So I bought a cherry 2002 2500 Quad-Cab and I love everything about the truck EXCEPT the way the transmission shifts. Or maybe it's the way it DOESN'T shift. I've NEVER seen a more poorly calibrated transmission when it comes to shift points and converter lockup. There isn't any slippage in the transmission and the converter holds fine once it finally locks in and as long as its 70 mph or over. But if I sort of idle away from a stop sign and then peg the throttle, the engine will run up to 2800-3000 rpm and just HANG THERE forever before it shifts. And of course there's NO boost left by the time it shifts. If I ease into it more and then sort of progressively roll into the throttle it accelerates much more quickly. I think I can probably do 0-60 faster at half throttle than at full throttle and I'm not even joking. And what really irritates me is that it's just the OPPOSITE on the top end. I can slowly accelerate up to 65 mph or so and the trans will have been in OD and the converter locked up for several seconds. If I keep that same rate of acceleration (slow) up to and past 70 it will stay in OD and locked up but if I get on it then it just goes NOWHERE. But if I hit 65 and then really lean into it, the converter unlocks INSTANTLY and if I keep my foot down it'll DOWNSHIFT TO DRIVE a second later. At 70 mph. I guess my '94 just spoiled me and I'm used to being able to come up behind somebody running 65, pulling out into the hammer lane, punching it and seeing 38-40 on the boost gauge and being around them and back in the right lane at 75 in under 10 seconds. The 2002? I pulled out to pass someone at 60 the other day when there was a car probably 3/4-mile down the road and I honestly didn't think I was going to get back over in time because as soon as I pulled out and punched it, the damn thing downshifted and there I sat at 2500 rpm or so in drive going NOWHERE and when I lifted it upshifted and there I sat in OD going nowhere so I leaned into it and back down we went. Nice. Any way you slice it, this truck is a DOG all over the tach and speedo compared to my '94. Granted, my '94 is a regular cab with 4.10s and I'd conservatively estimate it's probably good for 275 hp at the flywheel or so and it gets there in a hurry with the little turbo Im running. But I always thought that '94 was TERRIBLE when it came to holding a gear WAY too long. But it shifts like a manual valvebody Torqueflite compared to my new truck. The '02 is a stocker and I'm sure it could run a little better than it does but that's not going to improve the shifting. And I KNOW that stock Dodge Cummins torque converters are WAY too loose and I plan to address THAT, as well. But what can I do in the meantime to get this thing to get out of gears faster down low and stay in gear up high? Do any of the aftermarket tuners affect shift points at all? Like I said, I KNOW it needs a converter and that a tighter converter will help it all over the place and improve economy too. But as far as the transmission goes, I don't plan to get crazy with the power and I'm NOT going to spend $5000+ on a transmission for a truck I paid under $15,000 for, lol. I've done automatic transmission work and I rebuild 19-speed powershifts and 16-speed powershifts and do all kinds of gear and wet clutch work all the time. So if I DO any transmission work it will probably literally be me doing the transmission work. And when it comes to that, instead of having the truck dead in the water while I rebuild the existing transmission, I might just try to find a salvage yard core I can take my time building and have ready to put in over a weekend. But if in the meantime anyone knows any tips or tricks to get this thing shifting like a DIESEL PICKUP instead of a GEO METRO, I'd appreciate hearing them
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