Hello, I recently bought a 1996 dodge Dakota 2wd automatic transmission 194k miles. The guy I bought it from just rebuilt the engine, while installing it he smashed a set of wires. I have taken it to a mechanic to repair and it fixed most of the gears besides 3rd gear. It still jumps up to 4k rpms then slams into 3rd gear. The shop said I should just get a new transmission but the fluid is pink and smells clean as can be. I’ve replaced the OSS and VSS, along with the TPS, and adjusted the kickdown cable. I believe I don’t need a new transmission, could the problem lie in the transmission bands? From my knowledge they haven’t been readjusted anytime recently.

 

Are you getting any codes? Band adjustment *might* help, but, no guarantees.

 

I adjusted the bands on my '93 auto trans a few years ago. Had maybe 175 - 180K miles on it. Never been adjusted. Nothing suggested it needed it but I adjusted it anyway and not sure if I actually changed anything. I confirmed the torque requirement prior and discovered one (if not both) of the adjustment bolts were 4-sided. Turns out, you'll need a 4, 8, or 12 point socket to properly grip a 4-sided bolt head. Since 4 and 8 point sockets are uncommon these days, the best bet is using a 12-point. I happened to have one that fit one of the bolt heads. Additionally, I believe it was a weird size. Like 11/32" or some such thing. I documented it in this forum somewheres but fairly sure it was 11/32. Bottom line, make sure you have a complete set of 12-point sockets with all the 32nd sizes. I'm not saying this applies to your '96 automatic tranny but it did in my '93 auto trans. I also replaced the 3-4 accumulator spring because I was there and it was cheap and easy to do so. Lastly, I tried a metric socket and it came close but it was still a bit cheesy and especially when trying to dial in a specific torque spec.