Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Sign of transmission trouble?

[sslechta]

Just wondering if I need to be concerned...



Cranked up the rig for the first time in 10 days and after idling long enough for the oil pressure to come up (about 5 - 7 seconds) I put the transmission in 'Drive' but the truck didn't move. I even gave it a little more RPM's but nothing, so I immediately put it into neutral and waited for about 15 seconds. Then I put it in 'Drive' again and everything appeared to be normal.



I'm guessing that this is related to the time the truck sat, but I want to be sure it is not an indication of some type of problem, or an early sign of some future problem. Also, did I do any damage to it during this incident? It's a stock '99 and I have 64K on it.

 

[Bob Wagner]

its normal

and it is called torque convertor drainback, stick it in neutral and wait a minute for the convertor to recharge

 

[mberry]

Yup

Mine did the same thing after sitting for a week. Let it idle in neutral for a minute and then put her in gear and off we went.

 

[rrausch]

The Torque Converter does drain back its fluid if the truck sets for more than several days. This is normal. My old trans, with 110,000+ miles on it, would drain down in as little as 2 days. It seems like it takes longer now, but I haven't tested it. Putting the Trans in Neutral was the smart thing to do, as that engages the pump and circulates the fluid, pumping up the TC again.

 

[TowPro]

Re: its normal

They might have changed something in 2002 as my 02 don't do this. It sits every week as I only drive it on weekends (some times it sits for 2 or 3 weeks if its snowing), drop it in gear and it goes right away. It only has 5000 miles on it so that may be why it still works.



My 96 (gasser) did something like this. Start it up and it sounded like an old ford power steering pump with no fluid in it. Several recalls on trans fixes and it still did it.

 

[sslechta]

I sure feel a lot better about this now, and the explanation makes sense. Thanks for putting my mind at ease.

 

[keimmmo]

This problem has existed with Chrysler transmissions since the introduction of the torqueflight back in the late 50s. It seems to be most common on high mile vehicles. The old '92 has to be put in neutral for a few seconds any time it has set more than a day.



If you slip the transmission by reving the motor before the fluid gets to circulating again, the transmission will fail in short order! If you are patient with it, it will last a LONG TIME! I have seen old gassers that took a full two minutes to decide to move every morning... yet they ran for YEARS that way!!!



Steve