Hello,
bought a used 99 ram 1500 4x4. truck is in great shape, Km's are a high (270,000) doesnt burn a drop of oil and winter stored. The other day my trans started shifting funny, like it couldnt make up its mind what gear it should be in, and it also threw a CEL. then a day later it goes away. then maybe a day or two after, it does it again. last night i was driving about 60km/hr and same thing happened, this time i lost D.2 &1. pulled over, mucked around a bit with the shifter and it started working again. got me home (20kms). then went out a little later on and it ran fine for the first 20 mins then same thing again. im going to change the fluid and filter today but i was wondering if anyone had any ideas. ive done some reasearch but im still unsure about what it could be. Im thinkin its a dirty filter causing lack of fluid.

 

1. Drop the pan and visually inspect and smell the fluid
2. Change filter
3. Check the magnet inside the pan
4. Check for other parts in the pan (i.e. seals, rings etc..)
5. Disconnect your tranny cooling lines and backflush. This will get rid of any gunk buildup around the check-ball
6. Adjust bands per DIY section

Then report back...

 

That's quite a few km's, if it has never been rebuilt or changed out. I wouldn't drive any until it's checked out.I've noticed many 1999 models don't get that far without a rebuild, for some reason.

 

ok,
dropped the pan. fluid was a dark red, no burnt smell. changed the filter. no parts were floating around in the pan either. Magnet had a very small amount of shavings on it. not sure how to do a "back flush" so i didnt do that yet. and im scared of screwing up the bands (did some searching on here and most people say that it shifts worse after they muck around with em). went for a 20min cruise when finished and drove aggessive and it hasnt acted up yet. i will report back in a few days for an update. is there something on here about a DIY backflush???

 

My tranny was acting up also (99 ram 94000) and what i diid was put in the Lukas oil trans additive and lets just say it made a difference. I have to recommend Lukas oil for what ever you can get it for like fuel cleaner too.

I have a question was it acting up when you were going uphill? I ask this because mine studders and shakes and cant decide what gear to be in when i go up hill at a low RPM (2000 on high way) and if I gas it to down shift it gives me a miss fire sign (check engine light flashing). Im almost positive it is fuel filter but not sure. you never know if that is the problem until you do reall diagnosis.
That is just something else to consider it might also be fuel filter. (dirty filter = no power)

 

Not to dog on big john^, but don't use lucas oil. Find the problem and fix it. Until then, I wouldn't drive it. It could be just a matter of changing the Gov sensor & solenoid, hard to say with investigating it more. Best of luck

 

I wasnt saying to fix the problem. it just cleans out any dirt that might be in there and helps with shifting.

 

All lucas oil does is add a THICK coat of lube to the clutch packs to make it "feel" like it's fixed. Some tranny shops won't rebuild a tranny that has lucas tranny potion in it because it makes such a mess.
Don't take this as me bashing you. To each his own. I'm just saying what I know and what my experience has taught me.

 

Here's one for you, It will definatly help you out in the long run. Do not flush the trans or adjust the bands. Take it to somone to get the bands adjusted, And i say never flush the trans. It could cause problems espesially with that many miles on it.

 

I didnt flush it, I just dropped the pan and changed the filter. Topped it back up with 1ltr of Lucas and the rest with that mobil +4 trans fluid. that stuff aint cheap!!!!