My wife drove her 2009 Dodge Caravan with 180,000 miles, for 8 hours in first gear, 45mph at 4000-4500rpm's because the shift solenoid failed. Fixed the shift solenoid. Seems to run fine now, but I want to baby it and keep it at no more than 2000 rpm's, because I feel like first gear may have been damaged or at least worn. My son says there is no need to baby it because you can't know if 1st gear has been damaged or worn unless you take the transmission apart and look at the gear. Who's right?
If first gear was worn you would definitely be able to tell when driving.
A ten year old Dodge with that many miles? I'd definitely try to drive it gently, but I don't think you could actually keep it under 2500 -3000 rpm and ever merge on a highway without creating a traffic hazard. Yeah, more RPM is harder on a trans than less, but I believe that the throttle opening and resulting torque puts more force and stress on the trans. Conservative on throttle, let the engine rev out pretty normally is what I'd recommend.
If your first gear is damaged you will definitely know about it by driving it.
8 hrs is nothing for an engine that has 8,000 hrs on it
