Hello all new to forums, new owner of this dakota. Want to fix this truck because my grandfather is getting old, and I plan to keep it as a keep sake to pass to my son in 5 years. I apologize for the long post but feel for the best advice its best if I give all the details. I bought an 1998 Dodge Dakota Slt 5.2L with 44RE transmission from my grandfather.

I was informed transmission slipped a little when cold. I quickly found it was more than that. In fact reverse would not work at all unless transmission was warm and would slip around 15-20 mph. I then found filter and fluid hadn't been changed so I performed myself. While changing filter I found rear band had roughly 1/2 inch play, and had deposits on magnet. I changed fluid and filter only.

Once back together reverse has worked fine and no slipping around 15-20. Now it feels I'm towing elephant until 44-45 then throttle response is normal. More reading more videos and more parts later I'm still hauling that elephant . So tons of posts mentioned governor pressure sensor and solenoid. So I ordered and replaced these and neutral safety switch due to reverse lights not coming on. When performing these part changes I noticed more sludge in pan than before but nothing shiny and fluid was still red.

I this time adjusted rear band as well. During this I changed plugs, wires, distributor cap, ignition coil as well. these were changed due to truck not starting in rain. There was one wire next to horn up under the intake hose by passenger headlight. I couldn't remember where it went but looking at my brothers dakota seen his was unplugged as well so I fired it up.

I now had reverse lights. Idle issues were solved and later found I could crank it right up in the rain. Now I swear that night I was shifting perfect and power was restored. Next day I noticed ground on alternator was cracked and planned to install stereo equipment and acidently shorted out when replacing that wire. I quickly disconected battery. When done I cranked over to IAC code. I cleaned terminals cleared code and it hadn't came back. But I'm still towing elephant . I later found when put in 1 I just rev out no movement . I tried to drop into 1 while moving slow speed and wheels just locked. I gave up brought to transmission shop. They state I'm taking off in 3rd it shifts to 4th but didn't seem to go back to 3rd after. They wanted to scan codes later that day but was already quoting $1500-2000 rebuild and only warranty for 12000 miles or 3 months. Any advice or suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

slipping is typically worn clutches and needs a rebuild the lack of maintenance may have killed it as well, that price for a rebuild isn't too bad the warranty seems a bit short though

 

I haven't decided what I will do. I did find Autozone sells remanufactured for the same price but they have 3 year unlimited mile warranty. My uncle keeps telling me to purchase one from junk yard and not waste the money.

 

Most boneyards will give you a warranty on the part - not installation.

A rebuilt transmission is only as good as the rebuilder. Will autozone pay for removal/installation if there is a problem?

It's worth a look.

 

Well concidering most teenagers usualy end up trashing thier first car in an accident I wouldent spend too much on it.

Go cheap used

 

junkyard trans will work, most yards do a 30 to 90 day warranty, and have unknown history. If planning on keeping it spend the money on a new one, if planning on selling it get a used. Don't get a jasper (not sure who autozone uses, but jasper has a high failure rate on anything they repair they don't actually rebuild) ask what is done on the new one, some it's a true reman every wear item replaced, some just new clutches and torque converter

 

thats a very short warranty. My trans was done by a place, they botched it, convertor wasnt right, warrantied it, then 1.5 years later went kaboom again. Took it to one of our racers and he rebuilt it with a 3 year warranty, unlimited miles.

 

I guess it depends how many miles are on it? My 44re in my 98 crapped out at 96k. Was quoted 1,700 with a 18 month 25k warranty(pretty sure thats what it was) that was from aamco. Im wondering if you tighten a band too tight. As far as going used thats totally up to you. Personally the work to swap tranny isnt that easy so I wouldnt go used. These dakotas are pretty tight underneath and swap will take you a few hours if you have all the tools and good garage space. Problem with these trannys is they arent very stout to begin with so chances of finding another stock one with problems is very high. Do you wanna do all that work just to find out the junkyard one is on its way out too? I loved my dakota a lot as it was my first vehicle I paid for when I turned 16. Had a lot of sentimental value but at the end of the day I needed something bigger and better. Hated to see it go but I couldnt stand an auto anymore..

 

I consider myself lucky. At nearly 258K, I'm still on the original tranny. This 545RFE shows no signs of quitting. It shifts from park to R and D without a sound or jerk. When driving, it shifts really well and I just towed a heavy trailer and car from Virginia to ATL, no issues.


I guess it helps that there is a big *** cooler included with the factory tow package, so if purchasing another truck, that's what I'd look for again. Lower temps really help with the longevity.


I installed a drain plug when I got it and am about to drain it again in a few weeks. I figure after that long tow, it makes sense to freshen the fluid.

 

The 545 is a totally different animal. The will take the abuse a lot better than its earlier brothers(42-46re) The 545 was put behind hemi's so it had to be able to take some good power. The stock 4.7 wont be able to kill it. Im pretty sure the 4lo over heat,32's and sct tuner killed my 44re. I love being able to pick my gears now! Never looking back