Two problems related to automatic transmission cooler have been reported for the 1997 Dodge Ram 2500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Transmission cooler line needs replacing. The cooler line has a plastic coupling in it that could melt and cause a fire or sudden loss of transmission under load. Dealer will replace a cooler line on a gasoline engine per recall but not on a diesel. My truck is a diesel, and think that the line should be replaced as the plastic coupling melted on a friends truck that is the same as mine (diesel). I called the Dodge dealer and they will not replace the coupling/line as not gasoline engine. I feel this is a safety hazard effecting all modles with this plastic copuling.
The two metal transmission oil cooler lines were installed during truck assembly without sufficient spacers to prevent abrasion against each other. This allowed one line to rub a hole into the side of other line resulting in transmission fluid being sprayed against hot engine compontents and could have resulted in damage to the transmisson or a fire in the engine compartment.