Hey

Since I've had my truck I've noticed that it shifted rather hard between the gears, but more specifically from 3rd to 4th gear.

I'll accelerate at an even pace and sometimes the transmission will hesitate to shift into 4th gear and when it does it gives a violent clunk.

I'm just trying to isolate what the problem might be, I am going to drop the pan and change the fluid and filter, but is there a way that I can test to see if my torque converter has gone bad?

Thanks

 

Slipping is a sign of the TQ failing, as for hard lockup and shifting, nope, thats good, when the trans shifts smooth that means its slipping the clutches to make it smooth. Making them wear out faster.

 

Oh.

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly.

I was searching signs of a bad transmission and from then narrowed it down to my worst gear (3rd to 4th) and some people were saying that if your torque converter is bad it can cause a bad clunk especially going into the last gear.

 

Could be your Overdrive Solenoid, Governor Solenoid, TV cable adjustment. You can perform a stall test on the torque converter to check its state. You can also park on a flat service, place your truck in drive, let off the brake, but do not hit the gas pedal. If your truck moves forward on its own the torque converter may not be the problem. Check reverse and forward the same way. Check your fluid level as well.

I would check fluid level first, then adjust your TV cable at the throttle body. I had a problem were mine would hesitate from 3rd gear to 4th(overdrive) and it was the TV Cable.

 

Thanks for the reply Road,

My truck will move fine both ways without hitting the gas.

I always drive with overdrive on, but the last 2 days I drove with out it, and it didn't shift hard into 4th once. Mind you I was at 3000 rpms only going 100 km/h where I would normally be 2200-2300.

I'm not getting any codes... Would the overdrive solenoid throw a code when it's gone bad?

I also want to check the TV cable... I was reading a little bit and apparently it was a common problem in the early model Dakotas.

Oh and the fluid is fine, nice and red and doesn't smell burnt... but my truck was driven by an elderly man its entire life, my truck hasn't even hit the first tranny service marker yet (60,000) but it has never been changed so I do have 10 year old fluid in my tranny.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

With OD off, it won't use 4th. It'll lock the convertor in third and that's as far as you'll get.

Be careful with the TV cable. I moved mine 3 notches and the trans grenaded from the inside outward after 8 months. Tech said there was too much hydraulic pressure due to improper TV adjustment.

 

Thanks Magnet,

I'm still trying learn how overdrive works so if the converter will lock in 3rd gear with OD off that makes total sense why I'm not getting that fourth gear clunk hehe.

So could this mean that there is something wrong with fourth gear or OD, or is fourth gear THE OD unit?

I know nothing about transmission, I apologize if this is a silly question.

 

4th is OD (I think the 4xre's are 2.73, 1.56, 1.00, 0.69)

This is how I understand it, after seeing mine in pieces not once, but twice. But could be easily wrong, I'm not a trans tech by any means.

When you apply throttle, the TV cable is pulled, passing more hydraulic pressure to the transmission's valve body from the front pump (driven by the engine's crankshaft). As this pressure increases, a bunch of spring-loaded checkballs start opening ports based on how much load the transmission has. When both are high (high pressure [wot]/high load), the transmission will downshift until there is no load. Once it reaches the point of high pressure/no load (or if pressure decreases from a lifted throttle), it will upshift. Once in third, if OD is off, the computer will lock the torque convertor. If OD is on [default], it will lock the converter, check for an RPM drop due to engagement, unlock it, pull 4th gear, and re-lock the convertor.

It's holding third while you accelerate because that is what it's designed to do. It probably kicks down to second if you get on it good, to keep the trans unloaded (load = clutches dragging = heat = bad). When I'm racing, it pulls the 1-2 shift at redline (computer overrides hydraulics for the shift) and stays in second until I lift. If the mods I'm doing work, I should start pulling the 2-3 shift at redline just short of the finish line.

 

DELAYED 3-4 UPSHIFT(SLOW TO ENGAGE)1. Fluid Level Low. 1. Add fluid and check for leaks.2. Throttle Valve Cable Misadjusted. 2. Adjust throttle valve cable.3. Overdrive Clutch Pack Worn/Burnt. 3. Remove unit and rebuild clutch pack.4. TPS Faulty. 4. Test with DRB scan tool and replaceTPS.5. Overdrive Clutch Bleed OrificePlugged.5. Disassemble transmission and replaceorifice.6. Overdrive Solenoid or WiringShorted/Open.6. Test solenoid and check wiring forloose/corroded connections or shorts/ grounds. Replace solenoid if faulty andrepair wiring if necessary.



This is out of my Dodge repair manual on the problem your having.