comming back from fishing with the camper on the back without warning the tranny started shifting gears for no appearent reason. shifted from 4th to 3rd stayed for a while then to 4th for a while then back again, didnt matter if i was going uphill, downhill or flat. by the time i got home it would hardly go into 4th at all. i changed the fluid before i left and it was only a 200 mile trip. i spend everyday for 3 weeks getting to the top a high gravel hill, which took at least 5 attemps each day to get over it to the lakes. (without the camper)
got home and opened the hood, first thing i smelled was the sweet aroma of burnt tranny fluid before i even pulled the dipstick. looked at the stick and the fluid was fried black. probably looking at a complete swap unless someone has a better idea that i can try.
the truck has tranny problems, cooked front diff, bad pitman and idler arms and needs front suspension work. is it worth fixing? by the way its a 89 3.9 auto sport.
i used to go by "FWTC" on this forum but 2 weeks ago dad bought a new truck and hands me the keys to his 2005 mazda b2300 2x4 with 45000 miles on it so i changed the name. he said 2 things to me, look after it and don't trade or sell it for dakota parts, thats the first thing i thought of. so with the new truck im wondering if i should sell the dak or keep it. if there is a quick fix for the tranny ill keep it for a later project but if its fried ill probably sell it.

p. s. im not a huge ford\mazda fan but with the condition of the dak any ride will do.

forgot to add i changed the fluid again and shifting went back to perfect only now when i tramp it down rpm goes up by 1000 but mph remains the same, i'm thinking it's only glazed wet clutches in the packs which are not that bad to replace.

 

I can't tell you what to do, but obviously my opinion is to fix it being a fan of these trucks. I will say, if you rebuild the transmission, put in a new torque converter and put in an aftermarket transmission cooler. The #1 cause of these automatic transmissions dying is overheating because the factory cooler isn't worth much.

 

I had a 91 mazda b2600i that I beat the holy living crap out of. I pulled a fullsize pickup box trailer LOADED through the mountains, ran rock happy desert trails, threw it in huge mud bogs, off a few sharp ravines, and it never once treated me wrong. I was a moron to sell that truck. It was a hell of a vehicle

On the dakota its up to you. Now that youve got another vehicle why not fix it slowly with extra cash. No reason to dump it if you dont want to fix up the mazda....

 

Most would suggest turning overdrive off when towing (especially when doing up and down hills. Not so much an issue when going level), or just driving up/down a lot of hills. The constant gear searching can overheat the fluid.

If you don't know when the transmission was last rebuilt (or, if it was never rebuilt), I would suggest getting it rebuilt or getting a new transmission.
Whatever you do (rebuild or replace the whole thing, or just replace clutch packs), you really, really, really need to install another cooler. And make sure you flush out the existing lines. (You will install the aftermarket cooler inline, and after, the stock cooler that is integrated into the radiator)

A lot of times, what happens is the cooler lines could get kind of clogged up, which obviously decreases the amount of fluid flow, leading to overheat.

 

after some thought i cannot let it go! my baby took me in and out of the worst places on the planet and never let me down. when i pull out of the yard i feel i'm cheating on her. i'll keep the ford and very slowly rebuild the dak. yah i should have shut down OD dodgerules, but at the time i was just thinking about making the next mile.
yah slt the factory one is crap. but i had a huge aftermarket one on and it still cooked.
next question is will a 92-96 tranny will fit a 88-91 (other than the rod to cable linkage)

 

A 1996 will not. It's different. (Electronically controlled, not hydraulically)
Shouldn't be a problem with anything else.

 

thanks dodgerules. shes got a good frame, body, engine, rearend and transfer case. i can work from there.