Okay guys im new to the forum amd this is gonna be a long post sorry in advance...
I have a 2000 dodge ram van 1500 With the 5.9 liter and 46re transmission with 185,000 miles .... For a couple of weeks it was high revving from first to second and jumping gears.
when it rained real bad my trans temp light and O/D Off light would come on for a few minutes and turn back off after i would start moving.
Then one night on the way home it wouldn't shift out of first until I pulled over and restarted it. Did that a couple of times and then it just stopped engaging gears completely. It will stay in park But whenever I shift through the gears the rpms drop slightly as if it's wanting to engage but it just sits in neutral, No check engine lights at all (PCM was replaced 2 years ago).
I've already checked the shift linkage and the shift lever on the side of the trans moves correctly when i use the column shifter.
I dropped the transmission pan and found One of the band anchors on the magnet. So I dropped the valve body out, reinstalled the band anchor and made sure the drive shaft didn't move when I manually squeezed the band, I adjusted the bands and replaced the governor solenoid and sensor, replaced the neutral safety switch (yes it starts in park and neutral so its not that), i changed the fluid and filter and its still not shifting.
Does anybody have clue what the problem could be? Mind you i have minimal tools And i'm doing all this on a 4 ton bottle jack with the trans still installed so if it comes down to torque converter or Anything that requires me to drop the whole trans out then i'm screwed cus Im out in the sticks and this is my only transportation!!!! Im almost to The point that I can't sink any more money into it and I'm at my wits end about to give up on it so any advice or wisdom is greatly appreciated 🙏

 

What did the filter look like when you changed it? If there was alot of metal in filter, magnet and Gov.pressure sol. I would suspect a bad torque converter to be the issue but not definate.. It could also be something inside the transmission like overdrive planetary gears gone bad. This is mainly if you found copious ammounts of metal in the pan/filter/solenoid. If not, then Great, the problem shouldn't be hard to fix.

If not the case above, Did you use correct torque specs and backing off band screws? Did u check fluids in neutral warmed up to operating temp? Check for leaks at your transcooler connections down low. Bottom of radiator. Make sure there's no cracks, holes and make sure all connections are solid.. I just had my transcooler blow out and leak at bottom of radiator. Pressure leak in the Trans lines = bad/no preformance. Also, there's a check ball in one of the tranny lines that is notorious for sticking. Either drill it out or bypass it completely with new fittings and adapters, napa auto had all the parts to do this. This may have been the reason your light came on followed by shut down.. The check valve in the line sticks shut and doesn't allow fluid to flow. Eventually overheating. If it fried your overdrive, you would have heard it pop and grind. If not, thats a good sign. Even after mine popped and grinded it still drove slugishly until i got it home so i doubt you've reached that event.

Also make sure your new gov pressure solenoid was seated correctly too. Did u do new gaskets? Improper install would cause no shift as it isn't seated or sealed to direct the fluid where it needs to go. Is your Trans fluid foamy at operating temp? Check these things and report back. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER TRANS FLUID OTHER THAN ATF+4. there is no debating this with the 46re.

I did a complete rebuild on my 46re. Roughly 6k miles later shifting smooth as ever. And very responsive. Thanks to HeyYou and transmission bench on YouTube.

 

When I dropped the pan The only sign of metal Was the actual band anchor itself. The filter wasn't horrible and the fluid was dark but ive had it for about 4 years now and The longest Its sat was for a week when I had to replace the PCM. So the fluid being dark is expected but it's the right consistency and no gunkyness..... I'm pretty sure I adjusted the band correctly. The sol is seated correctly. No leaks as far as the transmission goes. I always use ATF+4. The night that it Left me stranded when I was trying to get it to engage I heard a little grinding and tinking around for a sec ondor 2 but I think that was the band anchor dropping and hitting the magnet..... It's just acting the same exact way.After doing all of the diagnosing and repairs that i've done.
But yes I have been reading up on that check ball And I think that's gonna be my next stress session lol I just have to learn more about that before I Attack it head on and I'll check out the trans cooler lines as well. But I'll do all that and update this once I'm done.... it may be a few days or a week. Thank you foreal

 

Also, when you dropped the valve body, did you properly disconnect the tiny half circle tab holding the parking rod in place? As well as re install. It's no easy task.

Do you hear a pump wine or grind In neutral? It would come from the bell housing area.

 

Man the more I think about it, I'm willing to bet that check ball is stuck closed. Either ur pump went out or u have blockage somewhere. And since there were no shavings in the pan it tells me the internals may be ok. Sounds like the problem is fluid and flow related. Gotta figure out where ur blocked up at. Still not sure what would cause a band anchor to drop unless the friction material was worn down too far or the adjustment screw wasn't properly torqued to begin with. There should be a nut around that adjustment screw that holds it tight. Is it still there? Do you get reverse to grab? Or are all of the gears un responsive?

 

There is a updated anchor because it is a common problem. Do a pressure test it will confirm if it's a pressure issue.
https://atracom.blob.core.windows.ne...0/2000_154.pdf

 

Nope no gears engage at all.... it goes into park But everyother gear is neutral. And yes the lock nut is on the adjustment screw

 

the parking rod is the long 2 ft rod that goes into your trans towards the drive shaft when sliding the valve body back in place right? I had to rotate the drive shaft back and forth until the rod went all the way into place....but no tiny half circle that i recall

 

Try unplugging the 8 pin connector on the drives side of the trans, bout halfway back. Plugs straight down into the top of the valve body. See if you have any gears. Keep in mind, your trans won't have ANY automatic function at all. No TCC or O/D either. If you actually get gears that way though, you just have an electronics problem. If you don't, it's rebuild time.

 

yea thats the parking rod/selector shaft. There's a tiny half circle snap ring that holds that rod to the shift selector at valve body. When you took the valve body out, I assume you pulled that and the rod out at as one whole unit?. If it went back in place, and the rod didn't fall out of it position from the valve body, then the snap ring is doing its job and thats fine. Figured I would atleast consider clearing that as the suspect after u did ur bands.