Hello. I am new to posting on forums but not new to researching the internet. I will try to be detailed without giving too much unnecessary info. Have not found a similar issue to mine.

1997 ram 1500 5.2(318) 4x4 with the 46re trans approximately 188k miles. Bought it a few months back seemed to shift and drive good during test drive bit sluggish but I was crediting that to the 318 in a full size extended cab truck.

Anyways got it home fixed a bunch of little front end and body work before I really started driving it. While I was fixing the little stuff I saw the tv cable was completely disconnected (probably why it didn’t downshift going up hills very well). Hooked it up and adjusted it according to a Jasper how to video I found on YouTube. Made it have much more power and downshifted better. But brought up another issue.

main issue I am addressing here is now the truck will not upshift after downshifting going up hill. It shifts fine on flat ground through all gears but when going up hill you try to kick it down to accelerate it will kick down into passing gear but will not shift back up.

i have scoured the inter webs and most people refer to the few sensors you can replace under the pan. Sensors, pan gasket, filter and atf fluid will run me $200-250 in my area I’m not convinced this is the issue and do not want to spend 200 dollars and then have to spend another $1500-2000 for a rebuild. I am not made of money.

note tranny fluid does smell burnt. I am very handy and can do almost anything when it comes to repairs on a vehicle but this is the first dodge and first auto vehicle I have ever owned and I will take the tranny out myself but take it to a tranny shop for the rebuild if that is the issue.

My question is does this symptoms of downshifting uphill and then not shifting back up until I completely let off the gas sound like sensors or does it sound like a rebuild. Like I stated above shifts through all gears under easy/flat driving conditions.

Thanks ahead of time for any help or information you provide.

 

The TV cable being disconnected is most certainly suspicious..... Think I would disconnect it from both ends, and make sure the cable can move freely. Next up, I would make sure the return spring was actually in place down at the trans.

 

Tv Cable moves-freely and dose not stick in any position. I sprayed it just to be safe. Also the Spring is in place. The cable retracts while it is disconnected and does not have unordinary “end play” (lack of a better term).

I agree... very strange the cable was disconnected along with the only hill I had to go up the guy was telling me to step on it to feel it’s get up and go (more like get a run for the hill so you don’t notice it won’t downshift). If I would of been more savvy on auto trannys I would of found this cable disconnected.

I am not too upset because I got a good Deal on the truck and the motor is sound and the body is in awesome shape for being in NW Pennsylvania.

major fear is that I take it to a tranny shop they say I need a rebuild even if I don’t bc they wanna make money. Or worse yet.... take it there they say you need the sensors I change them pay the 200 for parts and that not work then pay them to rebuild the tranny. It’s just odd it shifts fine on flat road. I do not deal with mechanics very often bc I do my own work. During college my girlfriend(now wife) needed to take her car in for tranny work and $3k later they decided she needed a new torque converter which is what I suggested As a potential problem from the get go.

 

Hhhmmmm... are there any codes? Or pending codes? O/D is just the PCM grounding a solenoid, that supplies pressure to the o/d clutches...... Normally, if the PCM commands O/D, and doesn't get it, it will whine about it. There are circumstances where the PCM will NOT engage O/D, even when you are going fast enough though. If engine load is high enough, or trans temp is high enough, O/D won't engage. Unfortunately, trans temp will prevent O/D, before it will prompt the PCM to turn on the trans temp lite in the dash.....

Of course, I have also seen occasions when trans codes WON'T turn on the check engine light......

 

No dash lights. Other then a flickering 4wd light I got to track down a vacuum leak for.

no issues with OD when running down the road. Just kicking down a gear it stays in that gear reving up. I have to let off the gas and slow down in order to get it to shift back up. Then to go again I hit the gas it will downshift and rev up then I let off and it shifts back up. It’s a very annoying cycle.

 

Maybe a fluid and filter change, and band adjustment is in order? That may or may not help...... Changing electronics likely wouldn't make any difference either, if the trans operates normally otherwise......

 

My understanding is the sensors are for pressure. Which Increases with rpm which in turn tell it to shift Pointing me In that direction. correct me if I’m wrong.

I do need a fluid change due to it smelling slightly burnt and my pan gasket is leaking. But if I need a tranny I’ll just get it rebuilt and not wAste the $200. Just trying to get answers before I go that route.

is there any tranny that would bolt in that would be stronger then the 46re or any parts in the stock tranny to beef it up a bit?

 

It's my understanding that you can take all the guts out of a 47, or 48RE trans, and transplant them into the 46 case. (the other two have different bellhousing bolt patterns, that don't fit the v-8 engines.)

Yep, PCM controls those pressures though, pays attention to engine load, engine rpm, trans output speed, and likely vehicle speed as well. (and probably several other things......) But, in the end, it's the PCM that decides when to engage O/D. Need to know if it is trying to, and if it is, why it isn't happening, and if it isn't, what does it think is amiss, that it ISN'T doing it.

 

okay thanks for the info. Maybe someone will see this and tell me they had the same symptoms and let me know their solution. That was my hopes in posting this on here ( I know wishful thinking). Most likely I’ll take it to a transmission shop and see what their diagnosis is I just hate throwing money at something I THINK is the issue. I have very little faith in my local shops. For example I had to explain to the local dodge garage how to trouble shoot an e brake issue I was having with my daily it was under warranty and I took it there 3 times with the same issue that I told them the exact problem the first time.

 

Any transmission shop will likely tell you "It needs rebuilt." regardless of what the problem is, as a rebuild will *probably* fix it.... (the shotgun approach is kinda like that.....)

I do remember another thread of this nature, not so very long ago.... (last six months or so??? Maybe longer) My google-fu isn't being real helpful today though..... and I can't remember what the fix was....... I think for him, it was the TV cable mess up in some fashion.