I now have my second Dodge ever, the last one was a 1957 Dodge with a push button transmission, great car ran like a tank.

Now I have a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 with 5.9 automatic. Bought used with 167,000 miles. Looks good, no rust and sounds good, for the most part drives good. BTW it is a sport model which I doubt makes any difference.

Was doing a test drive tonight after changing oil and filter. I was trying to feel how many times it shifted, believe it is a 3 speed and 4th is OD? Anyway, OD light was not on and I feel certain I was doing 55mph and the tach was at 1500. I pushed in the OD button, the OD light came on and didn't notice a difference in shifting or tach RPM. I stopped and took off and it seemed to be just a little faster tach (maybe 2000) at 55 mph. I thought it should be more RPM difference. After a stop sign I pressed the OD button and the light went off (which I think means I am in OD). Now at 55 MPH I am doing 3000 RPM!!! No matter what I do with the OD button, on or off, I am now doing 3000 rpm at 55 MPH.

Any ideas, I know there are some sensors for heat, but the OD lights does work and it is not on. Actually what I understand is when the light is on, the OD (no fourth) is off and you only have 3 speeds. Also I hooked up code reader and didn't get any error codes.

 

3000 rpm at 55 mph - OD is not kicking on. Light ON meand OD is turned off.

If you go to the FAQ/DIY section you can download the service manual. Trans section is pretty good. Some reason, the OD solenoid is not engaging. Check trans fluid and see if it is full (check in neutral). See if it is clean and does it smell burned?

 

Thanks, that is what I thought, when light is off I should have an overdrive or 4th gear. I use to have another similar non Dodge truck and that was the way it worked, in fact you could go down the road and press the button and feel an immediate effect. Dodge doesn't do that. Should the Dodge do the same?

Sometimes I wonder if it even shifts out of second? The only shift I really feel is around 25 - 35mph depending on acceleration. If I go slow it is a nice easy shift and if giving a lot of gas, as expected it is more forceful, but no slipping or long shifting. Never feel another shift nor does the tach show what a shift should look like.

I have looked and smelled fluid and all was good. Didn't know about checking in N and will do that tomorrow. I am not very good with computers, I did find a FAQ, but nothing about DIY or there wasn't anything in the FAQ.

Did find out when it was cold, first started up and run, I go about two blocks and stop at a sign. Engine idles up, transmission jerks and engine dies. Doesn't do that when warm, might be related.

Hope that guy didn't screw me over on the Dodge.

 

3000 RPM @ 55 sounds like 2nd gear. Mine running @ 55, is only about 2200 RPM with 33" tires and 3.90 gears.

 

Yes it was second gear. I did some playing with shifting lever and that is what it ran in second and didn't change when shifting to D. I could force it to shift if I kept going from D to 2 and back to D a couple times. Checked fluid and it was low, I had some Lucas ATF conditioner on a shelf, so put that in. Now doing much better. Doing about 1500 RPM at 55MPH, 2000RPM at about 72 MPH. Push in OD and it did shift down and push off shifted back up.

I did pull the AT dip stick and looked at fluid, smelled fluid, but did not check in N before purchasing. Did notice a wet AT pan prior to purchasing, but all the wet was below the gasket. I have cleaned that off, just barely snug the bolts (about half were loose) and watching for new leaks. Hopefully all is okay.

The engine oil was at an okay level, but I changed it and the filter. I may change out the ATF and filter, it is suppose to hold 21 pints, but only part of that will be in pan, do you know how to get the toque converter and all drained?

Kind of strange, had vehicle two days. At Caseys putting gas in today, this guy was watching me, finely came up and he use to be the owner of the truck. He actually bought it from a family member. I am the fourth owner, he sold it about 18 month ago to the guy I bought it from. We only have around 300,000 people in the county. Also, the original owners are only about 4 miles away- strange.

 

GDSTOCK, FYI I did luck out and founf diy and manuals, it was right in front of me, thanks.

 

Great. The transmission section is very good and very descriptive with good troubleshooting.