Another issue in the ongoing saga of this POS truck. Today the transmission started acting weird--hanging in 1st gear and a mushy shift to second and an occasional refusal to shift into OD. Checked the fluid, still pink, not burned but about a quart low. Filled with a quart of ATF+4 and it seems fine again. I just rechecked it, and again, it was low, only about 45 minutes later. Added another 1/2 quart to full and we'll see what happens.

I've already had the pan down once, and I know that the little band tensioning thingy (kind of wedge shaped--see below) probably fell out again, but the transmission has been shifting perfectly for more than 6000 miles now. I know I'm on borrowed time, but where is the fluid going? No major leaks (just some seepage from the transfer case, which is separate). Is a late, mushy 1-2 shift a symptom of this tensioning wedge going missing? I thought it was for the reverse band and I still have reverse...



On a hunch that perhaps the cooler was leaking into the radiator, I checked the radiator, and found that even though I filled it a few weeks ago, including the overflow bottle, the bottle is now empty. Pulling the cap shows that the radiator is full (revving it drops the level), and I have plenty of heat. Again, where is the coolant going?!?

I ran a head gasket test with a fluid tester on the radiator and it came back clean. I also changed the oil on Saturday, and no milkshake action, so I'm 98% sure the head gasket is fine and no cracked head. No coolant leaks that I can find, either (are there some common places to look that wouldn't leave a puddle?).

Another #*$@ing mystery problem with my Dodge. I love the truck one day and despise it the next. Urgh! Although it has only 70K on it, someone before me must have royally abused this thing. And I'm the dumb SOB who bought it.

Thanks for letting me vent and any advice is, as always, much appreciated.

 

Well automatic Transmissions hold a TON of fluid. It is easy to work on a trans with no fluid it in, then when filling it up just shift through the gears a few times and when it says its full, think its good to go. But really after just driving it around a little bit it moves the fuid around into all the crevices, and when you check it again its low and appears its leaking somewhere. If you top it off a few more times and its still low, then I would start looking for a leak. Make sure not to overfill though

 

you know that you have to check your fluid when its warm. put your foot on the brake and run it through all the gears.
i would also check to make sure that all the bolts are tight on the pan.