Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Automatic Shifting

[DonTX]

I have been on the road for a couple of weeks now, pulling my 5ifth wheel RV with my 97.

Everything has been going perfectly with the truck, it loves to work it seems. One morning however when I started out of a campground, the truck appeared not to shift out of second gear (was in the ozarks, was hard to check much out) it would rev to 2700 rpm, go about 40mph, and that was it. I hit the OD button a time or two, finally after 20 miles or so found a place to pull off the road. I checked the transmission fluid, full and pretty stuff, checked the fuses for the OD, all fuses were fine. I kicked the tires a time or two, that did not seem to help either, so in the belief that perhaps Bill Gates had a hand in Dodge engineering, I shut it off and restarted the engine. Giving up, I started out again to find a Dodge dealer or such, and to my surprise, it now shifted perfectly!

Has anyone ever had this problem? If it was some sort of a warning of a failure, I did not get the message, should I have?

 

[Dieseldemon]

It was probably the gov solinoid had a blockage I would take the gov sol out and clean it go on Dunrites site and the instructions are there.

 

[DonTX]

Hard to react on the road with limited internet. Is this solenoid something one can repair in an RV park, or is it a dealer type fix? I could not find anything on the dunrite site, do you have a link?

I don't even know WHERE this solenoid is located, can you give me a little more help? It has only done it twice so far, only once in the early morning startout. Should I be getting worried?

It was probably the gov solinoid had a blockage I would take the gov sol out and clean it go on Dunrites site and the instructions are there.

 

[Kiohio]

Dunrite

Scroll to the bottom.

Was just looking at them myself.

Thanks DD!!



KO

 

[Dieseldemon]

Get on his site and click on the FAQ and then scroll to the bottom and you will find it I just done one and it works great. PM me if you need more help.

 

[DonTX]

Hey thanks, got all kinds of great information there.

Thanks again for the help.

Get on his site and click on the FAQ and then scroll to the bottom and you will find it I just done one and it works great. PM me if you need more help.

 

[DonTX]

It has only hesitated twice, I am using it every day since it did it. With this long period of no errors, could it be that it just has some junk in there that finally got washed on downstream? Sure hate to tear into it when it is working so darned well.

Prior to this trip, the truck sat for long periods of time for almost a year. Could that have contributed to the problem?

Hey thanks, got all kinds of great information there.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Dieseldemon]

You sure can most likely a piece of trash washed out of the gov you can always do it when it happens again (Don't fix it if it aint broke)

 

[McLaughlin]

Did the problem happen after it had been turned off overnight and was it on any kind of slope?

I've been told there is a "check ball" in the transmission fluid system (not sure where it is) which if it sticks can cause the fluid to drain from the torque converter. If that happens it can cause symptoms like you noted. Some aftermarket transmission shops will remove the check ball. If that is done then typically you have to put the transmission in neutral for about a minute before going to drive. Apparently the fluid can drain even on level ground but parking on a slope can make it worse.

 

[DonTX]

In both cases, it did it first thing in the morning after sitting overnight. My torque converter drains down some, I just warm up around that minor nuisance. If I did not know better, I would bet that I had the selector in the "2" positon rather than "D".

Did the problem happen after it had been turned off overnight and was it on any kind of slope?



I've been told there is a "check ball" in the transmission fluid system (not sure where it is) which if it sticks can cause the fluid to drain from the torque converter. If that happens it can cause symptoms like you noted. Some aftermarket transmission shops will remove the check ball. If that is done then typically you have to put the transmission in neutral for about a minute before going to drive. Apparently the fluid can drain even on level ground but parking on a slope can make it worse.