I just bought a 2000 5.9 liter Ram 1500. occasionally when driving at around 35 mph i will go to give it gas and the truck just wont respond at all. after a second or two it seems like the trans cant figure out what to do and wants to downshift but wont then will... i think? i dunno. but its like a studdering person. also a couple of times when this happened it seemed like it wanted to stall... making a putt... putt noise like its running out of gas. The trans has a small leak... it also failed inspection because of a trans sensor, but now it isnt throwing any codes.

 

How does an inspector know a sensor is bad if it's not setting a code?

 

i dunno man. its what the person i bought the truck from said... but i think it was throwing a code then he cleared it and the code didnt come back. i was looking at the dash lights and i think he pulled the check engine light 2 cause i didnt see 1 when i turn the ignition

 

any one else got any ideas?

 

To check if the CEL is burnt out or removed there is a procedure you can do.

You hold in your odometer button with the ignition off and then while holding it turn the ignition on-off-on-off-on and then continue to hold it for a minute and it will go through a test sequence on your dashboard. It will check all of your odometer lights and then it should flash all of your dash lights (my 4wd didn't flash but it works?). If you CEL doesn't flash then there is a problem with it.

As far as your trans issue, a common issue is the governor pressure sensor and solenoid. If you are having eratic issues then that could very well be it. My truck was slipping going into 2nd and I replaced those and now it runs great.

At the local trans supply shop the parts only ran about $115 for both.

 

Close ... you don't need to do "on-off-on-etc" just go to "on" w/the odometer button depressed until the readout says "CHEC" ... about 5 seconds. The cluster will run through a self test. The "4WD" and "O/D OFF" lights are not tested.

 

ok thanks. ill check that tomorow. dblj, is it difficult to replace the governor pressure sensor and solenoid? did u do it ur self, and where are they located?

also, i could prevent the process from continuing by takin my foot off the gas... but i would press right back down and it would happen again in a few seconds. then i would repeat it and it would go back to normal... i hope this helps. i read some where about the TPS... would that apply?

 

If you can drop a trans pan and pull a couple extra bolts then you can replace the governor pressure sensor and solenoid. I did mine myself (although I also rebuilt my trans myself) but I think it is a pretty easy task to accomplish (the sensor and solenoid that is). Once you drop your pan, you will see a electrical cable running from the outside plug across the valve body and over to 3 different "sensors". Two of these are your governor pressure sensor and solenoid. In order to get them off you need to take the plate that they are connected to off (Hence the extra bolts you need to remove). Once you remove the plate, they are just held on by clips.

If i'm not mistaken there are 2 T25 Torx bolts and 4 or 5 12mm bolts that hold the plate on.

Again, this is just a common issue. I am not certain that this is your problem. I would make sure to get a second opinion before you spend the money. I am just your average backyard mechanic that tries to help others based on my experiences.

Good Luck!

 

thanks man. i took the truck to my mechanic today cause the CEL came on. i forgot what he said the codes were but he said i need a new trans. Im refusing to believe him because the truck runs great except for a couple seconds every once in a while. im sure it wont be long though. he said it was something in the trans and the tc. my trans fluid was real bad and burnt so im just gonna let him flush it and hopefully he will fix the leak. i dont wanna put much money in a bad trans... but is there anything else i can do to try to elongate its life?

 

I would make sure that he actually drops the trans pan and changes out the filter. Some places will just suck out the old fluid from the filler neck and pump new stuff in and leave the filter. In my opinion that's just like doing an oil change and leaving that filter in there. If you do decide to put in a new governor pressure sensor and solenoid then I am pretty sure that you could transfer the new stuff to a new trans if you needed to (or keep them as spares). Also I would re-adjust the bands while the fluid is being changed.