OK so I bought a 1 owner extremely clean and cared for 1995 dodge pickup 2500 gas v8 5.9 2wd with only 80k miles on it. Only thing, 2nd gear doesn't work well or shift at all. Something metal broke off bigger around the size of your thumb (1st knuckle down to the nail) came out the pan when he did a flush. Since ive driven it all hiway no burn or metal shavings in pan or on tranny dipstick. So far im getting lucky as hell to keep getting to work. Now my biggest concerns with making this dodge a beautiful truck again and run like it should with under a 100k miles on. Lots of life for any truck left I would say. Now my biggest concern is my lack of funds at this point. Its been a rough year and if any of you reading this has lost a son or daughter then you know when i say its been a hell of a year i truly mean it.... but anyways this dodge has been the only silver lining even if it's a 95, everything works and is almost perfect condition besides the transmission. Now I'm going to have to crawl under there and take a look at the tranny numbers now that I've read some of these threads. Now mine is 2wd and was manufactured in February of 1995 its the set Laramie edition power windows and all that and cruise control... so I'm wondering if it's going to be the 46re just because of the cruise control feature and all the electronics in this truck. From what you guys are saying on here 46re is the better and more available option to find in New or used condition. Now I have never ripped into a transmission past the pan.... but if that piece that broke off litterally only affected 2nd gear and all other gears work and shift.... wouldn't that be only 1 of 2 things if you were to guess.
1
Wouldn't it either be the anchor strut piece thing that actually sits on the band?
2
could it be the kickdown band?

With my limited experience with dodge and transmissions any and all advice on what my best bet going forward would be appreciated big time. Any tips tricks or things to look at when searching for a new transmission, now this is my only vehicle and gets me to and from work everyday right now. I do have a huge shop with almost any tool at my disposal.

Now my last question would be for anyone who has lost 2nd gear, everything else shifts fine no clunks or vibrations dodge tranny just lost 2nd....

Is it possible for me to get inside the tranny and take a look and see if it's the kickdown band or if it's a anchor strut or whatever the technical name for it is. If it were one of those 2 issues for sure... is it possible to replace either of those parts without pulling the transmission?

Obviously if it's a big chore for someone who has worked on almost everything but a transmission then i would immediately move towards buying a used one to keep my moving along and then rebuilding the original transmission coming out of it hoping that a used one works for a couple months.

I'm sorry guys I tried my best to explain all that i know of the truck after talking with the owner who bought it off the showroom floor in 95. So it's his word and then how I word it to you guys, not a whole lot of info to go off of but I tried gents best I could. Any help or ideas of what you think I should do next. To fix the truck the right way down the road but for now more importantly keep me going to work each day.

 

Likely a band anchor, or strut. If they aren't adjusted regularly, this can happen. The band itself won't fall out on it's own, if it does, you have bigger problems. Should be able to drop the pan, and see exactly what is missing, replace it, adjust the bands, and be good to go.

 

So in theory if it was litterally just that band anchor strut, I should be able to drop the pan and get a look in there to confirm... now if it is the strut and it's only affecting 2nd and there are no other metals or issues with the transmission at all. I should be able to identify that strut is gone missing broke, whatever. Then get my *** to Napa and get a strut go back to the shop and put this strut in.
Then I would adjust the bands make sure there all torqued where they should be and then be putting my pan back on filling trans fluid and technically if it were that simple I should have 2nd gear and all should be fine for a moment correct?

Is pulling the pan include having to remove that valve body and other things in that transmission or can i work around that to get to that strut anchor?

I guess a simpler question would be if I'm a half mentally challenged Marine who loves to eat crayons lol who knows his way around a vehicle and handy mechanical to a decent point but I've never torn into any transmission to replace or even look around at any parts in there. I guess simply do you think a guy with all the right tools and shop could start this on a Friday and get it either fixed and good to go for Monday? Or atleast not make it any worse and be able to put it back together and be back to work like normal with no 2nd gear?
When some of you guys are talking about transmissions on here it's like holy hell I'm so lost but it's nice to see so many guys like me to have a forum or group to go to for help. Just want to say thanks again man

 

Should be able to see what's up just by dropping the pan. Theoretically, you can change/fix both, without having to drop the valve body, just gotta be creative. Front band can be tricky though, rear is easy.

 

Is it odd that only 2nd gear is having a issue or am i just getting lucky that something else hasnt happened, yet? Let me guess 2nd gear ties into the front band? Before I start googling might as well ask you if you know. Is there any thing else I would need to do if it is just that strut anchor? Or am I over complicating it by over thinking it cause it's a transmission...

 

Well, so far as I am concerned, automatic transmissions are Black Magic. Spin one end, and it comes out the other, faster, slower, or the other direction.... anything that happens in between? Black Magic.

Band adjustment is supposed to be a maintenance item every 30K or so. Unfortunately, transmissions are one of the most neglected parts of any vehicle. In your case, it *should* be an easy fix...... Drop the pan, have a look, see what you find. Have a filter kit handy and 6 quarts or so of ATF +4.

 

I think I'll tear the pan off this morning at work in the shop and take a look, if I can just throw a anchor strut in and use the old band still that would be amazing. I guess I'll find out in a few hours when I tear into it. If it gets deeper then just the strut I will be back on here cause every other shop has told me time to get a rebuilt in there. I don't have the money to do that right now so a anchor or even a slip over band as of now seems like it will get me through a couple months to save up for a new tranny.

Thank you so much. If there is anything else i might need to do before I tear into this? Seems simple I'm hoping it really is. It would be my first big break this year and boy could I really use a win today.

 

It doesn't have any shimmer shake or grind when shifting any of the other gears absolutely nothing. If I start off in 1st and get it to about 30 32 to 3500 rpms and let off till the r's drop to about a grand then i can reengange the gas and she shift beautiful the rest of the drive. Other then that transmission was fine. Every day it has 2 hard take offs to skip 2nd 1 to get on the hiway to work then 1 from work to get home. Other then that it runs at 50 55 65 70 even 80 completely fine no issues when it needs power going up the hills in Montana. So I'm really hoping this strut can be replaced and boom I have 2nd gear.