Wife's Dodge Durango 5.9l SLT with 117K, developed a tranny problem yesterday. It will only shift to 3rd if RPM are run up to ~4k and it does not seem to shift into overdrive at its normal shift point either.

Looking for direction on where to start. Well intended friends have advised to take valve body out and clean without disassembling, then reinstall to see if that gets it. Looking for help of you guys with more direct Dodge tranny experience. Hoping Hydrashocker, shrpshtr325 or some of the other guys who seem to have experience here can help me through this. Thanks!!

Regards,

Jeff

 

if i were you i would start with the TV cable and see if that needs adjustment, that is the most common cause of shift oddities in the 5.9l transmissions

however i would also suggest to make sure that your trans fluid is good (has it been changed on schedule? if not i would do a fluid/filter change and have the bands adjusted, make sure to use ATF +4 ONLY

 

Thanks Shrpshtr325,

Is checking the TV cable for adustment something I can check? Yes I plan on taking it in for flush/fill and filter change Monday. Will discuss band adustment. Thanks for suggestion on fluid too!

 

Hi Jeff
Does the transmission shift normal from 1st to 2nd,then 3rd gear doesn't shift until 45 to 50MPH?

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?4z89ndodf38txbr

explains it all you should be able to pull it off

 

Master Tech,

I don't detect a shift from 1st to 2nd, but I think it is happening normally because when I move the gear selector from D down to 2 then to 1, engine braking clearly occurs as it down shifts into 1. (Hope that makes sense...) The shift into 3 happens at 39-41 mph which is around 4K rpm, which seems high to me.

Shrpshtr325,

Thanks for the response and pdf. Will be checking it out this morning. Will let you know what I find. Thanks.

 

Either I am not doing it correctly, or that is not the issue. There was a delay in tranny lever movement off of stop when TV cable was off of stop. Tightening cable did allow both to move together off of stop, but did not seem to help shifting issue. While originally loosening the cable (in error) did raise the shift point , tightening it only made it down shift from 1 to 2 earlier. It did not seem to alter the shift point of 3 from around 3.9K-4.2K. Any advice on what to check next?

If not, my plan is to take it for flush, filter change and fill. And have them try and diagnose the problem, but really hoping there is more I can check on my own. Any suggestions?? Thanks for all the help up to this point. Greatly appreciate the help.

 

What i was asking,with the transmission lever in drive(D) does the transmission shift normal thru 1st and 2nd upshifts and then a long delay into 3rd gear? 2nd gear should be from 18 to 22 mph from 1st. 3rd gear from 2nd should be 22 to 30 mph.

 

Master Tech,

Sorry if I was unclear. While in D I don't detect a shift from 1st to 2nd, but I think it is happening. Just smoothly. It is not shifting into 3rd form 2nd at the 22-30 mph as you describe. The shift into 3rd happens at 39-41 mph which is around 4K rpm.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

How is the fluid?Brown or pink.