so my tranny started doing this thing the other day where im driving through town maybe 35mph or less and the o/d light will come on and the rpms will shoot up for a sec and then itll go off and go back to the right gear. then today, not even that fast it did it again but then stayed on and it through me back into first i think...like it would if it went into limp mode, it stayed on for maybe a mile then went off and drive fine and i parked in my driveway...anyway home now, im thinkin do i need to get my governor replaced...AGAIN and this time around the overdrive solenoid maybe. I mean, i know sometimes i've heard itll do this if the trans is overheating..but come on going 20-30 not pulling anything and full of fluid. Maybe a cooler line got clogged. doesnt seem to do this right away, maybe 10-20 mins into my drive...

 

Have you removed the check valve in the trans cooler line yet?

Usually, the trans temp light should come on before the PCM dumps you out of O/D, and turns on the light. (at least, I think it works that way on the 96-97 trucks...)

Do you get any codes?

 

i didnt get any codes...no i tried a few times to see if it would get mad enough to throw one...no luck. i got a code weeks ago about a transmission solenoid b short, but thats been off now for about a month. tranny shifts fine and in and out of overdrive. Its been doing this now that i think about it, everytime im almost home, which is on steep hill? I dont believe the check valve has been removed, at least i havent done it, but it is a rebuilt tranny, so i might check if its still there. where is it? i wasnt really focusing on the cluster when it was doing it as much as the o/d light, to notice if the temp light was on, although i've never seen it come on before...

 

I am not even sure my truck even HAS that particular light. I have never seen it at least..... not sure where it should be.

PCM will disable O/D on it's own if it sees trans temp getting to high. I suspect that is what is happening to you.

Check valve will be at the end of the steel line coming from the trans, going to the radiator. Right near the frame rail at the front, passenger side of the engine. That lines goes to the lower fitting on the radiator. There are a couple threads about eliminating it in the DIY section, with pics of what it looks like. Reason I ask is: the check valve is notorious for gumming up, and restricting flow thru the cooler. So, trans overheats, PCM disables O/D..... (which is why I asked about the trans temp lite. It *should* come on shortly before the truck drops out of O/D.....)

Might be a plugged up check valve, might be a flaky temp sensor, or, might just be a bad connection at the PCM.... Probably wouldn't hurt to pull the connectors there, and give 'em a good cleaning.

 

decided just to take it in cause it blew 3 codes at once and i had had it with it. well they looked at it for idk a few minutes after i left and discovered it will 2 and some change quarts low on tranny fluid...hmm ya that might **** it off. so im gonna check for leaks this week. im mad i didnt check that haha. well my mechanic only charged me for the quarts and nothing else. for now its working fine now, will see how it goes.

 

so ya been putting a piece of cardboard under the tranny pan to try and track where any drips might be coming from. anyway last few days it dripped 2-3 tiny drops throughout the work day. i think its poolin somewhre and drips eventually. but i guess its not that much but after a few months or so, it might add up to a few quarts which it did. any pointers for where this be leaking. the gasket seems to be intact, its been on there 7k.

 

Clean everything off really well, then give it a couple days, and have a look. See if anything seems obvious.

 

good idea will do

 

so as i looked down there and cleaned off a few things, its hard to pin point wheres its coming from. its obviously coming from the pan seal but where its the question. Anyway is there anything i can add around the seal to reseal it. its a fairly new gasket. i'm not really into additives so much, but if you have any suggestions let me know. it also leaked a bit from the transfer case argh. if there isnt any reasonable solutions, i guess ill be servicing it yet again

 

Not from the outside..... You could pull the pan, goop it up, and reinstall it.... maybe one of the nice rubber gaskets? If it is trans fluid (don't recall....) make sure the bolt holes aren't dimpled. (comes from over-torquing the bolts....) that will make it seep for sure.