Ok so I have a 96 with 143K on it. I have had the Governor and pressure solenoids changed and it's still going into 3rd or "failsafe" intermittently when I put it in drive. I do a key cycle and it's fine. My tranny guy is shaking his head, so I have turned to you all for some help.

Also after the change it was fine until I put it into 4x4...then it did it. Would that have anything to do with the problem? And I'm not throwing any codes. Thanks!

 

well i think if you put it in 4x4 and it screwed up again, maybe your transfer case is at fault somehow?

 

maybe your pcm is something to look at, because if you cycle the key and its fine after that, it sounds electrical.

 

I would ck the linkage going to the transfer case, make sure it didn't knock off the wire connector going to the valve body. If that is okay, then drive the truck in low gear and then move the shifter thru 2nd and then drive. If the transmission upshifts, Then replace the governor solenoid and the transducer. And at the same time if you haven't already done so, replace the filter and adjust both bands if they need it. If the transmission doesn't upshift,Then replace the valve body assy.

 

^^^ Like he said, can you manually shift up through 1st, 2nd.... ? If so, and your problem was the same as mine, It was the solenoid and the transducer/sensor. I had to replace the sensor twice because of a faulty part.
Cheers,
Logan

 

Yeah I just rebuilt my first transmission using the DIYs.

I was about to cry like a baby when I put her all back together and she didn't shift.

Unplugged the connector and was able to manually shift. Bought a new Governor sensor and solenoids and it shifts better than new.

Are you getting a CEL? Because my gave a code to say shift sensor was faulty..

As far as replacing the VB... They aren't too hard to rebuild and put a fix kit it, but if your stuck in limp mode, its probably the electrical aspect that is giving you a problem.

 

Thanks for the advice guys! It up-shifts through the gears fine. I had no issues after taking it out of 4x4 and doing the key cycle. I think you guys are on to something with the electrical issue, shift sensor or PCM. So 1998Ram5.9 if it is a PCM issue where is the best place for a new one? I just need the damn weather to turn so I can take the Magnum back out!

 

Oh one more thing I noticed it that sometimes when I'm backing up my backup lights don't go on. Could this be connected to the shift sensor?

 

Park/Neutral switch out of adjustment? Wonder if the PCM doesn't see the trans in drive occasionally???

 

doubt you need a new PCM because of the shifting issues..

the solenoid gets clogged up sometimes, and does goofy things like you are describing.. a key cycle- meaning you turn the engine off and then restart it relieves pressure in the tranny, which likely means the solenoid is likely dropping whatever it is being adhered to it while it's under pressure.. but it will pick it up again in time..

those parts fail right out of the box.. buying mopar is just about the only way to go with those particular items, or do the GMC swap mod..

another thing to look at is the wires that connect the electronics in your tranny.. they fray and short often times. A lot of folks have this problem right after a rebuild (read this in Monte' s thread) because the wires are often pinched when putting it all back in.. you can run a continuity check on those to see.