I have a 1992 dodge dakota le, 3.9 auto trans, 2wd, 92k, I have a problem with the trans shifting in and out of gear too much. When im going along and little or no load on engine, when i begin to climb in elevation, it changes gear and if i dont move the pedal it jumps right back out, and in two or three seconds it will change again and jump back out, it wont stay in the next gear it changes to, unless i give it enough gas to keep it climbing until it tops out. if i get into it, it goes through all the gears just fine. I talked to a trans. guy who builds trans, he said most of the time when they did that it was the engine and not the trans. engine appears to be running fine, it seems to idle too fast when i first put it in park, and sometimes there seems to be a little fluctuation when first starting to move.but then is fine. i have put a new crank sensor on, map sensor, throttle control, and cleaned the aic, plug wires, cap, have any of you guys had a problem like this that could advise, thanks for any help much appreciated.

 

Its probably the motor. I had the same issue. I ended up doing the Plenum kit, EGR and all sensors as well as timing chain then I had the tranny rebuilt. All of that helped but I still had shifting issues. The solution was to replace the entire exhaust. I had found the CAT was bad then discovered I had a broken stud on each side of the exhaust manifold. I went with the Walker Y pipe, CAT, and Exhaust kit which fit well (only one cut) and the problem is gone. I probably would have got the results I wanted if I had made sure the Exhaust was good first. I recommend you start with making sure your CAT is good. Simple test is a laser Temp gauge check just in front the just behind the CAT. The front should be hotter by a lot. If the back is higher or close to the same its gone or on its way out. If you don't have a CAT still check the Exhaust mani as it seems the stud breaking is common. I was careful tightening mine since the torque setting is only 18ftlbs. I think over tightening them may be a problem so I made sure the Torque wrench had to turn it a couple of times before clicking.

 

the motor has 92k seems to run good, the cat was rodded some time ago before i got it, and a thrush muffler put on, the truck ran ok for about a year, without this shifting problem, i did replace the crank sensor, map sensor, throttle sensor and clean the iac, put new wires and cap on. shows no codes, seems to run great on the road, my next question is going to be can i pull this motor and transmission out and replace both with a small block 350 with a carb and auto transmission and do away with the computer, my body is in great shape for a 92 no rust in body and frame, do you think i can make the change with the motor and trans, thanks for your reply

ps i dont see any exhaust leaks. and as far as i can see no vacuum leaks

 

You could -but- it's much less involved to swap in a Dodge 5.2 or 5.9 V8. Those motors bolt right in and the existing mounts, engine alignment, cooling system, and trans don't need to be changed. You can also keep the EFI or go carb if you want. I swapped a '92 5.2 EFI Magnum into my previusly V6 powered '89 and another guy on this forum (Robertmee) is currently working on swap with a carbed 360 (390 hp) replacing his original V6.

In the mean time, you might want to do a check of the vacuum lines on your V6.

 

I'm doing the 360 magnum carb swap....my only advice is if you start down that path prepare for scope creep. What started as an engine swap has turned into an off frame restore. Brakes, suspension, fuel, body, frame all getting new parts...adds up quick!

 

thanks for the info guys, i just want to get rid of this computer controlled motor, have an engine, with its own firing system, carb, you said i didnt have to get rid of the transmission, i assume when you say that, that the computer doesnt have anything to do with the transmission, is that right. My body, frame, and front end, brakes, rear end is all in good shape lot of work already done there. I talked to a transmission guy about the problem and he said it was most likely the motor, but for the life of me i havent figured that out yet as everything seems to be ok with the motor. I appreciate you guys input, it means a lot.

 

You can put any motor in any vehicle. The only "issue" is the amount of work and money necessary. IDK what "rodded" means but if its had the guts knocked out then its going to affect how the O2 sensor responds to exhaust gas. That will effect how the fuel is injected. I didn't think to say it but the first thing several mechanics told me to change when I described the problem was the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) I have to ask; why do you want to get away from a computer? The computerized engines run better more efficiently and use less gas. The gen2 and up apparently let you do a lot of adjustments the Gen1's don't. I have a 94 and I bought a SnapOn MT2500 scanner on ebay for I think it was $300 and I can do everything that can be done to or with the computer using it. There is no computer involvement with the tranny in Gen1's AFAIK though you might want a stronger tranny with a V8. From the FAQ page; 1992-1995 had the following two: 42RH Four speed "V6 only" (1st 2.74, 2nd 1.54, 3rd 1.0, 4th 0.69, Rev. 2.21) 46RH Four speed "V8 only" (1st 2.45, 2nd 1.45, 3rd 1.0, 4th 0.69, Rev. 2.21) If you want the V8 with computer you can get a Gen2 or Gen3 v8 and it should bolt right in as Ragged89 describes. I spent a lot of time on my motor too and I ended up getting a rebuilt tranny. It was fixing the exhaust that helped me most. I just did it a couple of weeks ago which is why I mentioned it. It also occurs to me to mention the intake plenum issue. There is a problem with the intake plenum gasket breaking down and letting oil into the intake. That might be affecting how the motor is responding and that response may be causing the tranny to shift. You want to look for oily residue on the bottom of the butterfly or inside the intake see if there are signs of wet oil or burnt oil. You can change the gasket and then do it again later or get the Hughes Engines plenum repair kit for a permanent fix.

 

i solved a big part of the problem, the aic was bad, but i still have some gear changing going on but not nearly as bad, I have tried to adjust the tv cable, to no avail, with the tv cable adjust to the rear far as it will go, there is still about a 1/4 in slack in the cable before it pushes, i tried to bend the bracket about 3/8 ths in. to take the slack out as a test but when i get it where there is no slack the truck doesnt run right. it runs pretty good with the 1/4 in slack in it. when the cable is off it is about a 1/4 toward the front of the engine.

 

IMO If that made a big change the problem is probably some motor or sensor issue. Here is a web page that describes adjusting the TV cable at both ends. in fig 242 the cable end would move upward from the perspective of the picture to remove it from that ****. If you pull it off which is the way it seems it should come off you will probably break it. I found out by accident, I had been trying to pull it off. http://www.justanswer.com/dodge/1otj...-throttle.html I think you can also adjust your front band from outside the tranny. It involves a large star bit, T40 is what I bought after reading the procedure before I let a corrupt mechanic tell me to get it rebuilt, and you'll need a torque wrench. You have to drop the pan to adjust the reverse band and that involves changing the fluid.

 

thanks for the advice guys, got the dodge fixed today, replaced the aic which i dont think was the problem and the tps and adjusted the tv cable, i had replaced the tps a few months ago but it must have been defective, its running right now, thanks again for all suggestions