Good evening, Hello to all. I have been lurking on this forum on and off for several years but I just registered. I have a problem with the A518 in my 1996 Ram 1500 2wd with 360. I have spent the last 2 hours or so searching old posts without success. Here’s the history:
I bought this truck with 76,000 miles. When cold it would jerk slightly upon acceleration, as if the bands were rapidly releasing and then re-applying. Once hot and at steady speed, it was fine so I ignored it.
At 88,000 miles it completely lost second gear; it would shift from first directly to 3d. If I pulled it into 2d the engine would rev without engaging. I drove it around for a few thousand miles like that and finally decided I really needed that gear. The mechanic found the second gear band strut had broken; he replaced it and changed the fluid and filter. When I got it back it would occasionally jerk upon acceleration as before, but everything else was fine. Life was good.
At about 108,000 miles it began to flare and then re-engage, as if the fluid were low. I checked the fluid level and it is OK. Usually it would work fine, but occasionally it would just rev up without any drive. This would happen in 2d, 3d and OD. Sometimes if I pulled over and let it idle for a few minutes, I would then be able to continue on. It’s gotten progressively worse so now I can no longer pretend it’s not serious.
It drives fine until it is completely warmed up. The first symptom is an increase of about 200 rpm, as if the TC were unlocking. This will cycle several times. If I lock out OD, the same thing happens in 3d and 2d. Engine revs, no drive. Engine flares, transmission applies, transmission releases. But…if I pull it down into 1st, it works fine. However, that is not really a viable option on SoCal freeways. It has not stored any fault codes. I dropped the pan tonight and found about 2 tablespoons of metallic sludge around the magnet. The fluid was dark and smelled burnt. My suspicion is that there is something wrong with the TC lockup control. When the TC unlocks, the slippage puts additional heat into the transmission fluid, which causes it to flare, which results in more heat, etc. When I pull over and idle for a few minutes, it cools down enough to work OK for a little while. However, this theory only works if the TC locks up (and thus also unlocks) in 2d and 3d as well as OD, and I don't know if it does. Does the lockup work in all gears or just OD?
First gear uses the rear clutch, as do all the other gears, and the rear band. If the rear clutch were bad, 1st gear wouldn’t work. If the rear band were bad, neither first nor reverse would work. Both are OK. The front band is used only in second gear; since it flares in 3d and OD as well as 2d, I tend to think the front band is not the source of the problem. 3d and OD use the front clutch, as does reverse. Reverse works OK but I probably don’t spend enough time driving backwards to really test it. I have not done any pressure tests yet. I have the ATSG manual but it is not very helpful for troubleshooting. This forum is my last gasp before ordering a rebuild. Any help very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Patrick Cherry Ventura, CA

 

ummmmm.... talk a good game.... need to learn about that trans a little more..REBUILD TIME !!!!

 

With that much debris in the pan there is definitely excessive internal wear. You aren't going to fix this with a new solenoid or torque converter.
As statedabove itsRebuild time.