fix…I suppose the only thing to do is live with it or change the gearing.
 
#24 ·
I have a 2007 ram 6 speed . I had the same thing till I started using supper unleaded. The old slant six was also extreamly responcive to better gas.that is why I gave it try. Those V8 guys know this too but fail to let us six guys know because with this they can no longer make fun of the 3.7 as they do so easily on this form. I wouldn't be supprized if they delet my post to keep you from knowing this
 
#25 ·
I have the same issues with mine. I have a 2009 RAM 1500, it is a two-wheel drive regular cab. Everything is stock on mine. I have 17 inch tires and a four-speed automatic transmission. I was reading this thread to see if there was an actual fix…I suppose the only thing to do is live with it or change the gearing.
I'm not sure if the v6's use the same trans as the v8's but if they do you have a 6 speed trans.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top