So I got the beast up and running. Yay. Feels good to have it on the road.

When I was cycling the transmission as I topped off the fluid from the dipstick tube leak I noticed a couple things.

First, going from neutral to reverse is pretty stiff. Meaning it seems like it engages pretty hard. There is a noticable jerk toward the rear. Park to reverse is not near as noticable.

Second, going from park to D or neutral to D it almost seems like it engages twice. You can feel the light pulse as it drops into gear, then another light pulse a second or two later.

It doesnt slip or shift awkwardly, even under heavy throttle. I drove it quite a bit today, and didnt feel any issues at all while driving. Only these when coming into gears. Is that normal for these transmissions or is mine out of adjustment? Its got brand new ATF +4 in it, so I know its not the fluid. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

Im not so sure about them engaging hard or being stiff but the second jerk you feel could possibly mean you might have a little play between the driveshaft and the axle because when you hold the brake that holds the wheels so if there enouph space for play as if you just got done backing up and you shift into drive it will spin the shaft until it stops from it lockin up agaisnt the gears in the axle until you let off the brake and give it gas

 

You can check about how much play there is by putting the tranny in neutral and having the truck kept from moving and see about spinning the shaft and find out how far it spins

 

The reason park to reverse is not the same as N to R is fluid is being pumped in N but not in P. There are two bands to adjust I think (might br wrong) one is reverse if i am
right then back off the reverse band a turn.

 

Yes, there are 2 bands, one is the reverse band and the other is the kickdown band. The reverse band is located on the valve body in the oil pan, so unless you want to change the fluid all over again, its too late for that one. The kickdown band is near where the cooler lines come out. I'm don't know enough about automatic transmissions to tell you if adjusting either will fix your issue though.

I agree that it sounds like play in the driveline. There is a certain amount of play in the rear-end due to the required backlash between the ring and pinion gears... that could be part of it. You could also have a worn out u-joint. Like said above, put the transmission (or t-case) in neutral and chock the wheels and get under it and turn the driveshaft by hand and watch where the play is.

 

It sounds exactly like what was happening to me recently, and it was a bad U-joint, for what that is worth. You could grab the drive shaft (while on the lift) and feel the play in the U-joint.

I have an auto, 3.9L '92.