2004 3.3 GC 95k miles. Sat unused for like 10 days. Started fine, reverse for 10 feet or so, go to put in drive, got nothing. Laughed to myself, tried reverse, nothing, just like neutral. Tried back and forth drive to reverse, it just rolled, no shifting at all. Put it in drive, held the brake and gave some gas and then it shifted into drive nicely. Thinking I had my work cut out for me today, I park it up by the garage. Tried again and all gears work perfect. Wife drove to church with it, all good. A month or so ago, I did a manual flush and changed the trans filter, all ATF4. Is this a forshadow of a problem about to occur or should I chaulk it up to stuck valves after not being used for 10 days? Shouldn't happen. Time to drop the pan again I guess. Clean up all connectors and look for that ground strap. Bugs me that it worked after giving some gas and that now it's perfect. Perhaps speed sensor? Whatcha think?

 

You may have lost pump pressure and or low on fluid. But I would go with the pump pressure. My truck does the same thing. I just let the transmission warm up for a few mins before driving.

 

Odd. Been driving it for the past few days, nothing wrong with it. Gotta get around to checking all connections. Fluid looks perfect, I don't know. If I find something, will report. Thanks.

 

I ended up calling the local Dodge dealer and spoke with a service department guy and told him exactly what was in my first post here in this thread. I asked if he has ever heard of something like this and if I should bring it down even though it is (was) acting perfectly. He was quite the honest fellow and said although he's never personally heard of my specific issue, he is quite certain it was a stuck valve due to sitting there 10 days. He said not to bother bringing it in unless it comes up again. Well, that was a week or so ago. Yesterday, I went to move it out of the way in my driveway. It only sat overnight. I put it in drive, it engaged cleanly as usual. After about 15 ft I kinda felt it drop out of gear, it was so subtle...I turn the wheel a bit to go to my intended spot on the driveway and slightly touched the gas and went nowhere. Gear selector is in drive, but I am freewheeling in neutral. I give just a tad more gas and she engaged. Worked perfectly again after that. I don't think it is a stuck valve. (I was already in drive and it dropped out of it on it's own as opposed to the original post where I went from reverse to drive.) Does anyone have an idea what would make a trans drop out of first gear in the parking lot? Fluid level is perfect. Color is just as kool-aid cherry as the day I changed it 2 months ago, no odor. I did not drop the pan, and as usual it works perfectly now. Why would I lose pump pressure after 10 seconds and regain it and have no issues for many days? I don't think a defective speed sensor will call for the transmission to go to neutral from first gear....although I am hoping I'm wrong on that. Is it possible that I have some kind of a block on the return, ran out of fluid at the filter, sucked in air and then all of a sudden it all came "tidal waving" in?

 

Are you checking the fluid level using the procedure from the owners manual?:

 

No I have not done it that way recently. I DID however run through all the gears at the shifter and drove around when I originally changed the fluid and oem filter a couple months back. The level was very near perfectly full when I did that oil change. The following days I was only checking it after a 15 mile trip to my work (not going through each gear) in park. The levels were the same, never changed level since that oil change. I think I will drop the pan today or tomorrow and swap out that filter again. I'm thinking my manual flush may have jarred stuff loose and is plugging stuff up. The van's transmission fluid was probably never changed, I know the filter never has been before I did it. I purchased it used with 92k miles on it and it had the original oem trans filter on it (based on the date stamp of 2003) and that awful black silicone sealant for the pan.

 

Whenever one of my vehicles has a new problem, the first thing I think about is any work I've done recently that might be in any way related. So with that in mind, here are a few questions.

Was this "flush" done by disconnecting the cooler hose(s); just a pan drop and refill; or something other than either one of those methods? Did you have a any problems with the filter staying in place after snapping it in? Are you certain the filter o-ring was installed, and the old one removed? And, as already mentioned, are you using the exact steps in the owner's manual to check the fluid level?

 

I did check it that factory way when I did the flush 2 months ago. Since then, I have only checked it when hot, driving about 15 miles to work and just putting it in park and checking. The level has been equal and hasn't varied since the flush when I checked it the FSB way. My flush did not involve any special tools or methods. I used an oem filter, made sure the old o-ring came out and lubed the new filter's o-ring and installed it. I believe it was more wobbly than I would have liked, but it was snapped in place strong enough for me not to worry. I pulled the return line at the trans and routed it into a clean empty 5 quart oil jug (you know, the ones that have that opaque level indicator on the side). I installed a real pan gasket, re-assembled the pan and put in 4 quarts of new atf+4. I had my son start it up, step on the brake and go a couple of seconds in each gear (test of faith since it was on ramps with me under it!) while I watched the fluid go into the container. Yelled "SHUT IT OFF!!" when about 3 quarts came out, added 3 quarts to the trans and ran it again until nice candy-apple red new atf+4 was coming out the return line. The level was perfect before I did this, so I know I had to replace almost exactly what I measured. I don't remember if I used 8 or 9 or 10 quarts, but I know the change in color coming out the return was pretty abrupt and obvious at about 8 quarts out. I measured all the removed oil in 2 clean 5 quart oil jugs and had put in exactly that amount (counting empty atf quarts). I dumped all the old oil into a clean white bucket. I was happy because there was minimal amount of stuff on the magnet and pan when I removed it, and didn't see anything in the removed oil. Like 2 weeks later when I went to recycle the old oil, I saw a decent amount of fine metal sparklies and grit at the bottom of the bucket, kinda depressing. I guess it isn't always obvious right away. I will drop the pan before the weekend is done and report back. Not that any of you will be losing sleep if I don't, hehe, but just in an effort to help others who might come across a similar issue.

 

I've seen other people post the flush method you described, and have also read a few discussions related to possible damage to the tranny using that approach. I wouldn't pretend for a moment to have enough technical knowledge to make a definitive statement, and have also never read a "for certain" either. But that said, draining fluid from the tranny this way just doesn't "feel" right to me. Things like no fluid flow into the cooler output line makes me too uneasy to do this.

I'd be ok with the method of disconnecting BOTH cooler lines, and putting the output line into a jug of fluid and keeping it filled to provide continuous flow (except through the cooler). But on my vans I've actually just done the pan drop, installed a Dorman drain plug pan, and then swapped the fluid multiple times. Yes, it doesn't completely refresh the fluid, but it also doesn't introduce any chance of problems caused by fluid not being in the right place at the right time.

Your sequence of the flush followed fairly soon by the drop-outs seems like a smoking gun. But I certainly can't say that the flush you did is the cause of this problem, and definitely hope that's not the case!

 

I think I'm ok with my method. No power flushing, just kept the pan with a constant supply of oil and just was catching the return before it dumped it back into the trans. I too have come across some people in boards saying it would be bad...others saying it is only the reverse power flush that causes harm. I think the only reason my way would be a bad thing is if new oil somehow dissolves varnish or breaks it apart simply by being new. I kinda doubt it with relatively low miles. The way I see it, even replacing half the oil like with only the pan drop method, you're still getting half the poison. My old oil was still in decent shape, no smell, no black, really just wanted to check the condition in the pan and change the filter, so I had no qualms about doing a near complete oil change. Thanks!