Ram 2500 3500

3 Misdiagnosed 68RFE Symptoms — Including the One That Gets Blamed on the Engine

By Dave at Gearbox Insider

The 68RFE generates a specific set of complaints, and each one has a common misdiagnosis attached to it. These are the three I see most often arriving from other shops. 1. "Slips going into 6th, fine in all other gears" — misdiagnosed as solenoid failure. This is overdrive clutch pack wear, not a solenoid. The overdrive pack in the 68RFE is undersized for sustained high-torque towing. When it wears, the TCM sees turbine speed not tracking output speed correctly during the 5-6 shift and either sets a P0871 (OD pressure switch performance) or adapts shift pressure upward until the adaptive cells are maxed. A solenoid swap will not fix burned overdrive frictions. Pull the pan, check for clutch material, measure line pressure in OD range (spec is 95–120 psi), and plan for a clutch pack replacement at minimum — often the OD drum needs inspection for scoring as well.

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