I've got a 2003 dodge dakota slt quadcab 2wd 4.7L 545rde trans. Under light acceleration it feels like my transmission starts to slip but as soon as I start to give it just a bit more throttle the rpms drop down and it pulls like normal, even when it feels like it's slipping it still accelerates just the engine revs a few hundred rpm higher. If I drive normal, not light nor hard it shifts and drives perfectly, also if I drive hard like pedal to the metal it shifts and drives great also. Only under light driving does it do this feels like slipping transmission thing. I've only owned the truck for 7 days and the first 6 days it seemed fine but today it started to do this. It is a bit colder (-2 degrees "C"). I've felt transmissions that are slipping before and they've all been like driving a manual with a worn clutch and are almost always worse under hard acceleration. The truck has 220000km on it, should I do a filter and fluid change, I'm not sure if it's ever been changed before or topped up with the wrong fluid (non atf+4). Please help, I am loving this truck other then the tyranny worries.

 

When is the last time the trans was serviced?? (I am going to guess you don't know.... ) Wouldn't hurt to change the filters/fluid.

 

Serve trans, if you cant drop the pan yourself, or cant afford a full service, then try pumping out and replacing about 3 or 4 quarts of ATF4 fluid from the tube. Do that a couple of times about a week apart see if it helps., Also I know this sounds weird but also try cleaning the battery terminals and connections.

 

Thanks for replying,
I'm gonna drop the pan and change the filter and fluid this weekend. Is there anything else I should be looking for? Anything these trans are common for?? I wish I knew someone who knew how these things are supposed to operate, it's my first electronically controlled transmission I've ever owned in a vehicle and I can't help but wonder if it's just going into the last gear way early. I want to have someone from a transmission shop look at it but around here in London it's pretty much guaranteed that they're gonna say it needs a tyranny even if it's in perfect shape. Either way I'm doing the fluid and filter this weekend.

 

b

Thanks for replying.

In doing a filter +fluid service this weekend,

 

Hopefully a fresh round of ATF+4 will help. Pulling the pan every time you have have to drain the fluid quickly becomes a pain. I drilled the pan and installed an aftermarket drain plug. Now I drain and fill around every 25K.



There are two filters, flat and canister. The flat filter can be reverse flushed with a hose. When removing/installing, be sure that the rubber O ring on the neck, does not get left behind and double up.

As far as the spin on....you may want to get a Mopar transmission filter for the reason discussed here....
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...rmarket.html\\

 

After i changed all my fluid and pan i had a little tiny bit of hesitation going from 1st to 2nd,--I cleaned up battery post and did that full reset(key on technique) with battery disconnected and soon it relearned quick after driving it again.
Now no hesitation!
Good idea to do.

 

I wanna thank all the replies, I changed my fluid and filter, some Chrysler atf+4 and it shifts like a dream, I'm thinking someone put the wrong stuff on before I bought the truck. I'm just so happy it is right again. Thanks guys

 

Nice to hear. If you've only drained it once, you've replaced about a third of the fluid, as much of the fluid is held back in the case, torque converter, etc. If the wrong fluid was in it, you should drain and fill at least two more times, driving in between.

 

Ya, I'm gonna do a drain and fill next week and again 1 week later. Should I also replace the filters again or should they be ok??

I've got a 2003 dodge dakota 4.7L with the 545rfe transmission. I notice every so often my transmission slips a little bit when going into I believe 3rd or 4th, not all the time tho. It don't slip once it's "in gear" only when entering a gear (sometimes). I'm wondering if that sonnax line booster would help here as well as prolong what's left in my transmission??? I know some additives work by raising the line pressure (Lucas) so I would think that using either the sonnax or the resistor mod would do the same thing but keep the unwanted addition of anything other then atf+4. Please help