Of course the trans shop is going to want to rebuild it.

Are you getting TCC engage at least? Any codes to speak of? Really need to drop the pan, and see what ya got in there.

 

Well a transmission shop will tell you it needs rebuilt just to make that money off of you. I would check all the sensors on the back of the trans. Cannot remember what the sensors name is but i would check it also.

 

maybe the tranny does need a rebuild, maybe the torque converter is going out, maybe the truck is not worth the repair costs... There is your joke.

No matter what, servicing the transmission is not going to hurt anything. If you replaced that plastic magnetic speed sensor screwed into the side of the tranny, go ahead and do what comes next; fluid, filter and band adjustment.

I had a transmission rebuilt for a 1998 dodge ram van before, the thing was having issues where it wouldn't come out of first gear in order to shift into second. 900 dollars later the problem was solved. Funny part is this, I took the transmission from a 1999 Dodge Ram, had that one rebuilt, and installed it only after babying the van's tranny was no longer a solution to the problem. Once the problem was too much to stand, I swapped the transmissions. Problem was solved, soon afterwards I decided to take a look inside that tranny that would not shift, in the end I found 4 things.

1.) Clutches and seals were all in excellent condition.
2.) Intermediate (front) band was way out of adjustment thus causing the transmission to not have the ability to shift from first to second gear.
3.)Transmission was absolutely full of worn out clutch material but otherwise if the fluid was changed more then once in 170,000 miles that probably wouldn't have ever been the case.
4.) Tightening the band adjustment screw when servicing the transmission would have saved me 900 dollars for a rebuild! And even if I had to replace the band, the thing costs between 15 - 60 dollars for a replacement depending on what quality of part i decided to purchase.

Moral of the story, do what the factory recommends, service the damn thing. Another thing to be recommended is to install a drain plug in the pan so that if servicing the tranny doesn't help, at least you wont make a messthe next time you decide to crack open the tranny to try something else or when you decide to remove the thing.

Check that piece of mada phucking sheet out. Hopefully you might be able to avoid the hassle of rebuilding or uninstalling the tranny that way. Clutches and clutch pistons should be fine, testament to that is the fact that you still seems to have first and second gears. First uses rear clutches, second uses front clutches, third uses both front and rear to lock your planetary gears together to give your transmission a 1:1 input output gear ratio. If for some reason you cant engage third, it may be a clutch engagement issue; I.E. not enough fluid pressure for both clutches to be engaged at the same time. It could be your torque converter, your pump, your clutch piston seals, and who knows, maybe even something in your valve body.

First place to start is to check what is in the bottom of that pan, look for chunks of metal, rubber, and other debris. If there is anything other then super fine black sand like material, something inside the tranny might be coming apart. Fortunately, at least you have a good idea of where to start. Time to stop talking and start walking.

 

Dropped the pan. I believe the fluid was burnt. It was very dark. didn't notice anything in the pan besides fine metal shavings and lots of dust. Pictures to follow.

 

With that do you still think i should do the governor solenoid just in case? or stick with the flush and see how it runs?

 

I'm no transmission expert but I'm thinking you shouldn't have that much metal in the bottom of the pan.

 

That is a hell of a lot of metal; not just around the magnet, but all over the pan. You have what I'd call a "self-machining" transmission. Something is obviously worn, but who knows, it might not be causing your shifting problem, and might not be "terminal". Then again, your tranny might be about to blow up. I think your best bet is to find someone intimately familiar with your tranny, who knows just where those shavings came from, and how the worn part or parts are affecting it.

 

erm, where are the pics?

 

direct link
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8U...zOTUz&hl=en_US

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8U...jOGFm&hl=en_US

 

I'm no tranny expert either. But, that thing is toast.