I know Dakota trannys are a bad subject here but here goes. Talking about the 89 with 136K on it. On cold days unless I do a 15 minute warmup the tranny hunts if going uphill. Its not slipping seems to be starting out in 2nd gear. Put a load on the truck immediately, like uphill and it shifts to first. Fluid is clean and has no smell. Its the bigger tranny, 14 pan bolts. Last tranny flush was at 112K and two years ago. Any ideas out there guys?

 

That's a strange symptom but,I would actually check all vacuum lines and make sure ya don't have 1 leaking,broke or disconnected..

 

Also check all connections on the tranny itself.

 

!stG thanks for the input. Checked all lines and then decided maby just maby I got a bad reading on fluid because we checked tranny at an engine oil change. I feel like the resident idiot here! Drove it anout 5 miles to warm it up and went to a parking lot that was level. Sure enough it was about 1/2 quart low. Now its all good. I will recheck it in another 20 miles or so warmed up to be sure.

 

HAHAHA,No need to feel like nothing man we've all been there at 1 point or another.Glad ya fixed your problem.

 

That was like a gift from I was gettin worried because of the $ so now all I have to do for inspection is patch the rust at the bottom of the cab for inspection and Im good to go.