Hey guys ive got a 2001 dodge ram 1500 5.2L V8 2X4 Automatic transmission with 94,XXX miles on it. Ive kept up on the oil changes and RARELY drive this thing hard(hard for an 18 year old to do, but i try to save gas).

When i bought the truck about 3 years ago, the transmission hit 4th gear or overdrive kinda hard some times, while other times it was unnoticable that it changed gears. just recently (tonight) ive been having some issues. the RPMs were staying up a little over 2k and it sounded like the engine was just revving then it switched gears. not rough, but certainly not normal.
I stop at a red light and then when i start to accelerate, it felt like i was driving a stick and just letting the clutch out very slowly instead of an automatic response from the throttle, then lurched into gear. and continued going a little above normal revs then changing gears..

sorry for the long story, but that's the best way i could describe it. I need to know, does this sound like a transmission problem? if so im going to immediately sell it. no way i will throw in a new/rebuilt tranny thats worth almost as much as the truck.

All input is welcome and feel free to ask me any questions! thanks -Jon

 

Test the throttle position sensor first..... that has to be working right for the trans to have a clue.

It may not be that bad of a fix though.... these trucks are notorious for having issues with the electronic governor pressure sensor and solenoid... may or may not be your problem. Wouldn't hurt to drop the pan, and see if they aren't gunked up. Might be just that simple.

 

can you point me in the right direction to a thread that explains how to do that or something. Im very mechanically inclined. so if you just tell me where its at, what it looks like, and how to know if its faulty or not i could probably do it myself(i hope) thanks!

 

Ever done a trans service? Quick, painless (relatively speaking...) and easy. Drop the trans pan, careful, the fluid likes to come out all at once...... have a big drain pain under there.... remove the filter, inspect. See anything rude? Pray..... No? Governor pressure sensor and solenoid will be on the bottom of the valve body. Easy to see. Two separate pieces, the other two solenoids that share a mounting bracket, are O/D, and TCC, don't worry about those. Pull the governor stuff, and have a look. Sludge likes to accumulate there, and they quit working the way they are supposed to. I think there is a write up in the faq section for how to clean them as well. Might even be pics.

You will need a filter kit. (like ten bucks...) and six quarts of fluid. (20 bucks or more.... ATF +4 ONLY!)

 

Ive never done any service to the tranny. i wanted to change out the fluid in it not long ago, but was told by my local mechanic that by doing that, i could make the kick in over drive worse and could actually ruin the transmission because the dirt gets clogged up in the cooling lines.. so uh, before i go ape **** on my transmission, something ive never touched before, should i just replace the TPS? theres no easy way to do this is there? hahaha

 

Probably referring to the check valve... not a bad idea to just make that go away.... you can drill it out, clean the line out nicely, and reinstall, or, you can just replace it with a length of trans hose, and a couple clamps...... (less than five bucks.)

Don't just blindly replace the TPS, unless it tests bad. Need an analog meter (with the needle) to test it properly.

Yeah, there IS the possibility of the problem getting worse...... but, that's always going to be a problem..... but, there is a possibility of fixing it for cheap too. It's a crap shoot. You would kick yourself if you sold it cheap because of trans problems, and it turned out to be easy, but, if it doesn't help, you can still sell it with trans problems.... be up front about that please... Some folks won't mind, and will buy it anyway, others, may not be able to afford to fix it, as they just blew their wad buying the truck.