i have a 94 dodge ram 1500 with the 318 v8. the truck has 171000 miles on it. when im at a dead stop and put the pedal to the floor it shifts through 1st into 2nd but wont go into 3rd. the only way to get it to shift into 3rd is to either come to a complete stop and slowly take off again, or put it into neutral while still driving and then put it back into Drive. if i take off slowly it will shift through all the gears with no problem. I checked the fluid and it was at the right level but it did look a little burnt. i usually dont take off to fast anyways to save gas but if i need to put the hammer down and get going i want to be able to do it. please help me figure out whats wrong with it.

 

How many pins are in your case connector?

 

im wondering if its a sticky solonoid thats ****in up

 

im not sure what you mean.

 

any way i could check that to see if it is?

 

If you lift your foot off the floor some will it shift into 3rd? It might be thinking you want passing gear as it could be called and until you let off some it will keep trying. (Thats how I found the rev. limiter). There is an adjustment for the kick down verses pedal position. How for do you need to push down on the pedal for it to kick down? May be too far up on the pedal....

 

There is an electrical plug in the side of the transmission. Unplug it and count how many little holes are in it. It will either be 3 or 7 or 8. Beware that there are two plugs on the transmission, the one you need to count sits up high on the drivers side.

Once i know this i can help you diagnose your problem. These other guys are just throwing out random things they have heard.

 

sometimes it will sometimes it wont at all. depends on how far i hit down the pedal the first time. if i put it almost all the way down to the floor it wont shift into 3rd at all, if i just do it enough to make it downshift and then let of the gas some it will shift. it really doesnt take much for it to kick down, sometimes i hardley push it down and it will downshift.

 

ok as soon as it stops raining i will go and take a look and let you know.

 

sorry it took so long to get back to you. its been raining for a while now. i managed to get under there and check. there are 3 in the plug.