Hey does anybody have any idea about what will happen if I leave the speed sensor disconnected from the transmission?
I have a 5.9 V8 2000 SLT Durango (forest green)
I have a "transmission won't shift to 3 or 4 gear" problem (and check engine light of course) so I did some reading and found out the key trick to get the codes. I was getting codes P0443, P0753, P0463, P1765. I replaced my gas cap (didn't help) and then I did alot of forum reading (A WHOLE LOT OF 2-3AM NIGHTS!) and I found a good one about changing the speed sensor located on the overdrive gear case on the driver's side (about $25 from Advanced Auto Parts and 15-20mins worth of work). I did a battery disconnect and hey the check engine light went and it changed gears as normal.....

then I stopped...the check engine light came back on...back to the drawing board with the "transmission won't shift to 3 or 4 gear" problem!!! So I did some more reading and asked alot of "more mechanically inclined than me people" and they suggested getting a transmission flush and filter change (cause the old sensor had a little grey gook and small metal filings on it). So I'm gonna get that done on Monday after work but until then would it be safe for me to disconnect the speed sensor and drive?

I figured if it sends out an "everything is good" signal then disconnecting it would make the computer think something is wrong but if it sends out an "something is bad" signal then disconnecting it would be an acceptable temporary solution til I get it flushed (which will hopefully fix it).

Oh yea if you were thinking that I need to stop being cheap and just take it straight to a shop: I'm a student at an internship ~653.4 miles away from home, my dad is a mechanic so if I was at home everything would be fine but of course this is life so all of the bs is starting to happen right around the time I'm supposed to go home :'( therefore I'm trying to save my money for gas especially since its so much more expensive up here than down south (I'm in Illinois and I live in Mississippi).


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James:

One important thing:

When you have the trans done, Make Sure they Do Not do an actual flush. Just have the tech do a good old drain and refill by dropping the pan, replacing the filter, and then topping off with fresh OEM ATF+4. Several folks on these lists have had major tranny issues including complete destruction after getting a "flush". Since you are trying to save a few coins, the D and R should be somewhat cheaper than the flush.

Not sure what will happen if you try to drive with the speed sensor unhooked. Give it a try as I don't see where it can hurt anything. At the worst, tranny might not shift at all. Most likely your CE light will come on and your speedo will not work properly ( or below 20 mph)

Don

 

Ah man thanks alot N8ech! There's no telling how much money (and tears and that deep sinking feelings when things go wrong!) that you just saved me! I'm gonna definantly make sure that the guy DOES NOT flush the transmission (I would threaten him but then he might throw in some saw dust or something to mess me up halfway down the road!).

I'll post back and let you know how it goes.

 

Just for anyone else with this problem: disconnecting the speed sensor doesn't do anything but make the check engine light come on immediately even after a reset by disconnecting the negative terminal. I will still give an update as to what happens after I get my transmission drained.

 

X2 n8ech, very good advise. Never flush our trans, drop the pan, adjust the bands if applicable, replace filter (mopar) and refill with ATF+4.

IndyDurango

 

My problem ended up being that something in the transmission wore out and broke loose. Ended up having to get it rebuilt but luckily I'd saved up so I was okay (~$1800). The guys that did it were AAMCO transmissions and they did a great job. Turns out that even after they fixed it the check engine light would still come on cause of something wearing out in the computer so the mechanic grounded the sensor so I have a constant check engine light but I won't have any trouble out of the transmission. It was either that or buy a new computer but he let me know it wasn't worth it.

 

AAMCO sucks... I had my D in with them probably about 15 times and they had to rebuild it 3 times before they got it right... [:@]

Did you replace the radiator???

 

Nah, there's no problem with it, is that something I should prepare for next?

And the reason I went with AAMCO was because I was in Illinois and had to drive back to Mississippi so that 1year nation-wide warranty will come in handy since there are plenty of them down here. Therefore I'm pretty much driving the hell out of it before I go to school so that if something is going to happen it will happen within the year!

 

12 month OR 12,000 mile warranty and replace the radiator or there is a good chance you will have a problem. Trust me on this and do a search with my name and tranny problem