I've been having problems with the automatic transmission in my 2001 Dodge Dakota 4.7L 4x4 Quad Cab. It has almost 180,000 miles.

2 winters ago it started having trouble on the really cold mornings. It was like the torque converter was not unlocking as I came to a stop (felt like if you forgot to push in the clutch as you stop with a manual) It would occasionally stall out and die if I didn't feather the gas as I stopped. but after warming up for about a mile all would be fine.

Last winter this got worse. Instead of warming up in the first mile of driving it took 2-3 miles before it would be fine. But all but the coldest days were fine and warm summer weather rolled around and all was fine again.

Now that it's getting cold again I've been having some major problems. The stall out as I come to a stop on cold mornings is way worse but also on those really cold mornings it feels like the torque converter isn't locking up until about 1800 RPM or more when I first start driving. I can throw it in drive or reverse and rev it at 1500 RPM or more and it just makes noise. Then the motor is screaming at 2500 RPM as I barely move a few MPH down the street. If I let it warm up for 5 minutes in the driveway it would then drive like normal. But it's also been taking a long time to drop into gear this year (3-5 seconds maybe). That's both for going into gear from park or going between park and reverse. I have quit driving it because it's getting worse and don't want to push it more than I already have. The last few days were really cold out, but it never warmed up enough to really feel like the torque converter was locking up (feels like driving a manual tranny down the street with the clutch pushed part way in)

Fluid level checks out right where it should be. But it does have 180,000 and I have no idea if it's ever been touched.

I'm debating just doing a flush on the tranny and replacing filters (probably a full flush, not just drain and fill). Do you guys think it's possible that old burnt out fluid could be to blame for not letting the torque converter lock/unlock properly or does it sound more like an internal problem?

I've worked on a few different transmissions before and I'm not afraid to pull this apart if I know that's what I need to do, but I'm really no pro and was hoping for a few opinions on a diagnosis.

Maybe bad fluid?
Just a solenoid or something replaceable?
Needs a full rebuild?


TIA

 

At this point a transmission service will not hurt.
One quick thought is a engine block heater.
Also you have a trans. cooler in front of your radiator,
i have covered part of that with cardboard for winter temps with no problems,
i think it helps.

 

I wouldn't go just pulling the trans apart. The (5)45RFE is a very complicated animal and filters are well known for falling out of their seal and causing a pressure loss.

I concur with a winter front, blocking off half of the front of the truck to keep operating temps up.

Our ram had 298,000 when we sold it with that trans, with heavy towing and lots of highway miles, never had it apart, just regular servicings.

 

Update:

I went ahead and changed out the filters and just replaced the fluid after dropping the pan (took about 7.5 quarts) to see if it helped at all before doing anything too major.

That was apparently all that I needed. It is dropping into gear INSTANTLY now instead of that 5 second delay and it is locking up right away on a cold start. Shifting between gears is better than ever, and apparently I was missing some power transfer before because of the fluid being old because my truck seems to accelerate quite a bit quicker than it ever did before.

I'll probably go ahead and do an actual transmission flush after it warms up a bit to get the rest of that old fluid out.

And thanks for the suggestions on the air dam up front. Although that was certainly not the cause of my problems, it's not a bad idea and something that I'm going to do this weekend.

 

Dodge used to sell winter fronts with the trucks up in the north.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dodg...=lnms&tbm=isch

 

Cardboard and black spray paint has always served me well.