Archived putting self-rebuilt transmission in today...did I do it right?

[jrusko]

ok, this is a non-diesel dodge, but I have a diesel too, and people on this site are some of the most helpful out there, so it's ok to put it here



I just rebuilt the transmission from my '90 Ramcharger and I'll (hopefully) be putting it back in today. It's a 46RH, if that makes any difference here. The only thing making me nervous is, after rebuilding the valve body, there's 1 small valve that slides back and forth freely - it doesn't seem to be held in place with a spring like the rest. The most specific info I can give at the moment is that it's maybe a 3/4" long valve, and slides back and forth for a fraction of an inch... 1/4 to 1/2 inch tops. I think it's in the upper half of the valve body, but I'd have to separate the 2 halves again to be sure. On the opposite side of the valve body, there's another valve in the same bore, held stationary by a spring.



I don't know if this valve could move like that before rebuilding... everything was pretty slopped up in there and not much was moving how it was supposed to anyway. But it seems to me that all the valves should be held in place by a spring until hydraulic pressure makes them move (besides the manual valve of course, being controlled by the shift lever). If a valve isn't held where it's supposed to be by a spring, I'd think it could slide back and forth randomly on a curvy road or whatever, causing who knows what problems. Unless that valve stays in place by some other means once the valve body is pumped up with fluid



Anyway, is it normal for a valve to be able to move around freely like that, or is it time to review the diagram and look around for a lost spring?

 

[Joe G.]

If you don't have a service manual you really need one. If your diesel Dodge is a '94 or '95 the Dodge service manual for that year truck includes the 46RH. The manual has complete exploded views of parts of the valve body. We can't tell which valve you are talking about from a post so you are going to have to refer to a service manual that includes that transmission.

 

[jrusko]

ok, it was the "shuttle valve plug". Apparently it's not actually a valve, it just keeps the valve from going out the other side. I checked the whole range of motion, and it doesn't slide past any fluid passages, so as far as I can tell it's fine. Just seemed a little weird for it to be able to move freely like that. However, my manual shift lever is shot... turns out part of the plastic insulator part was broken off, so the metal was snagging against the neutral safety switch... so now a 1/8" long piece of missing plastic is keeping the truck off the road . Oh well, looks like I'm in good shape here, at least as far as not needing more info, so mods can get rid of this one. Thanks.