Auto transmission Fluid, Need Help

[farmall]

I am going to finally tear into the transmission and find out what is wrong witht the overdrive. I am sick and tired of running the truck as hard as she will run and only going 70 mph. Plus my mileage creates a vaccum. Anyways the transmission was rebuilt, just prior to my purchase of the truck a year ago. The owner told me had them leave the O/D unhooked inside, becaue the switch in the dash was bad and he could not turn it off. And he never drove the truck without a trailer hooked to it. Well the switch was obviously bad and I have replaced it. It has power to it as you can turn it on and off and the light will come on when it is off. But the O/D does not work. I am assuming the guy told me the truth about having it unhooked as everything else he said about the truck was right on. Anyways, I know my switch is good, I have checked my TPS and it is putting out current, so it has to be unhooked or the solenoid is bad. My questions are if the solenoid is bad, what are they going for and does anyone have a part number. Also what kind of fluid do you recommend putting back in and how many quarts does it take? I have a factory cooler up by the radiator. Thanks Bill

 

[dusthomps]

Bill...



I changed the overdrive solenoid in my 92 about two months ago. Costed me $42 at the local stealer. I couldn't find the part number, but if no one post a number by tomorrow afternoon I have one for you. I know the slip is in the garage. As for what kind of fluid, I believe ATF +3 is the recommended choice according to the owners manual, at least that's what I put back in mine. Hope this helps.



Dustin

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

The mopar 7176 ATF is the 'recommended' fluid. You can use Dexron type II which will firm up your shifts a noticable amount as well. If you use a synthetic you'll have softer shifts, which means some slipping is happening to make them soft. Don't worry about the Dexron fluid, it will not kill your transmission. It simply a bit more "aggressive" than the regular ATF +III type.

The capacity for the A-518 is 10. 2 quarts. You should dump in about 6 quarts, then, with shifter in "N", start truck and pour in the rest. Be sure the transmission is in ""N" though as you can run the pump dry if you do not prefill with atleast half the oil, and use N to start it.

I'd check the connection on the transmission to see if the OD was simply shorted out there. If it gets a 'short signal' then OD will not kick in. Otherwise, I don't know what he might have had done internally to disable OD. You might want to call Bill K and ask if that is a possibility or if it was just done electrically, outside the unit.

I don't know the price of an OD solenoid to be honest.



If you plan to adjust the 'bands', use care and get it exactly right, particularly the reverse. If you over tighten it, you'll have problems.



Hope this helps a bit...

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year !!



Bob.

 

[DPKetchum]

You can also add from 2 to 4 qts of 0w30/5w30/or 10w30 syn. motor oil to trans and it ups the boil point and adds a lube for o/d gears etc. Wont affect shift. Have been told 0w30 is perfered