Lots of those on this board so why not another!

I have a 2001 with 4.7L and 145K miles. When I'm driving between 40-60mph the tranny is shifting around like it doesn't know where to be. At first I thought it was going in and out of OD, but after doing some testing it appears that it is the lockup clutch engaging and releasing. All gears shift normally otherwise, except for the hard shift out of OD when re-accelerating from slowing to a near stop, but it has done that since brand new and from what I hear is common to these trannies.

 

yes the hard shift is common, the not knowing what gear to be in is common on at least my truck as well,..... unless you are on a level road and holding a constant speed, then it is most likely your throttle pos sensor, anouther common prob. but easily fixed.

 

To be clear I don't think it is shifting between gears (OD and 4th or 3rd or whatever) but the lockup clutch engaging and releasing.

Actually when I notice it, it is usually on a very slight incline, where it is not steep enough to release the clutch for good, but not so flat that it just engages and stays there either.

 

You have the 4.7, which means your trans is the 545RFE, with 6 forward gears and 1 reverse gear total. The tow/haul button performs different on the 545RFE than on the rest of the dakota transmissions (4xRE), due to the 2 extra gears.

As best as I can tell, im wondering if you are under-geared, in the event that you have larger-than-stock tires. Otherwie, I would be looking at solenoids, possibly.

 

Tires are the stock size. My understanding when I bought the truck years ago was the the tranny was a 4 speed, but with two 2nd gears? What solenoid are you referring too? What does it do?

 

545RFE is a 5 speed, 2 2nd gears.

Gear Ratios:
1st 3.00:1
2nd 1.67:1
2nd Prime 1.50:1
3rd 1.00:1
4th 0.75:1
5th 0.67:1
Reverse 3.00:1

 

So doing a little more testing and it appears that the luckup clutch is disengaging too easily between 40-60mph.

 

Anyone else offer some insight?

 

I also have an 01 with the 4.7 but I have the 45rfe. what trucks came with the 545rfe and what is the advantage/disadvantage to the 545rfe?

 

We both have the 45RFE in 2001. It appears the 545RFE did not appear in the Dakota until 2003.