2004 Dodge Diesel Owners

[Sue]

Okay, call me paranoid, but I have been dying to ask this question.


My new truck seems to double shift when I am excalarating to like get on the highway. It does it right around 50MPH. The only way I can explain it is just around 50mph it shifts and with a second or so it seems to do it again, but doesn't happen if I am just maintaing normal excalaration. Does that make sense??

Also, when I shut it off it shuts off really "hard" almost instantly. Is that normal?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

[Glass Guy]

Sue what you might be feeling is the torque converter locking up this is normal for an automatic trans, second not sure about the way a cummins shuts down but my ford will shut down like that. Roman

[Montana Sky]

Sue,
went and asked the neighbor about how his Dodge shuts down and he said the same thing.. My Chevy is pretty quick on shutting down as well. Just keep an ear open when you are in a parking lot and listen to other Dodge trucks on how they shut down. Usually will find they are all the same.

[Bob Pasternak]

Sue; I was a little nervous about the extra shut down noise when I first got the Cummins. It was explained to me that the engine stops so quickly because of the compression that the belts slip a little. It is also explained in my Cummins owners manual. I've been driveing Cummins for almost 40 years but never heard this noise 'til this truck.

[palebluedot]

BP has it right, it's the compression of the diesel engine. A gas engine has a compression ratio of about 9:1 and a diesel is about 17:1. This causes a diesel to stop very fast while other components driven by the belt (alternator, power steering pump, fan etc.) try to continue turning. The result is the belt will slip slightly on the crankshaft pulley causing a chirp sound. It's certainly nothing to be concerned about.

[Northstar]

Thanks for the great posting. Nice info to know. Happyrving....

[Montana_381]

With the 48RE automatic, hard accelleration will yield a shifting of 1 - 2 - 3 (TC unlocked) - 3 (TC lockup) - 4 [OD] (TC unlocked) - 4 [OD] (TC lockup).

Yes, there'll actually be 5 shifts for a 4-speed transmission not counting the manual one into Low.

The abrupt shutdown, as others have said, is perfectly normal.

[Chester]

Like everyone says that extra shift you feel is the torque converter locking up. Also this is the 3rd Dodge cummins I've had and they have all shut down hard. It might be a little more noticeable on the cummins vs the Ford or Chev since the cummins is a 6 cylinder vs 8 so you're dealing with larger pistons and stroke.

[Sue]

quote:Originally posted by Chester

It might be a little more noticeable on the cummins vs the Ford or Chev since the cummins is a 6 cylinder vs 8 so you're dealing with larger pistons and stroke.

Thanks , coming off a Ford and I don't drive my husbands GMC that much, and it was such a noticable difference, glad to know it's normal.

Also, thanks for all the info on the almost double shifting. Now I feel better.

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