I have a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 (Vin: Y) w/ 318 engine. And I've searched the forums and i can't seem to find the answer(s) to my question, so here goes:

It has like 105,000mi on it. And when I'm driving down the road it takes a little pedal easing to shift into 2nd gear and then i have to rev the engine up to like 3500+ rpm in order for it to shift into 3rd and 4th gear. I took it to the local Jiffy Lube to have it flushed and i put some Lucas in it thinking that would fix the problem but that doesn't seem to have done the trick. No such luck. It still doesn't like to shift into 3rd and 4th gear. Sometimes it still won't shift when i rev it to 4,000 rpm.

Any ideas? I heard people hinting at shift solenoids, and others hinting at a clogged transmission filter being the culprit. but i don't have the money to take it to a shop to figure it out.

Any suggestion would be much appreciated!

 

What does your fluid look like? Is the level up to snuff? (gotta check it in Neutral....) Take it for a drive, get everything nice and warm, block the wheels, or, set the e-brake, put it in neutral, and check the fluid.

If that looks ok, grab yourself a filter and gasket kit, and six quarts of ATF +4. Drop the pan, and while you are in there, have a look at the governor pressure sensor, and solenoid. Clean them out, or replace them.... adjust bands, and reassemble. See if that improves its attitude any. If it doesn't.... start saving your pennies for the trans rebuild.

Welcome to DF.

 

you could also check the TV cable. return spring on the shift lever could be gone.

after TV adjustment and new governor pressure sensor and solenoid, mine shifts like a dream

 

I have a 1997 ram 2500 5.9 gas 46re tranny. I put a supperior shift kit in it.I have a new problem sometimes when i try to put in drive it wont go
somethings holding the shifter back then i push on the gas pedal and it wont go down when i push harder the gas pedal kindof pops and goes down and the tranny goes into drive. Sometimes when i push on gas pedal the tranny pops out of drive into neutral.What do you think about this?
I think the tv valve cable is interfearing with the shift linkage.

 

His issues sound very similar to mine, cept mine is a 95 without the electronics.

Is there something similar i can do that could possibly fix my issues? Bands ( how do you adjust them? ) Filter should be new since I got fluid changed 2 weeks ago.

 

Make sure the TV cable is free and not binding. Also make sure the spring is on the end of it down at the tranny.

 

These issues sounds like a combination of the problems we had on this thread. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...o-stay-in.html

Cleaning the IAC and throttle body appeared to do the trick for us. We also did a complete tune up and replaced some sensors. But the IAC and throttle body cleaning made the biggest improvement.

So in addition to checking the fluid, like HeyYou said, get a ~$1.50 throttle body gasket, throttle body cleaner (~ $3 to $4) and clean them real well. Then do the tune up and sensor replacements if needed.

And by all means try some of the other suggestions too, these guys appear to know these trucks. If it hadn't been for them and this forum I'd probably still be walking.

 

Ok i cralwed under the truck and found the bracket the the spring and tv cable hook to and fits on the shaft that goes in the valve body had poped off. I had tighten the bolt but its bottomed out. I'm going to put something around the shaft.Somebody on here said the spring might be off and they were right on the money.Thanks for the help!

 

i have a ram 1500 4x4 when i put it in drive and take off it feels like its stuck in maybe third gear, takes alot of pedel to get it moving at first but when you get up around fourty it seems normal any faster it still will not shift and rpm's keep climbing. had it put on a scanner and od is out, can anyone tell me will that cause this problem and how can i fix it

 

KINGOVEREIGN

Your problem is a classic problem, What happens over time the transmission fluid gets hot and cause's the seals to get hard. This cause's the transmission to loose fluid pressure until you able build up enough pressure and by then you are doing 40 to 50 mph in 2nd gear. The fix is install a transmission seal kit.