I just bought a 92 dodge W150 yesterday. great truck. has the multi-port 318 magnum. However, the guy I bought it from told me the issue with the transmission. he says you have to manually shift it. its got the overdrive automatic in it. it shifts great when you manually shift it. overdrive even works. but if you are stopped and put it in drive you will start out in 3rd. the transmission doesnt slip a bit or jerk or shift hard. Im just wondering if theres something electronic that has something to do with this? I just dont want to ruin the transmission. In the glove box I found dealer service records from when the truck had only 66k miles on it the transmission was completely rebuilt. the truck now has 101k on it. Im hoping nothing serious is wrong with it. any info would be appreciated.

 

my first guess would be : manual shift kit in the trans.
second guess : someone may have messed up the valve body,(missing check ball in it)
when someone was already in there at one time or another its hard to tell what they did. you may have to get the info for checking the pressure ports on the outside of the trans case.
i dont know what controls the fluid flow to the 1st and 2nd gears,but it has to be diverted there some how,which is not working,that would be why i say valve body?? good luck

 

First you need to figure out what trans you have. There should be several sets of numbers on the drivers side flange that the pan bolts to. The dealer or a trans shop can tell you what trans you have with those numbers. Go back to the seller and find out if this shift problem appeared while he owned it or was it like this when he bought it, or maybe he put in a shift kit that caused this? You might want to check the adjustment on the transmission throttle linkage.

 

could driving it like this hurt the trans?

 

Taking into account we do not know what tranny we are talking about I can't think of anything it could hurt if it shifts properly manually and doesn't slip or show any other signs of malfunction. After all they do sell shift kits that do this on purpose. I would just be very careful you don't accidentally throw it in R during an upshift.

 

the sticker under the hood says its a 518 trans.

 

The A518 tranny was introduced in 1990 and has taken many forms. The A518 tranny is essentially a 727 with a possibility of a lock-up torque converter and an overdrive function if set up correctly.

Personally I would check the adjustment on the transmission throttle linkage. If that is correct I know a local reputable tranny shop and I would take the truck to them if it were mine. A reputable tranny shop is worth its weight in gold and they are not easy to find. Trannys are complicated enough to allow shysters to rip people off without the customers knowledge.