Hi, new to the forum and owning dodges, used to be a Ford guy but I have always loved dodge engines and the way gen 2's look so I decided to buy one after my last truck got to bad to keep maintaining. Introductions out of the way (and showing my limited knowledge of dodge trucks) I'm having issues with the transmission fully engaging drive under certain conditions. These are...

- idles for to long, the idle will drop bellow 1k and the truck will start shaking a bit, when this happens the engine will Rev up really fast after out into drive but the vehicle will jerk forward and won't go fully into drive untill it has moved about 100 feet

- going from reverse into drive sometimes neutral locks it and putting gas to the vehicle just revs the engine, going neutral to drive agian always fixes the issue

Now I don't know if this is normal or not. I am making sure the break is fully pressed before I shift and my friend who owns a 07 says his sometimes fails to go into drive but it's very rare and he doesn't have the issue with it not fully engaging.

My vehicle is a 99 1500 with a 5.2l 4x4.

Vehicle was very well maintained by previous owner who bought it new and had it taken to shops for all maintenance. I changed the engine oil 600 miles ago and it has not changed color one bit on a 170k mile engine.

I fear he may have thrown regular ATF in as 3 years ago he had the fluid changed and he had only put a little under 600 miles on it since then untill I bought it. Up untill 4 years ago he had always had it services at a dealer and I had personally seen the giant stack of papers to prove it going all the way back to 2000,but the last 4 years he owned it he started taking to to his friends son for cheaper work (fluids and breaks). Is it possible it was filled with regular ATF or topped off with it? Or is it more likely my transmission is just going out? Thank you for any Comments I receive!

 

Figure out your idle issues first. When fully warmed, in neutral, should idle between 650-800 RPM, closer to the bottom of the range in gear. Also, keep in mind, the pump on the trans does not charge the torque converter in park. If the check valve in the cooler line is still there, not so much of an issue, but, they generally go by the wayside, as they tend to cause issues as well. If it ISN'T there, then the converter will empty if it sits a few hours in park. So, delayed engagement first start of the day, or, if it has been sitting for a while, isn't a surprise. (if the check valve IS still there, you want to get rid of it. It is just in front of the motor, passenger side, on the trans line leading to the lower fitting of the radiator. Right where the line transitions from steel to rubber.)

Last time it had a tuneup? Has the plenum been repaired? (sticky thread at the top of the forum all about the plenum problem, good reading material for ya. )

 

Hmm, I thought that was the idle messing up but if it's supposed to be between 600-800 when warm then I'm having problems fully engaging drive when it's warmed up, cause if I go to drive after idle drops, it takes a bit before it fully engages (drags and jerk untill you hear a audible click) but if it goes into gear before its warmed up its fine. Also once the vehicle is in drive and I have driven more then 100 feet or so, their are no issues at the whole rest of the drive. So all the issues are tied to 1st engagement of drive after start up (or going reverse to drive). Would your suggestion fix this issue? I will check after work and update.

 

One problem at a time. Deal with the idle first, and see if you still have trans issues. Most of the time, if the engine runs good, but, the trans is still problematic, it's the electronics that cause it.