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Have you experienced the torque converter problem?

  • Yes, I had this problem and had or plan to have it fixed.

    Votes: 191 30.5%
  • No, I have not noticed this problem.

    Votes: 313 50.0%
  • I can't determine for sure if I have this problem.

    Votes: 122 19.5%

Torque Converter Poll

130K views 453 replies 198 participants last post by  freezer16801 
#1 ·
If you have a 4th gen Ram (2009-present) and either have or have not had an issue with the reported grinding noise, please vote in the poll. My intent is to see how widespread this issue is among forum members.

As for me, I can tell for sure because my Magnaflow cat back exhaust upgrade is the dominant noise I hear (when my radio is not blaring). So I am having a hard time determining if I have this issue.
 
#151 ·
i liked the inteior the best that was the seller for me this has been the only mishap. Everything else is good
Isn't that great? A component of your transmission, designed, engineered and manufactured to self destruct.

After a year of owning my Ram, I'm still asking myself why I bought one of these things. Must be because I'm loosing my ability to do proper research? :4-dontknow:
 
#152 ·
I brought my 2011 2500 ST (3800 miles) in to the dealer for (first free) an oil change, squeaky seat and what I described as an exhaust rattle in 4th gear between 1500 and 2000 RPM.
I was aware of the Starz case but I feigned ignorance to gauge how they would react to the noise.
After a test drive, they initiated the Starz case discussion with me and ordered a new torque converter the same day. I was impressed.

I noticed the noise around 3000 miles but it was very subdued and there was no associated vibration.

Since new, my truck is daily driven, has towed 3 cars less than 500 miles total. Build month is June.

-Dave532
 
#197 ·
My new torque converter arrived last week Thursday. I dropped the truck off this morning. They gave me a free rental (Caravan) due to the "early failure" of the torque converter. Picked up my truck this afternoon and found the noise gone.

Impressed with:
How quick they diagnosed the issue.
They didn't argue with me at all.
Quick repair.
Problem appears to be solved the first attempt.
Free rental car.

Dissappointed with:
truck was not washed when I picked it up :)


This all occured at Burnsville Dodge in Minnesota.

-Dave
 
#155 ·
TransEngineer:

Can you tell me, is it considered normal when my MDS (or ECO) kicks in to feel it kick in and also to hear it? Many times, when my ECO light comes on, I feel a "thud" followed by a very low drone sound. Feels like the truck has shifted into 8th gear (I know there's no 8th gear!)
And acceleration is hindered when I step on the gas (hard).

The other day I had the death shake. Felt like I had flat tires. The truck felt like it was shaking violently (hopefully it didn't look that way to onlookers). I felt the shake deep in my chest, it was that bad. Pulled over to check the tires. All was fine.

I had an issue the other day where the Emergency Park Brake was engaged to the FIRST click. Would this cause the ABS to interact with the braking system? Could that cause the violent shake?

Any help would be appreciated.

Weird but on my way into work this morning the vibration in my steering wheel wasn't that bad. There's some vibration but at least it doesn't feel like I have a worn tie-rod or ball-joint.
Is vibration in the steering wheel one of the side-affects of the T/C issue?
 
#156 ·
So I took my truck in on Saturday due to the vibration I was getting around 45-50 mph. The tech explained to me that this is due to low RPM's in lockup and MDS. He flashed the truck with the latest updates and it does shift better from 1st to 2nd. It also holds on to 3rd longer during acceleration. Over all shifting is better but I do still feel the vibration around 45-50. The star case mentions to put the truck into tow/haul mode. When I do that the truck is as smooth as silk. Out of Tow haul it's rough around those low speeds. I'm wondering if it's just MDS that causes the vibration at the low speeds?
 
#157 ·
One other thing:

The vibration in the steering wheel is present as soon as I accelerate. I wouldn't suspect an out-of-balance wheel to do that.
Along with the vibration while driving, yesterday I could feel the vibration from the engine as I idled at a light.
I'm still wondering if I don't have the T/C problem.

I'd sure like to know where the death wobble came from the other week when I was driving. Scared the *(&*&#*$A# out of me!

So just to reiterate: The vibration I'm experiencing is there as soon as I accelerate. The vibration is not more or less pronounced at higher RPMs or speed.

Now I'm wondering if I have a bad wheel bearing??!!
 
#158 ·
Tow/Haul mode disables MDS, so things smooth out in Tow/Haul because MDS is no longer active.

I am not an MDS expert, but I imagine what you guys are feeling (when you tip into the throttle in MDS mode) is engine torsional vibrations. The engine will be running rougher already (due to only being on 4 cylinders). Torsional vibrations (which are actually the torque pulsations from the individual cylinders firing) increase as torque increases, and also increase as engine speed decreases. So opening the throttle (calling for more torque), at low engine speed, in 4-cylinder mode, probably gives you the overall worst case for torsionals. These feel like a drone or shudder.

About all I can say is, the point of MDS is to maximize fuel economy. You have to trade off some smoothness / refinement in order to boost economy.

Blackpearl, I don't know what your death wobble would have been. I'm not a brake expert either, although your thoughts about ABS seem reasonable to me. Maybe something caused your traction control / ESC to pulse one or more of your brakes. I would have your dealer check for any faults, to see if maybe there are codes set that might give you a clue.

By the way, the converter noise issue is typically just a noise, not a vibration problem (at least in vehicles I have driven).
 
#159 ·
I do not want to start a war on here but i spoke with my dealer on the weekend when i had some service done and since they did my truck they have also done 2 more 2011 trucks and just finished a 2012 that was presenting the same noise the tranny tech changed the converter on it and it went away on it also. so im wondering if something may have been over looked on these converters
 
#162 ·
That is unreal, mine is getting changed on Monday, so is the trans engineer saying the noise will return when the trucks get old.
 
#163 ·
Got my truck back last night after have the TC replaced yesterday. Drives like a dream now. Noise is completely gone, much of the vibrations are gone, and it seems like it's much more firm when the TC locks up. It always felt like it was hesitating/slipping more that it should have, but you never know. Maybe it's the 'Truck works better because I washed it' syndrome. Very happy it's fixed indeed!
 
#164 ·
No, this noise is not something that's present in all trucks (or that will be present once they wear in).

The amount of backlash in the turbine hub spline will vary from one part to another. If you get one that has too much backlash, it will be noisy (and will get slightly worse as it wears in). If you get one with acceptable backlash, you will have no noise. As the teeth brinell in, you will only develop the noise if the brinelling takes you from the acceptable range of backlash into the "noisy" range. But since the amount of brinelling is very small (a few thousandths of an inch) I suspect that in most cases, you'll still be in the acceptable range even after the teeth are brinelled.

The replacement converters use a much tighter-fit spline than the original design (it's actually a press fit), so they should have no noise. If you're getting yours replaced, you might want to have them check the barcode label on the new converter to ensure they've got the correct (latest) part. Mopar sells converters as kits (converter plus 4 new bolts), so the Mopar part number for the kit is not the same as the production (barcode) part number. Here is the decoder guide:

4.7L engine: Converter = 04752705AA, Mopar kit = RL051241AB
Most 5.7L engines: Converter = 04736911AB, Mopar kit = RL051146AB
5.7L RT model: Converter = 04736982AB, Mopar kit = RL051167AB
 
#165 ·
Just dropped mine off this AM for a new TC. My dealership has been really great about the whole thing, no problems at all. I asked them to confirm the part number, they pulled the star case up, pulled the part confirmed the revised TC number. Then pulled the VIN up and confirmed again that way with the revised number. Everything matched so I they have the correct TC. I also asked them to check for debris while they are in there.

So I am just hoping mine it one of the success stories.
 
#167 ·
Hey Jermsgeek where in NB are you located? Dealer received torque converter #RL051146AB for my 2011 sport. Is this the right part number? Its booked in for Monday.
 
#170 ·
Torque Converter Rattle starting at 1400 RPM

From Day ONE when the torque converter went into lockup mode (above 35 mph) in 3rd, 4th, 5th gears starting at 1400 rpm under slight excelleration and continuing up past 2000 rpm. It sounded like a bad idler pulley grinding. Quite a loud rattle. As the truck went at highway speeds the road noise almost covered it up. Tow mode made no difference but did make the noise more noticable at lower speeds.
Took it back to the orginal dealer and they told me to turn the radio up as not to hear it. ( I do not listen to the radio ), then they told me it was within their opinion of acceptable. I got ahold of Chrysler Customer Service @ 866 726 4636 and they said to take it to another dealer. I did.
The service tech had no problems hearing my grinding noise. Looked up the problem on a Star Case and found a number that perfectly described my problem Case# S 1121000005. The second dealer changed the TC as per the case number and the noise is gone. Fixed at 2800 miles from new.
I hope this helps those having the simular problems
 
#173 ·
From Day ONE when the torque converter went into lockup mode (above 35 mph) in 3rd, 4th, 5th gears starting at 1400 rpm under slight excelleration and continuing up past 2000 rpm. It sounded like a bad idler pulley grinding. Quite a loud rattle. As the truck went at highway speeds the road noise almost covered it up. Tow mode made no difference but did make the noise more noticable at lower speeds.
Took it back to the orginal dealer and they told me to turn the radio up as not to hear it. ( I do not listen to the radio ), then they told me it was within their opinion of acceptable. I got ahold of Chrysler Customer Service @ 866 726 4636 and they said to take it to another dealer. I did.
The service tech had no problems hearing my grinding noise. Looked up the problem on a Star Case and found a number that perfectly described my problem Case# S 1121000005. The second dealer changed the TC as per the case number and the noise is gone. Fixed at 2800 miles from new.
I hope this helps those having the simular problems
You should write a letter to the owner of the first dealer that called it a "normal" sound. And tell him that what you did as far as contacting chrysler and taking it to another dealership and having no problem with them. And tell him that you'll consider this next time you decide to purchase another vehicle.
 
#174 ·
I picked mine up this AM with a new TC installed. No noise at all, nothing but tire noise and a hemi the way it was meant to be :) I have about a 2 hour drive from the dealer to work and it was quiet, couldn't make it have a noise. Obviously I am a Happy Camper. I just hope it stays this way. Didn't tow with it or anything yet but as of now I am pleased.

This is the first one my dealer has done. It is a small rural dealership, they are great to work with, which is why I bought there in the first place. But they have not done any others besides mine.
 
#175 ·
Well dropped my truck off again this morning for the TC problem. First trip they replaced the TC, and I still had some shudder in the MDS mode. They called me today and said that the TC is fixed and is not the problem. They said the shudder is coming for the exhaust when it kicks down into the MDS mode. They said dodge is working on a CPU fix, but it's not out yet.
 
#176 ·
See this is why I hate dodge and should have never bought this damn truck. They replaced the TC last week, and I still had the problems. I took it back today, and after all day looking at the truck they Said my magnaflow muffler is causing the problem. What a freaking joke!
 
#177 ·
Guessing you never heard of the mds drone with an aftermarket exhaust?
 
#180 ·
Ohhh I get your post now. I took it as that the muffler was causing the issue not that you're calling the techs a joke for blaming the muffler. Did you get a new converter(as in the new style)? Do the part numbers match up with the ones posted by trans engineer?
 
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