I'm here for a friend whos too lazy to find his own answers, not familiar with forums either. His 98 3.9 dakota has an intermittent issue with his transmission not shifting out of 1st. Tonight we dropped the t-pan, new control solenoid (autozone sold him on that part), filter and fluid. We've been putting work into it for the last couple weeks to get it back into decent running condition. It sat for a few weeks (it had the issue prior to sitting as well) and on the first start it fired right up and shifted just fine, not anymore. Do they have a shift solenoid as well? We saw another one in there but not sure what it was and autozone doesn't have one listed. After searching i also read the TPS may be the culprit, so i told him to pick one up tomorrow. I guess im just posting for some additional insight as he is on a low budget for repairs. I was also reading up on the TV cable as well but that doesnt sound like it would be causing this, but im no tranny guy. Sorry for the novel, thanks for any help guys.

 

Do the 98' dakotas have a governor? if so, that's probobly the case. In order for the governor to make the shift, it must open fully and if there is debris or it is corroded, then it will not let fluid by and make the shift. I don't know how these transmissions are operated. I know it is mostly electronic but I have not seen the actual schematics for it. If anyone has a fluid flow chart or electrical schematic, I would love to see it. Good luck man, I'm having troubles with my transmission as well.