I have a 99 Durango and need some serious help. This thing gets real bad fuel mileage.I mean it drinks an 1/8 of tank just running to store and back in city limits. It runs good(just sits and purrs),drives good no sudden jerks when shifting. no hard shifting. Im running about 3,000 RPMs at 65.

Check engine light did come on. Had it checked at Auto zone. Came back as P0740(Torque Converter Clutch) and P0783(3-4 Solenoid).

Now Im really stuck on what to do next. Would changing the Tranny Fluid help this or is there something I can do to try to fix this? Im thinking maybe,just maybe a solenoid change and a filter and fluid change my fix it? AM i close?

Im not mechanic. So, im hoping one of u experts can lend a fella some help here. Im stumped. Where can you even buy these Solenoids at? Junkyard?
Please, Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thx, Shawn

 

Welcome to the forum, when asking a question like this we need pretty much all the vehicle info you can give us. 99 Durango, okay... what helps here is what engine you have. 5.2L or 5.9L? this way we know what tranny you are talking about. so, we can locate parts or what not for you

Well you have to look at it like this...

Filter $12-15
5 quarts of ATF+4 (5X$4.5) $22.5

so lets say $40

Just change filter and fluid.
$40

Well lets say it did not work,
Now you need to do it all over again and start replacing the solenoid/pressure regulator/ O/D lock up selniod... Well what one is really causing the issue? You could find out taking it to the dealer who has a diag computer capable of telling you what one is actually causing the issue. (you can bet they will try to charge you $60-80 for that nice bit of info)

So, if your going to do it you may as well do them all..

Here is a step by step guide in how to change them, pretty easy really.. just look at how much they charge the lady in that post to do the same job you could do under $200 and they only changed 1 of the sensors.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1695983-post6.html

(keep in mind the parts in that post are not for your truck, you would need to post your engine size before i could give you a link)

 

LOL i guess i should of asked are you having any tranny issues? is it slipping? not shifting? i seen nothing in your post that mentioned any tranny problems.

 

ya, sorry. im new to the forum deal and new to the durango. I just bought this vehicle a few months ago. The tranny is shifting good. Just burning fuel like crazy. A tranny guy i talked to said it sounded to him like the torque converter wasnt locking up. He said it would go thru gas bigtime if it was this.But wouldnt give me anymore info. The codes were for the tranny. Which I figured it was either a solenoid or converter.I really dont know. It shifts good, no hard shifting.The one thing I can say..Is when I first bought it. When going down the road lifting off the gas the truck would kinda like downshift. it doesnt do this anymore. This help any?

1999 durango
4WD 5.2 V8

 

Well no lol.....

5.2L okay you have a 44RE tranny.

The Durango being new to you may be an issue here in trying to help you, cause you don't know what it is supposed to be doing.

Okay next time you drive it you need to count shifts.
This is what you should feel
1-2-3-4 then converter lock.

Converter lock almost kinda feels just like a normal gear shift. You really need to watch the tach (don't forget to to look where ur driving LOL) and watch the shifts.. Once you hit 4th keep on going and you will see it drop on the tach like it just shifted into 5th (again this is not another gear just the converter locking)

Let us know what ya find out. if your not getting converter lock yes you would be burning gas at higher speeds.. Just driving around town at low speeds you would not be hitting converter lock and would have no real effect on fuel mileage. Something else, you are aware that these get bad fuel mileage from the get go correct? I mean if your getting 16MPG your doing good, you get 18-19 your doing great, you get 20+ you are getting better fuel mileage then 99.9% of the rest of us LOL normal is around 16-17 though and in town you are going to get less... I am lucky to get 12-14 in town


Let us know what ya get on the shifts

You know it just may need a good tune up
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...hange-out.html

And always a good ideal and simple to do, clean your throttle body
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...ttle-body.html

 

I really appreciate the help. I really do. I know they dont do good on gas. It just seemed like alot of gas going somewhere.

Why would I get those codes though? I mean I get P0783 and P074 codes on scanner.Both Tranny codes.

 

P0783 3-4 Shift Sol, No RPM Drop at Lockup
P0784 4-5 Shift


Well when it comes to these codes you have to look at them as generic codes in a way.
Basically it is giving you an ideal of where the problem may be (although some are right on and others it turns out being this failed that cause this to fail and so on.) The computer throws the the most dominate code (being the orse it detected) and does not throw the other codes that may have caused the problem in the... kinda hard to explain. This is where the more expensive diag machines can pin point such issues most of the time..

So basically it could of thrown those codes for a number of reason.. We need to find out how it is shifting and see if you are hitting converter lock before we can say thats why...
So watch the tach 1-2-3-4 then converter lock. (it will look just like a shift on the tach)

 

I would change the torque convertor solenoid, filter and fluid, band adjustment, and ONLY USE ATF+4 fluid. Get the filter form the dealer.

 

Ok guys! I really appreciate the help.

Yesterday I changed the Tranny filter and fluid. used my scan tool and cleared the codes. I drove probably about 40 miles(highway) with no "check engine light".
After filling up at the station, I drove away only to look down and the light was lit. Check it when I got home. Now, Im down to just one code " 3-4 shift malfunction".

As far as the Gas usage. Ok, Now all along I thought it was check engine light making my MPG crappy...I was wrong.. The plugs were burnt up pretty good.I never thought about this(mainly because the guy I bought it from said plugs were just changed).

As for the check engine light. Should I just run it the way it is. Or get it diagnosed at the local chrysler dealer.? It still shifts fine. No slipping,No hard shifting.

 

Well when ya change fluid and filter did you adjust the bands as you should "every time" you service the tranny?

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/transmi...T_band_adj.htm

Well it really sounds like you need to change the solenoids
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...ml#post1695983

I am a firm believer if your going to change 1 you may as well change them all
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SOLEN...=p4506.c0.m245