2 week old truck, heavily leaking transmission fluid...

[Nibis]

Where's the fill plug? Pics?

I agree that you shouldn't touch it, take it to the dealer, but here ya go

 

[realralfy]

Dealer called today and said it was the trans cooler. Supposed to be ready tomorrow. I have asked to see the fluid level in the tranny....we shall see

 

[Paultg]

Dealer called today and said it was the trans cooler. Supposed to be ready tomorrow. I have asked to see the fluid level in the tranny....we shall see

My guess is they will need to top it off with the change out of the cooler anyway. You would really need to check the level before they do anything.

Also consider a high pressure line or connection leak like that of a transmission can be really small but make a real mess and look much worse than it is.

You could ask for all fluid to be drained and saved (too look and sort of gauge how many quarts come out). Then request all new fluid too.

Glad it’s getting resolved!

 

[Keezer]

Dealer called today and said it was the trans cooler. Supposed to be ready tomorrow. I have asked to see the fluid level in the tranny....we shall see

Trans cooler? You mean the lines to the trans cooler? Leaking where they attach to the transmission?

I had a trans cooler line leak, the return wasn't secured from the factory best I could tell and it leaked on to the skid plate. wasn't a bad leak but it would have been.

 

[realralfy]

Trans cooler? You mean the lines to the trans cooler? Leaking where they attach to the transmission?

I had a trans cooler line leak, the return wasn't secured from the factory best I could tell and it leaked on to the skid plate. wasn't a bad leak but it would have been.

I don’t know, in the brief conversation I had, they told me that they were replacing the trans cooler

 

[Dusty1948]

I don’t know, in the brief conversation I had, they told me that they were replacing the trans cooler

In the industry certain descriptive words mean very specific things. In this case I suspect the person conveying the information either was misinformed or taking grammatical shortcut.

There is a device unique to the 8HP transmission series called the Heat Exchanger. My guess this is what they may have been referring to. Coolant from the engine cooling system passes through this heat exchanger to more rapidly warm up the transmission fluid.

It is mounted on the left side (driver's side) of the transmission near the transmission cooling lines.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 17 July 2018. Now at: 035838 miles.

 

[realralfy]

That may be....I will update the thread when I pick it up, hopefully later today...

In the industry certain descriptive words mean very specific things. In this case I suspect the person conveying the information either was misinformed or taking grammatical shortcut.

There is a device unique to the 8HP transmission series called the Heat Exchanger. My guess this is what they may have been referring to. Coolant from the engine cooling system passes through this heat exchanger to more rapidly warm up the transmission fluid.

It is mounted on the left side (driver's side) of the transmission near the transmission cooling lines.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 17 July 2018. Now at: 035838 miles.

 

[realralfy]

Update....

Went by the dealership before they called me so I could get in there while they were working on it. Spoke with the technician. He said it ended up being a trans heater (had no idea the truck had a trans heater). He told me it was 1.5 quarts low on trans fluid after going through the process to check the level (it's a long drawn out procedure per the technician guide) He had the truck running in the shop to check for more leaks. I will pick the truck back up in a couple of hours....

Here are some pics of the defective trans heater...

 

[jmcmahan15]

I bought this truck exactly 2 weeks ago, has 750 miles on it....

I was very surprised to see what looked like a puddle of oil on my garage floor. A quick look under the truck revealed it was transmission fluid. In the pics you can see where it has dropped onto the exhaust and made a mess...In fact there are some drops on the pipe getting ready to fall...

I went to check the transmission fluid level and that is when I learned there is no dipstick.....No way for me to check it. It seems incredibly stupid to design it that way...

Its back at the dealer now. They took a quick look and said it needs a new pan. (After tellling me that it was most likely condensation from the A/C).

Anybody else had an issue like this on a brand new truck? View attachment 61534 View attachment 61535 View attachment 61536

My new 2021 Ram Laramie had 8 miles on it when I bought it, and it has 33 miles on it total now. I had the same symptoms as you. Light smoke coming out from under and from the back of the truck, also stains on my driveway. The fluid smelled like tranny fluid, but it wasn't red, so I didn't put 2+2 together (it's been decades since I worked on cars). I noticed coming home from church yesterday that it was shifting hard and like the computer couldn't find the right gear. I took it into the dealership today because of this and they were able to determine the tranny cooler was "vomiting coolant" per the tech's words, lol. Hoping they get the replacement soon so I can get back to driving my truck! I've only had this Ram for 2 days.

 

[VectorZ]

My new 2021 Ram Laramie had 8 miles on it when I bought it, and it has 33 miles on it total now. I had the same symptoms as you. Light smoke coming out from under and from the back of the truck, also stains on my driveway. The fluid smelled like tranny fluid, but it wasn't red, so I didn't put 2+2 together (it's been decades since I worked on cars). I noticed coming home from church yesterday that it was shifting hard and like the computer couldn't find the right gear. I took it into the dealership today because of this and they were able to determine the tranny cooler was "vomiting coolant" per the tech's words, lol. Hoping they get the replacement soon so I can get back to driving my truck! I've only had this Ram for 2 days.

Man that sucks, hopefully it'll be straightened out quickly. @RamCares can be helpful too.

 

[jmcmahan15]

Man that sucks, hopefully it'll be straightened out quickly. @RamCares can be helpful too.

Same. The common consensus is this kind of thing shouldn't happen, given how much we pay for them. However, these are mass-produced mechanical machines, so I understand things happen and something somewhere is bound to be broken or busted right out of the gate for someone. It's all the luck of the draw and this time it just happened to be me. Yeah, it's disappointing and I'm not happy it happened, but I understand reality and so it is what it is. I know one thing, I can't wait to drive it again!