I'm pretty new to the forum, so i was wondering if you guys could help me. I just received a 1996 dodge ram 1500 4x4 5.2 from my uncle because he didn't want to mess around with the transmission that he thought was going out. It just revs up and up in 2nd gear until i let off the gas and feather it into 3rd. After that I'll put my foot on the gas and It'll shift back down and then i have to feather it back in. Then it will stay in gear and it will drive just fine. I was planning on doing a complete fluid change but I'm not sure on how to go about it. Any help would be appreciated

 

go ahead and do the fluid change. see if you have any "presents" in the pan.

sounds to me like the TV cable is out of adjustment. adjust cable per manual.

 

You might be looking at a new transmission, but since those are the biggest most expensive common problems for these trucks to have you still got a helluva deal.

What I'd do:

1. Delete the anti-drainback check valve in the cooling line. (Personally, I recommend replacing it with a remote filter.)
2. Check the electrical connections very, very carefully. Repair as needed.
3. Drop the pan and look at what's in it. If it's metal shavings, stop here and rebuild the thing. Or replace it with a PATC Mega Viper. If it's just varnish and the gray sludge of shed friction material, continue.
4. Adjust the bands. Don't be afraid of that job, but do be sure to use the correct tools and pay careful attention to the instructions in the fine manual.
5. Replace the governor pressure regulator and solenoid.
6. Consider stuffing a drain plug into the pan while it's off, because it'll keep you from swimming in ATF later on.
7. Install your new transmission filter and button 'er up.
8. Adjust the throttle valve ("TV") cable per the manual.
9. Clean the cooler(s) out front with that cool canned transmission cooler cleaner and some compressed air. 30PSI is fine, 90PSI might cause problems, so screw that regulator to lower pressure before you go at it.
10. Don't start the engine yet. Just fill the pan until it reads full on the dipstick.
11. Up front, either just ahead of that shiny new remote filter you should have installed, or at the end of that cheap-guy hose you used in place of the check valve, hook some clear tubing. Secure it to the rim of a big bucket so you can see the stream of fluid that will come out.
12. Open the tops on at least eight quarts of ATF+4 and get them handy, with your transmission funnel in place, and a helper behind the wheel.
13. Helper starts the engine and shifts through the quadrants, lingering about ten seconds in each, ending in in Drive. (Helper also stands on the brake pedal just to give his right foot somewhere to be that isn't the accelerator.)
14. Meanwhile, you pour ATF into the thing at about the same rate it's being pumped out. It won't break anything to run a tad low on ATF at this point, but you want to ensure that the pump isn't starved by the filter sucking air.
15. When the color of the ATF being pumped out is that of the new fluid rather than the old nasty crap, helper shuts the engine off.
16. Reconnect that cooling line.
17. Top up the transmission as normal.
18. Run the engine at idle until normal operating temperature is reached, top up again if necessary after shifting through the quadrants.

Then take the thing for a spin. If your shifts are hosed up, you just wasted time, parts, and fluids on a hopeless transmission. If instead it's working fine, plan on doing that full fluid change as described above in about 12,000 miles if you installed the remote filter, half that if you didn't.


Here's why the remote filter is so vital: Chances are that the fluid you're replacing was spent and in need of replacement long ago, so it has essentially zero solvent action left. Without that solvent action, gum and varnish and clutch friction material do not stay in suspension to be filtered out, and instead stick to every surface that'll have 'em. When you add in that nice new ATF with its brand new solvent capacity, all of that crap is going to be lifted from its former resting places. You don't really want to pump it all out to the ATF cooler(s) where it can hang and clog the works.


Or you could just stay WTF and buy a Mega Viper. I would!

 

Awesome stuff. I need this manual which you refer to...

 

if i do a by-pass filter system for my transmission, can i use any "oil" bypass system? or does it have to be specifically for transmission oil?

 

Hmmm... I suppose it depends upon whether or not the filter medium is suitable for use with ATF. I don't know what you'd gain by using a bypass filter, though. The ATF isn't contaminated by combustion gases, ash, a heavy breathing PCV... Care to enlighten me?

 

The 2001 factory service manual is in the FAQ/DIY section somewhere. The CD-ROM version of a manual for your specific year can be had for about $35 from several online vendors, or way too much from Tech Authority.

 

excuse me, what i meant to say was remote system. lol

 

In that case, just about any old inline remote oil filter setup will do. The Derale transmission kit is probably cheaper than the engine oil remote kits because it doesn't come with a spin-on adapter, but the rest is the same.

 

Well, i just changed the fluid today and the filter was clogged beyond belief. I drove it and it did the same thing as usual. I messed up on my thread, it was between 1st and 2nd gear. i'm planning on replacing the governor pressure solenoid and see what'll do. Should i replace the governor pressure sensor with it too?