1999 Dodge 1500 5.2l 4x4 46RE I'm Guessing? Everything I have found points to the 46RE.

Transmission works fine when it is cold. Drives fine while in gear & warm, but once I stop anywhere, get back in, it will not engage ANY Drive Gears. 1, 2, or 3 WILL NOT Engage. REVERSE works perfect.

I have to wait till it is fully cooled down before it will engage Drive again. Just changed the Filter and Fluids, was very dirty, planning on driving for a week, then doing a Full Flush and Filter/Fluid change again.

I really thought the dirty Filter would fix it enough to at least drive it for a week or so and repeat, But No Luck! Idle Does Surge Periodically.

I'm getting frustrated and not sure what could be the issue? I don't have any History on this truck since I just bought it 2 months or so ago.


Any help is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!

 

How many miles on the truck? Did the fluid smell burnt when you drained it?

 

149K Miles. Fluid Did Not Smell Burnt or Toasted. It just looked like it had NEVER been changed. lol.

It may NEVER have been changed I do Not Know.

Left it in a McDonald's Parking Lot last Night Because It Would Not Engage.

Got a Ride Over There This Morning At 6am and it Engaged Right Away, Like It Always Does When It Is Cold.

Again, once engaged drives fine. Reverse Engages Fine. If I shift to 1, it feels like it barely engages, I feel a lil bump, I can give it alot of gas and the truck will move VERY Slowly! It has to be around 3000 RPMs though.

I had noticed some searching while cruising on the freeway doing 65mph or so. Some Sporadic Idle Surge.

 

Valve body could be getting plugged up with debris. Do you still have the check valve inline with the tranny cooler lines? The pump could be on it's way out. There are several possible reasons up to and including the need for a rebuild on that trans. You need to check for heavy debris when you change the fluid again and get the line pressure tested to see if you are within spec on it. then if all checks out ok you can move on to other possibilities. You just might find yourself in the new tranny club before long.

 

Yea I was afraid of joining that club, but was seriously considering the possibilities. lol

Check Valve is still there, planning on removing that and VB (Check & Clean), Adjusting Bands, Full Flush and Change Filter/Fluids Again.

Also Noticed the Last Month Or So, That The Tranny Has Been Leaking Around The Pan, and the Hose That The Check-Valve Is In Also Has Fluid On Both Ends. Almost Like There has Been Excess Pressure or I Don't Know Really? Just A Thought That Crossed My Mind.

I'm New to Auto Trans, got the Manual from here & Father-In-Law to help.

So we'll see what I can come up with in the next week or 2. The fact that it works fine, cold but WON'T engage when warm baffles everyone I have talked to. I was hoping it would be a common problem with 1 or 2 possibilities, not 500! lol

but that's how vehicles go. Gotta love em, Thanks for everyone's answers so far and in the Future!

Any better Tranny out there mate up to the 5.2 without alot of Mods?

 

Just a built up 46re with better internals,

If you have to go the rebuild route, consider these preventative measures:

Insist on the rebuilder installing a Sonnax "Sure Cure" kit, an aux tranny oil cooler, and removing the check valve from the system.

Other good ideas are an aux tranny oil filter, using better/more clutch packs, adding a shift kit, and insisting on new sensors, oil pump, and Torque converter.


As far as the one that you are currently using, you might get lucky and just remove the check valve yourself and see if that's the issue. It's a very long shot, but it's cheap to try and should be done on a new trans anyway. Here's a thread I did on swapping it out with another tube:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ve-delete.html

 

Yea Aim4squirrels I saw that thread last night, very nice write up. That's what I was going to go off of.

Thanks for your post!