99D 5.9L 46RE 4x4
Aircraft mechanic...the skills transfer over pretty easy. Love this forum. Will never get rid of the D. I have two problems, are they related and share a fix? When first started it has trouble shifting 1-2, and randomly when warmed up. Second problem is the clunk when changing to drive or reverse (no matter whether cold, warm, hot). Doesn't really seem to have these problems when I manually shift to 1 or 2. I've searched the forum and have found some helpful stuff such as https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...y-trouble.html It was leaking (loose pan bolts) tightened them checked the level and topped it off. No change. They loosened again a couple weeks later, retightened. Of course I'll be changing the filter, fluid, gasket but waiting till I have a plan or can narrow it down a bit. So of all the possible causes which ones are effected by change in temp or first few minutes of operation. Is my shifting and clunk related.

 

For the shifting issue i would start off replacing the speed sensor on the tail of the transmission. Its cheap and does not require you to dismantle the trans to replace it.. Reset the PCM after install and see if it fixes the issue. If not, then i would look into replacing the Gov. Pressure sensor. That requires that you drop the transmission pan. There is the Gov. pressure sensor, Gov. pressure transducer and the OD and shift solenoid all in the general area.. i would recommend that you get them all in a kit and change them at once so you don't have to drop the pan more than once. They are all known for failure so i just replace them all... it would also be a good time to adjust the bands. I have a DIY writeup on how the pressure sensors are replaced in the DIY section if you need it for reference.

As for the clunk, sounds to me like it could be some worn u-joints. i would inspect and replace as needed.

 

Mine makes the same clunking noise when moving the drive selector from park to reverse. not as audible when going to drive tho. The clunking sound when you go from park to reverse, or neutral to drive is normal for a 4x4 or AWD setup. I went to 3 different dealers to get another opinion and all 3 of them said the same thing. I think it is the transfer case making the clunk when you change gear positions when the truck is not moving.

 

Thanks. Yeah I feel like I might just be noticing this clunk because I have been paying attention to my transmission issue. Old School I was going to ask next what is everything I can do while the pan is off. Yes I like to get it all done at once. Glad to hear there's a kit with everything. I'll look into it. I'm also going to do a full flush...wish I could do that myself, just don't have the tool. I'm big on DIY. Hate having to do the flush at a shop then take the pan off again at home to change parts. Wish I could do it all together and save money

 

DON'T DO A FLUSH! unless you have extra $$$ laying around for a transmission rebuild or by "flush" you mean hooking it to a machine that adds new fluid while it drains the old with no high pressure.

 

I mean flush per the manual. Cooler flush. Also it was recommended by hydra in this thread for this situation https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-...y-trouble.html ...Are there different kinds of flushes? I've heard of power flushes and that we shouldn't do those. Yes what I'm talking about is a machine you hook up that moves new fluid through not going over 20 psi, cleaning out junk and refilling with new fluid. I was thinking about having greasemonkey do it except I'll bet they don't have the exact tool that the book calls for and I wonder if that matters. "Tool 6906 cooler flusher"

 

Yeah i was talking about the power flush. The machine that moves the fluid and replaces it is fine... I personally do a similar method at home in my garage. Here is a video of pretty much what i do ~>


The only thing i do different is before i top off the fluid i drain the pan a second time to remove it to replace the filter...

I also installed a universal drain plug in the pan since our trucks didn't come with one from the factory. You wanna use the top trans line on the radiator to hook up the rubber hose that will go into the pail during flush..