Another possibility is a failing check valve. There's an anti-drainback valve in the (ATF) cooling line just before it enters the radiator that is infamous for plugging up and eating transmissions.

The hot ticket is to yank the think out and replace it with a remote ATF filter. Second best is to just yank it out and replace it with a soft line, but then you have to remember to shift into neutral for about ten seconds after startup before selecting another gear, this to allow the torque converter to refill. It'd be best to do one or the other so that check valve can't fail and eat your transmission.

You were lied to.

 

^^^^^Didnt think of that, but its another good possibility

Quote:
Originally Posted by dodgetruck2
I was told that the Dodge's do not have any bands to adjust, when they are done they are done.

You were lied to.[/quote]

^^^^I second that, Ive held the bands in my hands

 

If your vehicle is suffering from morning sickness the first thing to do is make sure your anti-drainback valve has not been removed...It is located in the lower cooling line at the radiator.....If it is intact,the problem will be found in worn bushings in the transmission pump....There is a new aftermarket manual valve which is located inthe transmission valve body that will slow down the internal draining, but to tell you the facts, this condition is more aggravating than damaging....I would not recommend you to spend any money only on that condition.....Its one of those conditions I would live with until something else happens..

Brian

 

I'd consider that some dubious advice. When that valve plugs as they're wont to do with the friction material floating around in a high mileage unit, the transmission overheats and dies.

 

Once again have to agree with Unregistered... waiting 10 seconds in neutral for the converter to fill with fluid might be a hassle, but its a small price to pay for the peace of mind. I'd rather know that nothing is clogging my tranny fluids path to some much needed cooling

 

Thanks everyone. I didn't have time today to get the tranny fluid checked but will have to tomorrow so I can get the sawdust.

This check valve is where it connects to the radiator?

When I got the pickup and we found the radiator was plugged and replaced it we also discovered whomever put the additional tranny cooler bypassed the radiator tranny cooler and straight to the extra cooler. The line is leaking from somewhere around their hookups.

Could that be part of the problem with it also?

 

They installed an auxiliary tranny cooler (which is a very good thing) and in your case (warm climate) circumvents the need for the in radiator cooler. The lower line on the aux cooler (90% sure its that one, depends on how they installed it) is the one with the check valve. The check valve should be obvious, its a line that goes from rubber to a hard line to a brass fitting to rubber to another brass fitting, and then hooks into the cooler.

Any tranny fluid leak is a problem, if its leaking there, replace it asap.

As for removing the check valve, check the faqs section for a good write up on how to do it, its not expensive, and is fairly simple if you have the tools. If you do it, keep in mind that youll have to put the truck in neutral for ~10 seconds every time you start it to allow the tc to fill up. It may be a hassle, but it will extend the life of your tranny by making sure there are no bottle necks in its cooling system

Edit:whoops, I see you say you live in WA (read as MO for some reason, im tired) which is a colder climate (to us southerners anyway). In that case the lines should be run to the rad tranny cooler, and then to the aux. The rad cooler actually acts as a "warmer" (thins out the fluid so it flows better). If you havent had any problems with it before this i wouldnt change it though.

 

I noticed one guy mentioned he spent $2600 on a rebuild for his tranny, if you spent that much you should have gotten a reman tranny. Get rid of the 46re and get a Reman. I hear they last alot longer basicly a new transmission completetly altho they are like $3k

My transmission jerks when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear, and no one on 3 forums including this one has yet to have any idea to what the cause could be. So when i start making some money this spring/summer I need bring it in to get it checked out. I hope its nothing major and I hope it has plenty of life in it too because it'll take me awhile to save up $1500-2000 for a rebuild if its comes to that and this is my work truck. So far its been doing it for 3k miles since i bought it 3 months ago and it hasnt really changed or gotten worse

 

Ok so when they replace the leaky line I will make sure they reroute it back through the rad tranny cooler then back out to the aux tranny cooler.

I just got through checking the fluid and it says it's ok. Literally on the O in the OK. So good enough for now? It will get replaced when they fix it which I'm going to ask them how soon they can get that done.

Off to get sawdust.

Oh and I was going to add. I didn't start it in neutral but will the next time when it's on more level ground. I let it set until it was off the C mark and when I reved it up I check. I had to rev it up to 1500 rms before it would start moving. Once moving it I didn't need to get it past 1000 rpms to get it to move. It was easy to slip from park, rev, neut into drive and back while I drove up and down the driveway to get it fully warmed up. Once I parked it I let is sit idling while I let the horses out and grabbed a papertowel.

 

Make sure they flush that trans cooler in the radiator thoroughly before connecting to it. If it's been sitting there empty all this time, it might be harboring corrosion, dirt, spiders, and who knows what else that you don't want pumped into your transmission.

I'd think that the chances are pretty good that the previous owner already deleted the check valve since he went to all the bother to add an aux cooler and route around the radiator. You might as well put a remote transmission filter on the thing, which will gain you back an anti-drainback valve but one that's not no likely to hang up, and which can be easily replaced. As an added benefit, it'll filter out particles much smaller than the filter in the transmission pan can, extending the life of your transmission.

Having the anti-drainback valve back might just fix up your morning blahs.