Hey guys and gals, I just joined up because I have some concerns about the transmission in my Durango.
This is going to be a bit long because I am going to give all of the info on the incidents prior to the slippage starting.
Everything was fine until this past Thursday, almost a week ago, when I stopped on my way home to help out a guy that was broken down.
He had a Chevy Tahoe that needed a tow because, you guessed it, his trans quit working.
I towed him about a 1/2 mile. I noticed about 4 blocks before we got him to his apt that my truck was making a crazy noise. When I got it home I popped the hood to check the noise out and it seemed to be coming from a pulley.
To make a long story short, later that night I drove a friend a few miles to drop him off and on the way I noticed that my trans was lightly slipping between 3rd and 4th, (OD is always off because it sucks too much gas).
It seems to happen between 30-45mph. If I let it shift itself nice and easy and don't try to force it, it seems to be fine.
I drove it home and parked it. The next day I went out to check it over and while again trying to determine which pulley was making the noise and why, I noticed I had a minor leak in the radiator. Oi!
I checked the radiator level and it was a little low, so I added what anti-freeze I had and left it alone because it was freezing outside.
I used our car and went to NAPA and bought some Bars/Leaks for the radiator and a new trans filter.
The next day I went out and added the Bars/Leaks and decided to drive it down the road a bit to get it good and hot like the directions said.
Yes, it is still making the horrible noise from the pulley too.
I drove about 6 blocks, turned around, drove back and stopped at a 7-11 about a 1/2 block from my house. I came out, started it, backed out and the noise got worse and then I lost P.S and the belt started squealing, and then the smoke started rolling out. I shut it off, popped the hood and the could the belt had jumped off. I couldn't get the belt back on and I was blocking the parking lot, so a couple of guys came over to help and pushed me back into the space. I called a buddy to take me to Autozone for a new idler pulley because the bearings had basically disintegrated.
After installing a new belt and pulley we discovered that the tensioner was also bad.
I got it home fine. The next day I went back to Autozone and picked up the new tensioner and installed it. I drove it around a few blocks in the neighborhood and it drove and shifted fine.
Today I took it to AAMCO and they did the test drive and checked for codes.
They said it is not throwing any codes and that means it needs a complete rebuild.
They said there are no adjustments for the 46re.
I'm confused by this because I have read you can adjust the bands and all sorts of other things related to this.
I am not stupid when it comes to cars, but I really don't know much about transmissions.
Are they just trying to take my money to the tune of roughly $2500.00?
Why couldn't they change the filter, which hasn't been done in the 2 years since we bought it, and do an adjustment and check the valve body and/or the kickdown adjustment? Spool valve?
Someone please help me out here.

Thanks in advance,
Rory

 

I should add that my truck has 153,870 miles on it.
Also, this past Summer, 2012, I drove it from Seattle to Peoria, Illinois and towed a small 5x8' Uhaul trailer with my bike in it.
It ran great, drove great, and shifted great.
The ONLY issues I had were on the way back home.
I had an overheating issue because the old style coolant flush port in the heater hose had dry-rotted and was causing a minor leak.
I just kept stopping and letting it cool off and then topping off the coolant.
I never let it get critical.
I also noticed that there was a very light almost unnoticeable slippage in 4th while the cruise control was on. It didn't do it all of the time, just every so often.
It was NEVER in O.D.

 

you can most definitely adjust the bands and that and a fluid/filter change sounds like your next step, the tv or kickdown cable controls the shift point, doesnt sound like an option for this

take the truck to a reputable trans shop to have the fluid and filter changed and the bands adjusted if you cannot do it yourself DO NOT HAVE IT FLUSHED!!!!!!!!!!!! aamco is trying to take advantage of oyu

 

+1, I hate it when shops try to trick you out of money. A buddy of mine was researching a possible fix for the limp mode on his 1996 fwd oldsmobile, someone said a mechanic fixed there's by replacing the transfer case

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.
I had already planned to take it to at least 2 other shops for a more in-depth diagnosis.
Again, I am not stupid when it comes to cars, just not very knowledgeable about transmissions.
So, I looked up some local shops and read nothing but excellent reviews on 2 shops close to home and headed for one of them.
A test drive revealed absolutely no slippage...of course it made a liar out of me. lol
But, I did make an appointment for next Tues. to have an actual test-drive with the diagnostics hooked up, a pressure test, and a filter change as well as any issues they may find, for $330.00.
These guys were nice, helpful, explained things in detail and seemed to be quite honest.
The tech gave me a knew definition for AAMCO...All Automatics Must Come Out. LOL!!!!
I'll report back after the appointment and let you know what they come up with.
Thanks again!
Rory

 

I'm new to this forum, but not new to forums, owned my '01 R/T since new. The OMG bucks factor you are going through can be reconciled in a simple question. Do you like your D and plan to keep it a long time more or not?

There are only two things on a vehicle that are financially daunting, the motor and the trans. I spent $3200 on a new kickass trans rebuild last Oct, at 95,000 miles. It was a no brainer since the rest of my rig is in great shape and I had no thoughts of selling the truck before trans issues (still love the R/T, for 12 yrs so far).

In my case, I regularly tow 6000 lbs. My rebuild was $1200 more expensive than typical because it included a high end lockup torque convertor, kevlar bands, and synthetic fluid. My truck now runs like new, better than new. I'm actually looking forward at some point to the motor having issues, so I can pump that up a bit more too.

 

JeeprDon,
I have only owned the D for two years.
Yes, of course I intend to keep it for as long as I possibly can.
I keep it well maintained and what I can't fix myself I have an actual honest and trustworthy 4x4 shop I take it to.
It has no rust, interior is in very good shape, it runs great, no leaks or smoke, and everything on it works, sans one power-port which just needs a new fuse that I keep forgetting to put in.
I will be posting the results of the transmission diagnosis after Tuesday's appointment.

On a side-note...the transmission has not been slipping at all since I fixed the other minor issues that I listed in my original post.

 

P0753 thats the transmission solenoid under your transmission in your valve body it has to do with 3-4 shifts please look into it, it will save u time and money

 

Google up p0753