Hello everyone, I m a new member and hoping to get some help with my truck.

I have a 99 ram 4dr longbox 4wd with a lift. I bought it a year ago in pretty ruff shape pretty cheap and with the body rotten off the mint tranny was a selling point to say the least.

I drove the truck all year and planned on stripping it or selling it but I decided not to last minute. I ended up putting a new box on it, a new cab and a new motor lol.

The day I got it back on the road I noticed it was shuttering and stumbling in first gear on take off until about 15 mph. I dreaded this because it seamed to be the same problem that hunted my dakota. The dakota did the exact same thing and after a new governor solenoid & sensor, tranny service, TPS, band adjustment and even U joints the problem never went away in the dakota.

I love this truck tho and I m determined to get the fixed. I started off with the level, fluid, TPS and TV cable adjustment with no fix at all. I let it be for awhile and the truck just got worse. It decided not to up shift at random staying it first gear weather I shifted it manually or left it in drive. the weirdest thing ever was that it would only do it under 1/4 tank of gas witch I thought was odd and would not make a difference. Sure enough I spent a month testing the theory trying anything that would make sense. I would shut it off, go thru the gears ect ect but no matter what it wouldnt up shift again until I brought the tank up over quarter, it then didnt seem random at all and I just kept it over 1/4 and it upshifted fine. It still had the shudder and shake on take off tho.

After a while of this I dug into the truck and put on the diagnostic tool. I noticed right away that the govoner pressure was staying at 0psi until about 15-20 mph so I thought great, simple fix. I then noticed that the target pressuer the computer was commanding was also 0 psi. I then drove it along and datalogged, sure enough it was staying at 0 psi everytime until about 15mph.. But the actual pressure and the target pressure the computer was asking for was always very close with in 1 psi. So I thought what the hell? I mean can it be a bad solenoid when its keeping right up with the computers commands?

So I cheeked the output shaft speed sensor while I was driving and it showed a reading as if it were working and at this point I hadnt gotten any check engine lights so I hadnt bothered reading the codes. I decided tho before I would quit for the night that I would do a quick scan. Sure enough my stupid check engine bulb is burnt out and there is a code for the output shaft speed sensor.. Simple fix yet again I thought, it all made sense now.

So, I went under the truck and saw that I must have pulled out the wire at some point during the swap as one wire is dangling off the plug. I then went out in the morning and grabbed a new pig tail for it and installed it.. I cleared the code and went for a spin. The truck shifted much better and stayed in gear with out upshifting or down shifting trying to stay at 50mph. but at take off it still shuttered and shook like my old dakota used to.

I put the scanner back on it thinking maybe I screwed up or maybe it needed a sensor also but no code. I kept driving it looking at the GOV PSI, the commanded PSI and the out put shaft speed sensor and it still read 0 psi until about 15 mph but now the output speed sensor RPM didnt miss a beat. After 4 hours of driving it seems the up shifting is fixed and the truck drives perfect after 15mph but still no code and it still is shuttering on take off.

So I'm wondering why the heck the computer isnt asking for the proper pressure? Or is it the dataloging tool thats just screwing me up? I know that if I read the pressure with a mechanical gauge I would have just assumed its the solenoid and replaced it all ready like anyone ealse would. I'm just hesitant when I see the PSI's seem to be right where the computer wants them and the whole mess with my last truck that did the same thing and didnt make a diffrence when I changed it last time..

Any idea's

Thanks JIm

 

Heres some pic's of the truck to just incase anyones interested in the overhaul it got lol

Day I bought it



Its now become more of a toy.. still lots of plans. no rust is great for now tho!! O, and a working transmision.

 

Quite the transformation.

How long ago was the trans rebuilt? (mileage)

Have you fixed the plenum? (see stickied thread at the top of this forum for info.)

Do you get the same stuttering are right about 45 MPH as well?

How long ago was the fluid/filter changed? Did you adjust the bands?