I have a 2003 Dodge Dakota R/T with 5.9L 46Re transmission that completely failed little over a year ago. Had it rebuilt by a place and it has worked flawlessly until recently when I noticed it on the freeway acting weird in a subtle way where I wasnt even sure what it was doing but then it progressively got more noticeable which I took it to a shop and they couldn't get it to do this which is if you drive it normally and you push gas and goes thru the gears normally and you get up to speed and you normally back off the throttle and then you apply a little bit of gas to kind of maintain speed, just for a second it will act like its going to downshift so the engine will kind of rev a little but then it quickly goes back to the normal gear it was in which is overdrive. I hope i am explaining this correctly. So it was also under warranty so i took it back to the shop that rebuilt it he came back and said it was a quart and a half low but other than that he said it had no codes and that when he drove it before and after the adding of fluid it never did that or anything unusual. So I said ok maybe it was fluid and I picked up the truck to which I drove about a mile and it was doing what im describing. So I have tried to zero in on when it does it and the other time it does it consistently is if you get up to speed and put on cruise control and as its going down the road if there is even a slight hill or incline that puts a "load" on the engine so it decreases rpm even slightly it will act like its going to drop a gear to bring up the rpm but then it won't need it casue if it just stayed like it was it could power thru the slight incline its on. so it goes back into overdrive but then if the incline is still there and you dont move your foot on the gas (like with cruise control)it will do it again and again until u get back to flat ground and then it will stay in overdrive like it should. I hope i have described this accurately and concisely enough but someone has to know what is wrong since two places act like I'm crazy and I don't want to burn it up again. At this point fluid is full and not very old and still pink and no metal in it and doesn't smell burnt. thx in advance if you can help.

 

How much RPM swing?

Wonder if it's staying in OD but the converter is unlocking.

 

That's what I was thinkin' too. On my truck, If you tried to hold a steady speed in O/D, (tcc locked) even the slightest movement of the gas pedal would make tcc bounce out/in of lockup. Replaced the throttle position sensor, and the problem was resolved.

 

awesome from what i have read and understand for that trans i was wondering if that was a possibility but was hoping someone could verify that thought with real world experience. Unless someone posts a better one i am gonna be looking into and probably replacing that sensor. One thing I have noticed about at least this year of dakotas is Dodge didn't mis a place to put a sensor. This thing has a sensor that notices if you have to goto the bathroom. Thx much and i will post the outcome.

 

Get a good brand sensor. Mopar is the preference, but, they ain't cheap. Standard Motor Products would be my next choice.

 

A TCC lock/unlock cycle is about 100 RPM or so. An 4/3/4 shift sequence would be around 500 RPM or so.

 

Ok so I bought a standard motor products TPS and I believe it is fixed. It was idling high but I'm pretty sure I have a little vacuum leak around it cause mine was a little rough on the throttle body so i made a gasket and sealed it and am letting it dry so i haven't had a chance to hit the freeway to final check it but it was shifting correctly at lower speeds. So i will post when for sure but pretty sure that did it and thank you two for getting back that fast and having a correct answer to the problem. Muchos Gracias.

 

just to check in the TPS was the problem. It's fixed and I got the Standard motor products part for $18 on amazon and had it ordered at 8;30pm and had it delivered by 4;30am and installed that morning at worked like a champ. once again thx much the two of you for your advice and help.

 

Awesome.