Some of you may have seen my other threads. I just bought a 99 Dakota and I absolutely love it. It's only got 77,000 miles and I searched forever a 2nd gen with low mileage and in good shape. Oh and also a V8 4x4 which was nearly impossible. But I found one and had to buy it. It really needs some work done but I'm more than willing to dish out the cash to get her fixed right and back to 100%. It's been idling rough and missing so I took the air hat off and found oil in the intake :/ . I've got a new plenum gasket coming from Hughes Engines and should be here tomorrow. Im going to buy new plugs and wires too and I hope to get that all done this weekend. Hopefully that'll clear that miss up. The transmission is slipping between 2nd and 3rd now. Checked the fluid and its a nice color, smells fine and the right level. I figure I would drop the pan, change the transmission fluid and filter and hope that clears that up. But, I have a feeling it's going to need more love than that, possibly a rebuild . The list goes on really with what needs fixed on this truck but I'm not going to run from the issues. I'll keep you guys posted on the progress and I'm sure ill have questions on my way. Thank you all for your knowledge and willing to help.

 

As far as the Transmission; about all of the older transmissions have the same defect;(For automatic) the Governor Transducer (Soloniod) along with the pressure sensor. Its a really easy part replacement. Symptoms on mine were a floating between 2nd and 3rd; I guess you call it like a slip; but it was like a double shift; you could feel it shift then shift again like it didn't complete the shift.. sometimes would happen 3 times quickly in a row and also happend when you hit a bump.. sometimes it would not do it all.

Some say you can clean them but others always said to just replace them. I replaced mine with Mopar set for $99 bucks off a top rated seller on ebay; the stealership wants just for one of the parts about 119 bucks. so i said why not; anyways since replacing i have not had a problem yet.

These 2 parts should be changed together.. most say being it could be either/or and the tranny guy on this forum says they kinda go out together.

Here is a video that will give you the general idea; drop the pan; take off the bracket that the is holding up the gov soli. inside of it will be a retaining clip holding the pressure sensor on; pop it off; swap both parts. (In the video below he only removed the Gov. Sol. you will want to drop that bracket) it has hex keys holding it in; so that you can remove/replace the sensor too.. (At least for the 44Re) some others are different so find out what tranny you have as parts are different... for certain transmissions.

use new gasket in my opinion; other say dont worry about it but i say replace it.. just as they will say just replace the gov. sol. and not the sensor too.


I would not sue the borg warner (standard motor products) i've had nothing but problems with any* of their parts. But if you do go with it you need to check if you try and use the borg HD one in some trannies it wont fit; (Too tall) my 44re it wont fit.. some later models have a indention in the pan that will allow it to fit you will need to check.

You can also find detailed repair on this topic here on the forums.

This is the main video i used to guide me as i service mine before i tackled the job.. just for the general idea..


One final thought.. dont get confused on the different solonoids; and pressure sensor; when i first looked into do this repair; i got confused for what ever reason by the Overdrive soloniod assembly. The two parts are the ones that are in both videos.

 

Great post Jon!

 

Thanks for that post. I'm glad you took the time to post that because I was going to take it to the transmission shop on Monday to get diagnosed, which was $50 alone for the scan. Sounds like your truck was doing the same as mine. Other than between 2nd and 3rd it shifts fine and yeah "floating" would be a better way to describe it than slipping. Once it's in gear it stays in gear just that float in between those two gears. But again I really appreciate the posting with the videos. I'll try and fix that ASAP but may take a few weeks before I have the time to do that. I'll keep you posted and I've got my fingers crossed that that is the problem with the tranny.

 

Jon, my 96 has lost it's overdrive and doesn't kick down (no passing gear.) From what I can deduce, I need to replace the governor pressure solenoid and the sensor/transducer to get this problem solved, right? I'm seeing p0743 and p0753 codes and clearing them, they immediately come back. Probably I don't need to replace the overdrive solenoid?

I have 1st gear, and haven't noted any floating on the 2-3 shift. The trannie shifts normally and downshifts okay.

 

The Gov. pressure sensor and the transducer (solenoid) control shifting; every dodge transmission (Auto) has the failure/defect of these parts just about i think up till the most recent transmission build (Not sure if they have or not so this is kinda one of those things replace it anyways.. at some point it will need to be done and might be part of the no passing gear issue?

The OD Solenoids is what engages/disengages the OD and Lock in OD. you will need to repalce them.. if after replacing still does not work then you might have an issue with the actual OD log in coverter and such.

I would stear clear personally of that buy.. unless money is so tight you just have to do it..

• Wiring Harness(GOOD USED)
• Overdrive Solenoid(GOOD USED)
• TCC Solenoid(GOOD USED)
  
  I would not put used parts in my transmission; I would buy new;... You can RockAuto the parts but they are Borg Warner which i would only due if you really really needed too save some $$>>
  
  If you can only do used then so be it.
  
  Secondly
  
  

You need to check your Transmission type as there are two types out there.

One comes with only one type of Solenoid for those that only have a certain OD and those like my 44re that has the lock in clutch as well which has the two (As pictured in your link)

Secondly just as the 2nd video describe there are two different types of (Based mainly on year) of the soloniod and sensor... also pay attention if you buy the Born Warner HD solonoid you need to remember it wont fit in the older models. Yours will most likely based on the year be the round sensor (Not black plastic) and not the HD Solenoid.

As far as the actual passing gear; you said it drops down gear but I guess that when you push the peddle down it doesn't go into "passing" gear. I'm not sure if this could be the valve body sticking or if the solenoids and sensor is having something to do with it. I'm not sure on that. I guess while you in there you can have someone press the gas (engine off of course) and see if it cable is properly working correctly.

Now remember; I'm not a mechanic; I can turn a wrench... and evaluate and all that.. I'm basing this information off common knowledge and research of different problems as i was troubleshooting things.

I am bias against BorgWarner (Standard Motor Products) simply because every single BW part I've bought has failed at some point and are super cheap now since SMP bought them out.

 

Yeah man; hate to see someone waste money. be sure to look in the glove box and determine what the actual transmission is before buying parts as the parts change up a bit as the transmission progress models. Be sure to get the right one.

If the problem is as i stated exactly like what is most common on these trucks (Every dodge has these issues of defective/failing transducers up to the new year models) then it should take care of it for you.

 

Oh.. and one last thing to add.. Your both of course going to need new Tranny Fluid dont cheap out.. good rubber gasket dont go cork.. it's just junk and asking for trouble. Gasket maker (Black) is good very little just to hold it in place in a small about on each corner.. you dont need it on the entire thing using rubber gasket and using proper torque sequence and not over tightening.

get a good quality filter as well and replace it while your in there.. you gotta drop it anyways.

 

Thanks Jon. Yeah I kinda figured out the stuff about used parts. I can get all new parts for just a few bucks more. The codes are electrical fault codes--my guess is that the sensor/transducer has gone bad--so that it's not showing the trannie oil temp is warm enough or the wrong pressure range. This is gonna be a bit of a pain in the butt--oily, messy, and on my back in the driveway, so for about $150 it's probably worth it to just go ahead and replace all the components.

I'll check the TV cable when I'm under there doing the preliminary check on the transmission external wiring connections. We can hope, eh?

Thanks again for your input (and forgive me for hijacking the thread.)

 

No worries; at least it was on topic or along the same topic.. and you can get her fixed and good luck on it. Remember take your time; watch the video and do a good job and all will turn out ok.

Good luck!