First off, I don't own a Dodge pickup... Anymore. I had a D250 back in the day. That's what started my Mopar/V8 addiction. I'm over here because Jeep guys have been using this site for information on the 360 Magnum/ 46RE combo for a long time. We only got about 15,000 Jeeps with that combo. I own one of them.

I won't get upset if this gets deleted or moved or removed or something. You guys tend to know a whole lot more about this than the Jeep people, though.

Symptoms:

• OD engages right at 45 mph on flat ground, like it's supposed to
• When coasting at 45-50 mph, if I hit the gas just a little, the rpms drop by several hundred and the Jeep actually decelerates. It "bogs out."
• Releasing the little bit of gas described above makes the rpms jump about 200-300 over where it was when I was coasting.
• When coasting at 45-50 mph, giving it >50% throttle behaves just like I'd expect--it drops down a gear and takes off.
• Start up is normal.
• Shifts are smooth.
• At any speeds other than 45-50 mph, it behaves just like I'd expect.

Actions taken:

• Adjusted TV cable. Like 5 times. That thing is spot on.
• Cleaned the TB, IAC, and checked the TPS as per the FSM.
• Checked the fluid in the transmission. Looks pristine. Smells delicious. PO told me that he changed it right before selling it to me. He was a piece of crap, though, so who knows.

Thoughts:

• OD solenoid/lock up solenoid crapped out on me.
• 02 sensors? I know they do all sorts of weird stuff when they start to go.
• Vacuum leak? Plenum gasket? There's no oil visible with the TB removed, but I know that loss of power is often associated with a bad plenum.

Really, if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't notice it. Maybe I'm just used to the buttery smoothness of the 545rfe. Any input from people who know what the they're doing?

 

Actually, it sounds like everything is working as it should.... just the timing is a bit off. I would still wonder about the TPS though, as that sounds a lot like a TPS problem.... You can't really test them with a digital meter.... they don't react fast enough, and just a minor deviation over the range in question will give you bizarre results.

Got an analog meter?

 

No... Just a digital one from HF. A really good analog multimeter is almost as much as a Mopar TPS. Maybe I'll just buy both of them.

I still suspect it has something to do with the OD circuit, though. With OD off, none of the symptoms show themselves. When the TPS went bad in my 4.7, there were problems all of the time.

A new TPS is something that I'd be willing to buy, just out of principle. Mines going to go bad eventually if it hasn't already.

 

Would be nice to know if it were indeed bad though.... I hate just throwing parts at something until it actually fixes it.....

To me though, it really sounds like a tps problem..... Bear in mind, I have been wrong before though.

 

Somebody mentioned that the computer needs to relearn and fine-tune shift points every time the ECM is reset, much like it has to relearn idle. I've reset it just about once a week since I've owned the Jeep (it's become a ritual--every Saturday morning half of the engine is out on the sidewalk and I'm fixing something). I know that our computers are essentially the same on OBDII models (totally different on OBDI), although they're not quite interchangeable. Do you have any insight as far as the computer is concerned?

 

Many changes between 97 to 98, some possible changes from 99 to 00... Though I don't think the PCM is actually any different... On the 98 and up trucks though, if the PCM VIN doesn't match what the ABS, and SRS think it should be, neither system will work. (and the lights will stay on....)

 

Great post.

I have both a 46RE in a 98 Ram and a 545RFE in a 2004 Dakota (and a 727 in 201 Dakota but we won't go there). Your 46RE sounds like mine, love it while on the gas, hate it just rolling along with the OD on. Damn thing has a mind of it's own. Recently it was really acting strange...Monday the fuel pump went out, installed a new pump and all the "tranny symptoms" went away.

02 sensors can play with a transmission, even put it in limp mode...First thing I did when I bought my Ram was replace al lthe fluids/filters and every sensor & solenoid on the truck whether it needed it or not.

FYI...2001 Dakota with the 727 has a 950HP on it, I can only deal with so many sensors/solenoids at one time.

 

Find a good Simpson in a pawn shop. Like this

Holy cow! Those things are from $250 to $300+ on e-bay! (maybe I should sell one!)/

You can also adjust the pressure up slightly in the VB and alter that OD shift point.