Hello everyone I've been reading dodge forums for years and a member for a few months and have to say, the information on this site has saved me endless time and money and appreciate all of you guys sharing your knowledge and experience with us.
Now that that is out of the way, I hope someone out there might be able to help me with a unique transmission issue with my 97 1500 2wd 5.9 v8 auto. I've searched high and low and found similar but not exactly the same issues. What is going on is, after I start the engine i put it in drive, the gears engage and i start accelerating. About 10 seconds in the transmission begins to slip which gradually gets worse in the following 10 seconds until it is as if I'm in neutral, it it stays in this "out of gear" state until i turn the key off then start it again and the sequence starts over. At the time I felt like i didn't have much to loose being stuck on the side of the road with no money and a dead cell phone so i managed to get it home by putting it in neutral shutting the engine off and back on again progressively going faster each time and after a long stress filled ride i made it home. To me it seems like the pump is turning off after i get going.
Here are some details that might help.
1.Everything is normal operation until i move including fluid level
2.It shifts from gear to gear perfectly fine before the slipping starts
3.Once it disengages nothing will make it re engage except restarting
4.It will re engage immediately after the off on trick
4.If i leave it running after it disengages the fluid level is high in neutral
5.No codes, no temp light
It seems like a lot of the usual suspects are ruled out by the fact that at some point everything works great so I assume nothing is broken, and the fact that i can essentially "reset" it makes me think it is a control or command issue. If i can answer any other questions that might help figure this out let me know, I am relatively mechanical and know my way around an engine but have never messed with transmissions other than removing or installing one so any suggestions would be very helpful.

 

Try this trick:

Disconnect the 8 pin connector, on the drivers side of the trans, toward the rear of the valve body. (it comes down into the top of the valve body.) Take the truck for a test drive. Keep in mind, you will have zero automatic function, and the CEL will more than likely come on as well. Drive gently, starting in first, and shift thru all the gears. (at appropriate speeds....) You will not have Overdrive, or torque converter clutch engagement, so, don't go far, just drive it enough to see if the symptoms appear in the 'electronics disabled' state.

If the trans shifts ok, when you tell it to, and doesn't start slipping, you just have some sensor issues, that can be fixed for under 200 bucks. Pick up a filter/gasket kit, six quarts of ATF +4, and the borg-warner heavy duty governor pressure solenoid, and sensor. (available on Ebay for right about 100 bucks.) Change those out, and you should have a working trans again.

Now, on the other hand..... if it still exhibits the same behavior..... it's time for a rebuild.

 

Thanks for the reply I'll give it a try as soon as i get home from work and let you know how it responds. Is there anything other than the governor solenoid and sensor that might cause this type of behavior?

 

When was the last time the filter was changed? Sounds like it is clogged and starving the pump.

 

I would drop the pan, maybe you are lucky and the filter media is just ripped or something

If the pump is starving for fluid, you should hear a growling or other sort of noise like your power steering pump on full lock.

I had this problem with my 94 truck about 8 years ago, it was a clogged filter. Problem was that the filter was clogged due to the trans coming apart inside. I did manage to get about 8k more out of the truck by changing fluid and filter a couple of times though.

 

Not necessarily, I had a A500 with a bad od unit that clogged the filter with debris after about a week. It would barely move but made no noise. Test line pressure and it was way low. Replace the filter and you where good for another week. Eventually got it rebuilt.

 

I have an issue that is similar but it is worse in Reverse. When I first start the truck in the morning and after warm up I put the truck in reverse and it doesn't seem to want to move. I give it some gas and it will start to creep and backup. Now if i rev the engine a little before putting reverse it seems to back up better. After driving for a bit the truck backs up just fine.

Anyone seen anything like this before?

 

Someone already delete the check valve in the trans cooler line? If so, that's pretty standard. I just put the truck in neutral for a moment, before actually trying to move. (torque converter actually fills in neutral, but, doesn't in park.)

 

It may whine also, There was tsb about this issue. Have to dismantle the trans to install the updated parts.

 

Sounds like putting into neutral for a little bit is the way I'm going to go. HeyYou, then that kind of makes sense why i don't have the problem at all for hte rest of the day. Just after she has sat for a while.

Thanks again fellas.