Hey guys, I have a 2001 Dakota SLT with a 4.7 with 73,000 miles that drove fine with the exception of a little, occasional hesitancy to go when in reverse first thing in the morning, (give it some extra gas and all was well) and a bit of a rough shift from 1st to 2nd at low speed. I decided to change the trans filters and now has a more pronounced rough shift from 2nd to 3rd and tonight I tried putting it in 4WD and it made a loudish whirring sound and then it had trouble coming out of 4WD, meaning it stayed engaged for a bit before coming back to 2WD and quieting down again. Any ideas as to what is wrong? EDIT: I used ATF4 but I really can't say what was in there before. If there was 3 in there before would that cause an issue?

 

If ATF 3 was used, mixing with the new ATF4 is no problem, just change next oil changes with ATF+4 as recommended.

If you did the filters, it's important to change the seal of the sump filter ( large flat one ).
When the old seal leaks, or the new seal isn't seated correctly mostly the transmission won't shift at all.

If you're sure you had the new seal mounted correct, i think there's another problem......can't help you on this one
I assume you have checked the oil level with a hot transmission and when idling in neutral.

 

I was mainly concerned about the mixing of the fluids so I'm glad to hear that I'm not in danger there. What was throwing me was how much ATF I had to replace after the job. Conventional wisdom seems to be about 6.5 quarts but it turns out I'm putting in close to 8. Now I did have the pan off for a good while so is it possible that that much more drained out than usual? I started to think that the dipstick was the wrong one because i kept putting in more and more and I wasn't seeing it on the stick.

 

The best way to avoid confusion is to check the dipstick before you start and make sure it's at the proper level. Drain and measure what came out, then add the same amount back. For a single drain and fill, I replace 6 and 1/3 qts. That's with the front jacked up high for best drainage. I have the 545RFE.

 

I did exactly the same, had the front on jackstands for more room underneath the car.
I had about the same amount to fill up, and i did both filters, 6 1/2 qts. i did let it drip for 2 days because of bad weather and not needed the car those days.

So seems to me, whenever changing fluid it isn't necessary to wait this long, you could just change the oil right away, because there isn't much more oil coming out in a 2 day drip period.

Mine isa 45RFE or 545RFE too.