I recently picked up a 1992 Dodge Spirit 2.5L / 3speed auto trans to use as a daily driver. My dad had Dodge and Plymouth cars as long as I can remember so... I kinda followed suit with this one. It really isn't anything special.. nothing close to the cherry '68 Roadrunner 383 mag of my youth..

Anyway, I have had the Spirit now for about 2 weeks and started noticing the trans not shifting from first to second to third optimally. In other words, it would shift okay until the car warmed up or was driven on the expressway.

The fluid looks nice and pink and there is no real signs of grit in it.
I just finished swapping out the trans speed sensor (nylon gear driven) (VSS?) and that seemed to help - in that the car shifts more consistently at city driving speeds.

The problems really start when I get the car out on the freeway. The trans will not shift through the gears at the right time causing the engine to rev and then shift harshly into next gear.. There seem to be 2 more VSS's one for input and one for output..could those be causing my shift woes?

It should be noted here that once I have the car on the freeway and return to city driving that the trans remains in sloppy mode. Once the car is shut down, it shifts fine (city speeds).

Could it be that my filter is clogged? The car has 114k on it and runs well, so I don't want to get rid of it. I like the darn thing.!!

I hope I have been clear enough here for you folks..

 

This kinda sounds like what my acclaim was doing when the clutch bands were out of 2nd gear. Finally led to rebuilding the trans.
It would rev 1st out then skip 2nd and slam into drive regardless of throttle position.

 

Well sorta like that... I'm hoping I don't have to stick boatloads of cash into this car.. It is shifting pretty good right now.. just the freeway (speeds of 55MPH and up) cause the shifting to be erratic.

I will change the fluid / filter and see if that does it..

 

I would try that first. I had mine rebuilt for around 1500, which was including beefing it up. These cars are well worth fixing. Mine has 182k and is the strongest its ever been

 

Yeah.. I havent had an op to drop the pan as of yet.
But I am going to get at that this coming week.
Its strange how it shifts through the gears at city stop n go speeds.. but once I raise the engine RPMS, it starts winding out before shifting... harshly.
It will continue this behavior after exiting the freeway until I shut her down. I can start it back up and the problem is all but non existent. Just during heavy excelleration ie: freeway on ramp etc does the trans exhibit this problem. Strange.

 

Just thought of this.......
Does your car have a manual kick-down? I had a similar problem a few weeks back. My kick-down was rusty and when I would step on it it would hold and shift hard. I thought my fresh trans was dumping on me. I cleaned the kick-down assembly and oiled it and have had no further issues.

 

Hmm??? I am not real sure on this.. the linkage on top the bell housing does indeed look rusty. Is the manual kickdown part of that? Sorry.. I dont k.lw alot about these cars.. there is what appears to be a cable / spring loaded gizmo in the same area. I dont believe it is connected in any way to the throttle.??
Again my apologies for my ignorance.. it' showing.

 

My car has linkages running from the throttle body to the trans. The 4 cylinders may not of. I wish i had a pic to show you what it looks like

 

Yep.. I found it.. and it is rusty, real rusty. It looks like there is indeed a cable that runs from the throttle body to the top of the tranny bell. It is attached to a pin of sorts that protrudes out of the bell via a clamping binder with what appears to be a 8mm nut / bolt.
The question is if I disassemble that mechanism and clean it up, which it looks as though it needs,.. how will I determine how to reassemble it so it is in the proper position..? I assume that there is a right and wrong way...or does the cable only fit one way..? Havent nad a whole lot of time for investigation.

Thanks for the guidance thus far!

 

Hmm.....
The 4 cyl must be a different set up. Mine just has a rod and some slide brackets coming off the throttle body. It was all held together by little clips. I just unhooked it at the throttle body, took the rust off, lubed it, and put it back together. By the TB was where mine was binding up.

If you were somewhere nearby I would just stop by and take a look.