I have a 1998 Dodge Dakota 5.2, 2wd, 160k miles with an automatic transmission. For quite some time I've been noticing a shift quality issue that only occurs between 2nd and 3rd gear when the transmission is cold. When the tranny is cold, and the weather is cool, the engine revs quite high for quite a while before the truck will shift from 2nd into 3rd gear. the colder the weather, the higher and longer the motor will rev before shifting. The truck shifts perfectly after the truck is warmed up (after 5 miles or so of driving).

I've changed the transmission fluid and filter, and have also changed the output speed sensor on the advice of some folks, but neither step resolved the problem. The fluid change did help a little, but it hasn't resolved the problem.

I did note during the fluid change there were some very small black particules suspended in the fluid as well as some very fine metal particles stuck to the magnet in the bottom of the transmission pan. I belive the fluid was last changed about 100k miles ago, so the fluid didn't seem too bad considering.

Any ideas on what might be causing this? I'm really hoping this is a simple fix so I can avoid a costly transmission service here...

Thanks,
Tim

 

i think you can get the bands adjusted which would help but don't quote me on that one because im not really sure since i have a 5 speed and dont really pay attention to the auto tranny threads

 

check your fluid level in neutral, truck running, on a level surface, go from there.

 

I checked the fluid level after doing the fluid change. With the fluid hot and the tranny in neutral the level was in the "ok" zone.

Thanks!

 

could be the bands out of adjustment or an issue in the valve body, possibly gunked up. at 160k miles without regular fluid/filter changes including a flush around every 30K miles, i wouldnt even go any further then adjusting the bands. a flush may do more harm then good at this point in its life.

 

I've never done anything with the bands before. How do you go about adjusting the bands? How many bands are there? Do they all do the same thing? If there are certain bands that only affect shifts between 2nd and 3rd gear those would be the only ones I'd want to adjust.

 

I wouldn't adjust the band unless you know what you are doing.

 

there should be 2 bands; front and rear. i highly suggest you bring this to a transmission to do this, its possibly you may throw the adjustment way out of whack, unless you're very comfortable with doing this. if you want to do this, i suggest getting your hands on the factory manual for year. im not positive if the years are the same. hopefully someone will chime in to verify that. the manual i have is for a 2001 dakota that only have the 42re,46re, and 45rfe. i believe thers a 44re behind your 318, and if so im not positive if the procedure is the same as the 42 or 46re transmissions.