The background...sorry its long.

A few years ago I took my truck into a trans shop to get the fluid changed. The truck had just under 120k kms on it at the time. I asked how the old fluid looked and they said everything was fine, no particles. I was curious because the guy I bought the truck from was towing a fifth wheel with it.

Last april the trans suddenly went into limp mode (failsafe) and threw a code. solenoid. I took it to a different trans shop this time to get it fixed and this guy took it all apart and said it needs a rebuild. lots of metal shavings, etc. he showed me the shavings so I believed him and rebuilt the trans. the truck had just under 205k kms on it now.

I had a transgo tfod hd2 shift kit at home that I was going to sell but since this happened I figured its a good time to put it in. I got the truck back and right away it starts going into failsafe again. I take it back and he blames the shift kit for making the pressure too high. This happened a few times over the next 3 weeks or so, and I had to keep bringing the truck back to get it looked after. He worked on a bunch of things, including putting in the resistor, etc.

In the end, I found that the rear O2 sensor simulator was faulty and may have been causing a grounding issue with the trans. He made an adjustment to bring the pressure down and that seems to have fixed it. Around that time my insurance was up and I parked it for the rest of the year. Some other things that were done are a 4 clutch front drum and OD support.

I just got the truck back on the road last month and fixed the O2 simulator a couple of weeks ago. So now I have some questions.

-Is this a common problem with this shift kit?
-If I get the pressure turned up again will it trip the failsafe again?
-On the receipt for the job, he labeled rebuilt A618 trans with TC. is this the same as the 46re that was in it?

I am used to putting shift kits in my vehicles and they all have shifted very firmly. this one, not so much. what I am used to is the second gear chirp when the trans shifts, and that doesn't happen here.

Please advise. and thanks in advance.

 

Look who's back! I thought you got rid of the indy.

 

Im going to be very frank. Your builder is an idiot, and he is ripping you off. When it went into limp mode the first time it was probably due to the faulty governor solenoids. The torque converters in these units are not the best and do produce metal. Those small metal parts get pulled into the governor solenoid and scar the valve inside, making it sticky and unreliable.

Ill give him the benefit of the doubt and say he replaced those two solenoids when it was rebuilt and the o2 sensor ground fault was the issue.

But NO shift kit will make a trans go into limp mode, if PROPERLY installed, a builder blaming a shift kit that has been used in THOUSANDS of transmissions world wide for causing pressure to be "too high" is ridiculous.

The "adjustment" he made was most likely to the pressure regulator valve train. It has an adjuster that puts tension on the PR spring or relieves tension for lower line pressure. My guess is he backed out that adjuster to "lower the pressure". That is the reason you are getting soft shifts, IF he even installed the shift kit. There is no reason for a line pressure adjustment to set the trans into fail safe, unless you turn it all the way in to where the valve doesnt move and then break something.

the 618 is a general term for the 47re. The 518 is a general term for the 46re. Either he miswrote or it is just his ignorance showing.

Im sorry for the strong words, but ignorant builders just get my blood boiling.

 

If I remember right it was the code for the governor pressure solenoid that was up after it went into limp mode.

The first place I went to wrote 518 on the bill, his is 618, so that has me worried now. he said the tranny's are the same.

I suppose I have to take the truck into another shop now and have the valve body looked at and see what was really done?

 

Its a tough call. Youve got a shop you cant trust now, but how do you find a shop you can trust? Ideally yes, if you know of a good honest shop have them look over the valvebody.

 

If you're brave enough to pull it out and snap pics, Monte might be able to tell you from here. Not sure how much you've fiddled with the valve body before but there are removal direction here on the forum.

 

Just ordered 2 bottles. (just to have an extra)

I adjusted the tv cabe a few times now, the result is a firmer longer revving shift.
My next issues are: (these may go away with the smart blend, I HOPE)
1. When going into od the rpms go up just a smidge before droping into gear.
2. Im getting a transmission whine/whirring sound.
3. It seems to shift at odd times everynow and then, mostly its when accelerating from 40's on up. When I need it to shift down its completely random on whether or not it does. Dont get me wrong, when I floor it, it works fine, acctually a little hard at WOT. I wonder if this is just a power issue?
(this is my 1st automatic, nothing but stick since I started driving 12yrs ago, thank you forum members for the patience of a noob)


Again, the truck has 112k miles on the stock trans with 4.10 and 35's.

 

Hello MonteC, I rebuilt my O/D unit seperate from the transmission as I had a decent look inside doing the band fix and didn't find any problems. however I noted some light throttle slipping in O/D that seemed to play itself as burnt clutches. It was easy to do, I ended up adding one fiber clutch and putting a thinner steel *place name of piece that goes at the top of the pack here, on it. Reinstalled after giving it a atf bath. A quick drive and I knew I hit the money. Again, jut wanted to extend you a thanks for providing us with a Q and A forum.

 

Respectfully requesting MonteC's assistance...

I know that issues are sometimes difficult to diagnose over the internet based on limited description of the problem so I'll be as descriptive as possible.

The truck belongs to my paw-in-law. It has about 59k miles. A couple of weeks ago he leaves for work and somewhere between 40 and 50 mph a sudden BAM! happens which feels as though someone locked he brakes up OR like the front end on the 4x4 tried to engage. There was a loud barking of the tires. The truck does this several times before going into "limp" mode in 4th gear. (Yes, I've been reading the forum because I KNOW no one wants to answer the same question 100 times just because someone doesn't want to do a little research). Of course, when he parks the truck and turns it off and gets back in it it goes thru this whole process again.

Here's the kicker....He's figured out that he can feather the peddle thru the 40 - 50 mph zone and he gets the same reaction only significantly more subtle. When he feathers it just so he can get thru the issue and the truck shifts normal so long as he is driving OVER 50 mph. The truck will correctly and without issue engage the passing gear and everything. This is okay for the drive into town every morning but driving in town all day is extremely problematic.

Of course - the stealership says the lifetime powertrain warranty doesn't cover the tranny. They told him to buy a new set of tires. He did and it didn't fix it. (I had no faith whatsoever that it would....)

A buddy pulled the following codes: P2262, P2563 and something like R0700 or P0700. He can't remember...

Any ideas? We need some help...

Oh, he has a automatic 6 speed transmission. What is that? 46RE? 47RH? I don't know....

 

I have a question that I hope has a quick and easy answer. I am going to pull my transmission from my 97 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 while it sits in my driveway. My question is should I remove the transfer case before removing the transmission or should I leave it on until I get it on the bench in my garage?
Also, if anybody has any advice on how to make this as painless as possible, I am all-ears.
David in L.A.