I have a 96' dakota 2wd v6. Bout 6 months ago I had the trany rebuild and everything worked fine, 3 weeks ago I changed out the fluid (ATF+4) and filter. There were no shavings or anything abnormal in the pan. It seemed to be working fine, then last Thurs n my way to work i noticed round 55 - 60 MPH it seemed lke it was trying to shift out of overdrive but my RPM's had lil variation in them staying right around 2k. I asked several mechanics friends of mine and all of them had differant answers including TPS, vaccum lines, clogging and even fuel pump. Then today it shifted completely out of o/d back into 3 for jsut a moment then lined back out and di it several more times before i got back home. I was hoping to find some sort of specific answer before i took it and had it put on a diagnostic and forked out the cash, cause the nearest garage that has the equipment is bout 60 miles away. I'd greaty apreciate any help.

 

First off, welcome to DodgeForum, but this belongs in the gen 1 dakota section. Hopefully a moderator will move it there for you.

Now to your problem... have you checked the fluid level since you changed it? The fluid level can go down as the new fluid makes its way through all the lines. My truck acted the exact same way one time back when it was an automatic when a cooler line split and it got very low on fluid.

If the fluid level is fine, my next guess is a problem with the ECT sensor or thermostat. Is the truck running cool at all? The transmission won't shift into OD until the computer switches into its closed loop... when the engine is at normal operating temp. The computer won't switch loops if the thermostat is stuck open and the truck stays too cool or if the ECT sensor is reading off.

If the thermostat and ECT sensor are both fine, it could be the TPS, MAP, or a vacuum leak. Those are very easy things to test and rule out. If you go to the faq2 thread at the top of gen 1 dakota, you can find a link to download the '96 dakota FSM (its a rapidshare link... download, unzip, and open the files with adobe reader). The FSM will give you all the testing and troubleshooting procedures.

 

ECT sensor? Explain please. As for the thermostat, the temp gauge has never gotten more than a few notches above the cold mark as long as I have had it, even after running all day. Could I get similar results if there was too much fluid in it? After reinstalling the tranny when it was rebuilt I installed a aftermarket coolin system as well so the extra line length and bigger cooling radiator makes it harder to judge where full is. Thanks for the reply.

 

ECT stands for engine coolant temperature sensor. It is located next to the thermostat on the intake manifold and tells the computer how hot the engine is (to tell the computer when it is safe to switch to its open loop) as well as runs the temperature gauge on the dash board. There may be 2 of them... 1 for the computer and 1 for the gauge, but I think the OBDII switch in '96 was the point where they switched to just 1.

I honestly don't know if being too full would do the same, but I wouldn't think so. I also wouldn't think having an aftermarket tranny cooler would mess with the dipstick's calibration. There may be more in the whole system, but there should only be a certain amount in the pan at any given time.

 

Something I forgot to mention, but if i manually take the o/d off it runs and shifts fine. Thanks for the help, I plan on changing the ECT and thrmostat tommorrow, hopefully this with slve the problem. If not guess I'll keep searching for the problem.

 

Well I hope it works out for you! I don't know if you re-read my first post but I edited it to add some more info.

And FWIW, the factory thermostat is 195 degrees.

 

I will move it to the 1st Gen. Dakota section.