Water in my NAG1 Transmission

[Popeye's Hemi]

This past Sunday I went for a drive to meet with some new LX owners about an hour north of where I live. It was raining pretty good, when I got a mile from my destination the car started to shudder a little. I thought I was hydro-planing, but I was not driving fast enough. Anyway on the way back it was shuddering real bad at times particularly between 3rd and fourth gear. So this made me think of the TSB 21-011-05. So when I got home I found the TSB. The next morning I drove it and the same thing. So I talked with a Mopar Tech friend and I bought the items listed in the TSB. I have more than 99K miles and last February I installed an Edge Racing Torque Converter and probaly damaged the trans filler tube gromet.

I put the car up on 4 jack stands and removed the trans oil pan and yes I had water. Just prior to removing the pan I put a can of Sea Foam Trans Tune in and drove around shifting through all gears for 30 minutes. Boys did that stuff clean the internals. Also got some metal shavings that I think came from the new TC, I hope! Bottom line is it cleans.
I replaced the gromet by going up from the bottom with the pan off and sealed the new gromet with Mopar ATF-RTV, then installed the fill tube and pan. Re-filled the trans with 4 quarts of ATF +4 and ran the car through all gears 5-6 times including reverse. Drained the fluid and things are starting to clear up very good now. Drained the pan and filter and did the same proceedure once more and everything is looking good. So I drained replaced the filter and pan gasket. Checked the level and she drives good now no shudder at this time and she shifts and runs smooth, this may have been going on for some time now just not so noticible. The Tech told me that the AC evap has a condensate drain and that drains the water down onto the trans fill tube and then water sits on the tube seal/gromet and that I need to re-route the drain line. I will cut and paste the Top part of the TSB.



NUMBER: 21-011-05
GROUP: Transmission
DATE: April 23, 2005

SUBJECT:
NAG1 (W5A580) Transmission - Shudder When Torque Converter Clutch Engages
OVERVIEW:
This bulletin involves thoroughly flushing the NAG1 (W5A580) transmission of any water
contamination, replacing the transmission filter, and applying RTV sealant around the base
of the transmission fill tube to prevent water intrusion past the fill tube seal.
MODELS:
2005 (LX) 300/Magnum/Charger
2005 (WK) Grand Cherokee
NOTE: This bulletin applies to vehicles (WK w/3.7L, LX w/ 5.7L, or LX AWD w/3.5L)
equipped with a NAG1 (W5A580) transmission (sales code DGJ).
SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
The customer may experience a transmission shudder when shifts occur. The shudder is
most noticeable with partial application of the torque converter clutch in 3rd and 4th gear.
DIAGNOSIS:
If the customer experiences the condition perform the Repair Procedure.
NOTE: This condition may occur when only a small 0.5% concentration of water is
present in the automatic transmission fluid. It will be very important to
ensure that the transmission and torque converter is thoroughly flushed of
any water and other possible contaminants.
PARTS REQUIRED:
Qty. Part No. Description
13 05013457AA Fluid, Automatic Transmission, MS-9602 ATF+4, Qt.
1 05010884AA ATF - RTV
1 52108325AA Filter, Transmission Oil

I just was not going to pay the dealership $230 to flush and I don't do Jiffy Lube.
So I did the hard way.

[MuscleMan305]

The Tech told me that the AC evap has a condensate drain and that drains the water down onto the trans fill tube and then water sits on the tube seal/gromet and that I need to re-route the drain line. I will cut and paste the Top part of the TSB.

Is this only for the 05's? I have an 07 R/T i wonder if they fixed the problem?

[Doctor No]

Is this only for the 05's? I have an 07 R/T i wonder if they fixed the problem?

The tsb is only for 05, 06 and newer have a thicker o ring around the fill tube. I have not heard of any info on rerouting the a/c drain hose.Next time your car is on a lift , a little RTV wont hurt to put around the fill tube anyway; on any year car, just as an ounce of prevention. Thats what I did on my 07.

[xj31]

It's a good thing you were smart enough to catch that in time.I'm a tech at a dealer and I have had to overhaul a few of these because idiot customers that just keep driving.All the flushing in the world didn't help those.I would flush it again,maybe a few mor times just to be sure because the water gets behind some of the clutch pistons and is really hard to get it all out.Oh and by the way,the ac drain tube thing is on Grand Cherokees.It drains the water right on the seal.It almost looks like it was designed to do that.

[Popeye's Hemi]

It's a good thing you were smart enough to catch that in time.I'm a tech at a dealer and I have had to overhaul a few of these because idiot customers that just keep driving.All the flushing in the world didn't help those.I would flush it again,maybe a few mor times just to be sure because the water gets behind some of the clutch pistons and is really hard to get it all out.Oh and by the way,the ac drain tube thing is on Grand Cherokees.It drains the water right on the seal.It almost looks like it was designed to do that.

Thanks for the feedback and you must be right about the AC condensate drain line because I did not see mine. I plan to flush again soon and use another can of Seafoam Trans Tune, it states it helps to eliminate water among other things.