Hey Guys and Girls,

I've been reading the forum here since I got my truck last year and have learned a lot. Unfortunately, I'm now having an issue with my transmission and was wondering if anyone here had any ideas.

I have a early 1998 Dodge Ram 2500 Club Cab 12V Diesel with the 47RE. My transmission is acting up when it warms up. When cold, it seems to act fine. Once it is warmed up, the problem begins to arise and it gets worse until it gets up to temperature where the problem is severe.

The transmission will not go into first gear when at operating temperature when coning to a complete stop. The engine will rev like it is in neutral. When the issue begins, there seems to be problems with 1st and 2nd gear as it does a little searching. One it gets into 3rd, it is fine and locks up in 3rd (with O/D off) and shifts into 4th and locks (with O/D on). Even when the tranny is at operating temperature, if I can get the truck moving and finally get it into 3rd, it acts flawlessly.

The truck has 211,000 miles on it and I picked it up used at 201,000 miles. I have changed the fluid twice now. Once when I got it and again today (very little metal in fluid). I have adjusted the rear band as well as changed the governor solenoid and sensor. I haven't adjusted the front band as I ran out of daylight today, but something tells me that won't help.

I don't drive the truck everyday and I first noticed the issue last week. It seems to have gotten worse, as if I have to stop the truck when the tranny is at full operating temperature, there is a high probability I will not be able to get moving again. Again, if it does start to move, 3rd gear and on is perfect.

There is also no apparent "clunk" when shifting into drive from park or neutral. Reverse is acting fine and I get the nice "clunk" going into it from park or neutral. I get a very mild "clunk" into gear when the tranny is cold. Manually shifting into first does not seem to have any effect at all. I can manually shift through the gears when it is cold, but it will not go into first or second from a stop when it is up to temperature.

No check engine light is on and the transmission fuse and relay are good. The cables appear to be adjusted properly as there is no slack.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Eric

 

does that tranny have shift solenoids? if so id change those thats how my suburbans tranny was acting and then finally threw a code after about a month of it doing the same exact thing but anyway they are cheap and easy to change so it would be a bad place to start

 

if you've already changed the solenoids, I'd look to see what else is happening.. you say only when warm?

do you still have your check valve in the cooler line? it sounds like you're starving it of fluid..

 

adjust the front band. See if that helps.

 

Good thought, but I didn't see any other solenoids on there other than the torque converter lock-up solenoid and the governor pressure solenoid. I changed the governor solenoid, but not the torque converter lock-up solenoid since I have no problem with lock-up at all. I don't think this tranny has any shift solenoids.

 

did you change the pressure sensor as well, when you did the pressure solenoid?

 

Yeah, it operates fine when cool/warming up. The problem becomes noticeable the warmer it gets, then basically complete failure to shift to first when at operating temperature.

I'm assuming the check valve is still in place as I haven't removed it and it doesn't appear that the previous owner made any mods in that area. What could starve it from fluid when warm? It seems like it should be the other way around, but my issue seems to be unusual.

Should I just bring it into the shop to get pressure tested or is there anything else I can look into before shelling out some bucks?

 

Did adjust the front band....same issue.

Yeah, I changed the sensor and solenoid at the same time. I bought them together last week right before I did the install.

 

I took another look at my tranny cooler, and after comparing with pictures I've seen online, I have concluded that the cooler I have is aftermarket and I believe the check valve has been removed.

Could blockage in this cooler cause my issue?

 

Up for an experiment?

Take the truck out, and drive it till its warm, and starts acting up. Disconnect the electrical plug (eight pin, i think) on the drivers side of the trans. This will force the governor to constant max pressure, and you will have ZERO automatic function. Trans will only shift if and when you tell it to. Take the truck for a drive, and manually shift the gears. If that works good, then, your pressure sensor or solenoid are bad. (if you got reman units, it wouldn't be that much of a surprise. Even if you got 'new' ones, not like I have never gotten a bad part right out of the box before.)