Hello all, new poster here.

I have encountered a problem with my 2002 5.9 pt4x4 D. At low rpms around town (30-40mph) the transmission cannot seam to make up its mind which gear it should be in. It will jump up and down a couple times before staying in one gear.

Also, and this may be entirely different, on the highway with cruise control on I am getting a 200-400 rpm shuffle. This mainly happens when going up long hills. The vehicle feels like it is bucking.

Current mileage is at 67000 and I am the second owner so I am unsure of the service record on the vehicle. It is out of warranty.

Anybody have an idea what this might be? I have two friends with Ds that both describe similair problems, but theirs are 98 318s.

 

For the 200-400 rpm stuff, I had a 97 Ram with a 318 Auto and it was doing that very same thing. I also kept getting a check engine line coming on which was coded to a sensor in the tranny(can't remember the exact code). After three trips to the dealer with no luck except from clearing the, my dad who works at the truck plant in st. louis talked to some of the engineers down there. They suggested changing out the torque converter. Did that and that cured everything. The torque converter was slipping which would cause a fault indirectly to a sensor. Luckily at the time, everything for me was under warrenty.

 

welcome to the boards. rpm surge'n sounds like your TPS (throttle position sensor) is going bad. You can pick one up from the dealer for $30. It's on the right side of the throttle body. grey connector. two screws and your done. Hope that helps.

 

I agree with Rockadaous. I had the exact same problem with the RPM surging when on Cruise control on my 00 R/T and after making a $36 trip to NAPA auto parts and about 5 minutes of my time, I got the TPS sensor swapped out and no more RPM surging. I did not get any codes from the computer or any check engine lights to indicate that there may be a problem either. I took the $36 risk and it was worth it!

you will need to get a hex key/allen wrench to get the 2 screws out to replace the TPS sensor. I cannot remember the hex size. After the 2 screws are out, the TPS just slides out. Slide the new one in and re-insert the 2 hex screws and you are done. 5 minute or less to complete. Best to do this when your engine is cold so you won't get burn by the hot engine components.

Now to go get a Transmission speed sensor. My 2nd gear is starting to hang on me once in a while so better get that $2x dollar part and fix that before it gets worse. Again, no codes or check engine lights to indicate a possible sensor failure.

 

I was thinking of just buying some too. mine will be next