Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) 95 auto won''t shift up into second gear...

[ballpeen]

hello, my 1995 auto transmission worked perfectly yesterday, i just used it to run a few errands, no hard use on the truck in months. today when i went to use the truck it wouldn't shift up into second gear. i drove very gingerly at 15 mph to see if what would happen for a few blocks. i then pulled over and checked the fluid. (tiny leak on the drain plug i installed) it was down a touch over a half quart. not much at all. i filled properly. then i drove down the road in first going very slow until it was up to a good hot temperature. then i went ahead and let it rev up to 3000 rpm. still no shift. so then i pumped the throttle and it shifted into second just fine and all the other gears seemed fine. i kept messing around like this on the side streets by my house and each time i slowly wound it out waiting for a shift and finally i pumped the pedal then it shifted into second and all was well. finally i took off from a stop and gave it about half throttle and i could feel the trans slipping just a bit and when i let off it, you could feel a bit of shudder and then it was fine again. still had to wind it up and pump the pedal to get a second gear shift. then i gassed it in second and it seemed like a shudder happened again. the truck was perfect the day before????????? man o man, i can't afford a trans at all right now. i am laid off and broke as a joke. please help with any info you may have on a problem like this. also i was thinking of having the trans flushed out at a shop that has that big machine would that be a good idea? i haven't heard good things about them on a higher mileage trans? i changed the filter and fluid about 20 thousand miles ago. the fluid is red and only has a slight hint of clutch smell to it. which seems common on most older auto trans. i have had other autos get something caught in the valve body an not shift like this one and they came out of it. but never seen one slip and come out of that. thanks in advance for any help as i am in a world of hurting without my truck and no money.

 

[DonTX]

I would not get too excited about it, mine did the same thing this summer, with the 5er on back.

The first time was on narrow winding roads, and I had to drive 5-10 miles that way to find a place to pull over. Checked the trans level, all good, no bad smell, shook my head and got back inside to head for a Dodge or transmission repair place. To my surprise it shifted perfectly all day. A couple days later, it did the same thing, again on morning startout. I stopped, turned off the key and started looking at my GPS for a dealer. Decided to restart and go look for one in first gear.

It has never did that again. Consensus was that some small piece of trash got in some part of the transmission, cannot recall the name, and they pumped on out. No problems since, maybe 10k miles since then.

 

[ballpeen]

i have had other auto's do this when something gets caught in the valve body and they came out of it. i am just worried about the slipping issue. i never seen one slip that wasn't on its way out.

 

[Skydiver]

When below 40 degrees F mine was slow to shift. I had the powerflush done. There was a pre-additive installed that I ran in the transmission for 100 miles. After the power flush, no more problems,ever. Has about 176k on the stock transmission.



Ballpeen, What is the mileage on the transmission? Has it been rebuilt? Do you have a signature for the truck profile ?

 

[BigPapa]

It may be unrelated, but mine got to where it didn't want to shift from 2nd to 3rd. My transmission man told me that it was a seal inside leaking pressure internally and that it would eventually give me trouble about going into reverse and that when this happened I would have to do something about it.



As I said, this may not be what's wrong with yours but I thought I would relay my experiences. The cheapest fix for me at the time was taking the auto out and replacing with a 5-speed. If I had it to do over again I would scrounge every nickel I could and get a built auto.



Scott