2001 2500, Won’t Shift Until 3000+ RPMs

You’ve done most of the obvious fixes for the problem, but your transmission is still slipping so it is more than likely a lot more deep-rooted than the solutions you have tried. And, if we had to bet on the problem it is more than likely a combination of either the clutch packs and bands which usually go bad about the same time.

What is happening, just so you’ll know, is that the clutches aren’t reacting correctly because they are sticking, even though the bands are tightening up correctly — or mostly correctly. Since the clutches or clutch packs aren’t operating correctly, your 2500 tends to run hard and tends to slam into gear at very high rpms. If you were to look closely at the clutch packs you would likely see them trying to work correctly but they cannot because either the bands aren’t tightening correctly or, if they are tightening, they are so loose they might as well not be installed.

To repair the clutch packs and bands, you are looking at about $1,800 worth of parts and labor, which is better than the $3,000 you will spend for a replacement transmission, unless you can find one in a salvage yard that was on a vehicle with reasonable mileage and that is in reasonable shape.