Hey guys, my friend just bought a 1995 Dakota. 5.2L 260,000KMs (Kilometers). I went with her to look at it and everything checked out. Nice little truck. The only concern i had was the past maintenance on the truck due to some pretty brown tranny oil but ended up picking it up anyways. Talked the seller down a bit and got a good deal i think. But sure enough its been a couple weeks and now starting to see a problem. Noticing the truck starting to have shifting issues going from first to second gear. Even at a slow acceleration the engine will get up too 3500-4000RPMs and take a long time to shift. After it gets into second it seems to be normal. That cant be normal right? seems high. I'm new to Dodge trucks but i think it should be shifting at a lower RPM.

Do you think there is some tranny issues? Hopefully an easy-ish fix? Iv gone through lots of trucks but never have i had a transmission problem.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated! Cant seem to find a problem close to this one o the internet.

 

Look through the FAQ page there is a correct procedure for checking Trans fluid level. That is the first thing I would make sure of. Sounds like it wouldn't hurt to change the trans oil and filter. There is no drain plug on the trans pan. Yes they designed it to drop the whole pan! the filter is inside.

 

You're correct to question the trans fluid being dark like that. Transmission fluid that's been over-heated turns dark and usually has a particular odor. Over-heating can cause the fluid to break down to where it can no longer provide proper lubrication. First thing to do would be to replace the fluid and filter. If it hasn't been maintained very well I'd skip a transmission flush though; that could actually stir up more problems than it solves.

 

Also look up the specs for band adjustment. If the bands are wore out they can cause similar issues. So while you've got the pan and filter off you might want to do a band adjustment