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Tony
Dodge Dakota
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4/13/2005
01:03:27

Subject: More strange tranny problems!
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Okay, I am finally getting fed up with my dakota. I have an '89 dakota 3.9 RWD. We finally got another transmission (used out of an '88 3.9) and bolted it up correctly. We took it for its first critical test drived to see if all is working. As I am driving in "Drive", I can clearly hear it shift into 1st then 2nd, and that is it, but if I manually shift it into "2" of the shift column, I can hear it shift into 1st, 2nd, then 3rd! I shift it manually into "1" and it only shifts into 1st. The linkage is correct, but for some reason, it shifts in the strangest way! When I am in "D", It will shift from 1st to 2nd, and if I am fast enough, and only if I let off of the gas, it shifts into 3rd. If I slightly press on the gas (to maintain speed), it will abruptly downshift into 2nd again and stay there for a while. It sounds like the transmission is slipping in/out of gear (with a slight delay, I mean).

Manually shifting from "2" to "D" causes it to shift out of third and rev up high. My overdrive STILL does not work, but I have a feeling that it would if the tranny would shift correctly in "drive". What is possibly wrong here? If I can get it to shift right, my O/D problem will finally be fixed, I think. Please help me. This is my 3rd transmission within a few months (the others never worked). I am tired and frustrated with swapping in and out these bulky trannys. If Larry can help, that would be great! Thanks again...



J and J Auto
GenII
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4/13/2005
05:15:07

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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Did you blow out the cooling lines before the swap
to be sure there was no dirt in there

The O/D has an electrical conection is it ok on
the 89 all it does is shut it off

try backing off on the TV and be sure its not
hanging up

TCI TransScat 220500 shift kit will also raise
line presure and help the 1-2 modulator that is
under the valve body needs to move again for 3rd
gear the TCI kit you remove the springs from the
valve to raise presure and firm up shifts

The problem you are having with all trans you
tried is strange

Larry
J&J Auto

Tony
Dodge Dakota
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4/13/2005
16:10:29

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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Thank you for replying, Larry. If I didn't blow out the cooling lines before the swap, what can I do now? Will that dirt be caught by the filter? If not where would it collect?

With the O/D, the connector (I think) is okay. I had 3 wires carefully spliced into the the wires going to the O/D connector to bring into my cab to hook to a meter. As I pass 25mph, I read 12V between the orange/brown wire and the black wire, but nothing between the other orange/green and black wire. Something wrong there?

What do you mean by backing off the TV (which direction do I move it)? I have adjusted the thing back and forth but I am not sure where the sweet spot is. At what RPM's should it shift for each gear? Is there a little process that you go by to get it adjusted to the right spot? The rod might have been bent a bit while we got the tranny on a new transmission jack (that supposed to be easier, but wasn't). The coolant lines were bent a little but straightened again. The TV moves freely, but I dont know.

As for the shift kits, they sound like they are expensive. I Never saw them on sale anywhere on the internet. What do I look for? Are they easy to install. Do I have to drop the tranny again :-(?

What about the strange shifting ("D" shifts from 1-2, "2" shifts from 1-2-3)? Its bugging me.

I forgot to mention that we never changed and flushed the tranny yet because we dont want to spend the time and money into a tranny that we might have to send back. Also, the fluid pan it slightly bent in. Does this hurt thing? My father suggested that we don't try to fix it because we might crack the thing straightening it out. I hope that the filter and the pan isnt causing these problems, if so, oops. We just wanted to know it this thing would be worth fixing, and can it be fixed correctly and cheap?

Thanks again...




93dak4x4
Dodge Dakota
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4/13/2005
16:26:10

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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well i suggest you start by flushing the thing and changing the filter. you will never get it shifting right until you do that.



Tony
Dodge Dakota
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4/13/2005
22:52:22

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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I know I left a lot for Larry to respond to. I forgot he is always busy. We will get the filter and more fluid by the end of this week. I will start by flushing it. I am still confused why its shifting that way. I mean, shifting into 3rd while in "2". Thats strange. We may try to fix the bent in tranny fluid pan, hoping it doesnt crack and leak. Thanks...



Bob Lincoln
Dodge Dakota
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4/14/2005
08:12:46

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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I'm wondering if you crushed the filter into the valve body and damage it. You'll know when you get the pan off.



Tony
Dodge Dakota
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4/14/2005
13:33:18

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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Nice of you to respond, Bob. Well, we got this tranny at the junkyard and it was after we bolted it up and dropped the transmission jack, I noticed the pan looked like it was in bad shape. It doesnt look look like it is completely smashed in, just enough to partially crease the metel on the very edge. I wonder where you can get a new pan if I cant fix this one.



J and J Auto
GenII
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4/16/2005
02:13:58

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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Just use your old trans pan

I was thinking about your problem

1 if your truck was an early 89 it man have the
88 none lockup trans and must use same converter
lockup and none lockup converters do not
interchange

2 replace the TV valve plunger and sleave may be
sticking or leaking
http://www.transmissionpartsusa.com/Tranmission_Parts_s/58.htm

cable housing towards front of truck will back off
TV

3 wire conector center 12 volt all the time I may
have this backwards

front O/D back wire lockup if your getting 12 volt
at 25mph that should be the O/D shift the other
shold come in around 45mph lockup

The comp completes the ground to activate sol to
shift

The TCI 220500 shift kit is $100 get direct from
http://www.tciauto.com/tci.htm
this kit will solve a lot of problems and
complaints every one has with the A500's 89 to 98
99 and up they made some changes and it will not
work right in the newer trans

You may also want to check your sol pack on body
jack truck up and force the shifts here is a site
that will tell you how to do that and it will not
harm your trans just jack up forse and test to be
sure they shift and release like they should
http://www.atraonline.com/manuals/general/tetdv/tetdv-toc.htm

Larry
J&J Auto

Tony
Dodge Dakota
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4/16/2005
15:20:59

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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Wow. Thanks for all the info, Larry. I wasn't sure if you would reply again. I will definitely use this information on my transmission. I have a few comments and questions for you...

We got the pan off last night and replaced the filter and put in new fluid. I was shocked by how much the thing was dented in. The thing was dented in about half an inch in some spots, restricting any flow through the filter. As a matter of fact, there were three dents in the pan where the three hex filter screws were! Two of the three were bent! We pounded it back with a rubber mallet, but it leaked from one of those tiny dent marks made by those screws. We fixed the leak temporarily. They must have dropped it a the junkyard, or the truck it came from once bottomed out real bad.

I was extremely dissapointed when we filled the whole system with new fluid and took it for a test drive. In DRIVE, it USED to shift to 2nd and stays there, then as you back off of the gas, it upshifts to 3rd, and when you barely press on the gas, it goes for a very short time, then slips abruptly back to second. NOW, in DRIVE, It only shifts from 1st to 2nd, then it slips about one second later back into 1st. It still shifts normal when to manually shift it into 1st and 2nd. The transmission is doing the same thing that it did before, only worse! What do you think exactly is causing this to happen? It isnt supposed to slip out of gear like that. It is only in Drive and that is it. I looked at the TV linkage and saw that it was not bent in a wrong way. How would I get access to fix the TV plunger and sleeve? How would these be repaired? Is it easy?

Okay. I have an '89 truck with a tranny from an "'88". The tranny may be newer, but I dont know. It still has the two shafts that the troque converter slid over, and it has the two solenoid pack. My dad remembers while the transmission was off that it was a lockup torque converter. He thought he saw "HS" enscripted on it (high stall). It looks like the original torque converter, but I am not sure. Is my tranny from an '88 or early '89 then? If I have a lockup tranny, but I never get a voltage between those wires for torqe converter lockup after I break 45mph, does that mean my computer is messed up or I have wiring issues?

I guess I am confused by the solenoids and where I get the 12V. I understand that you are in a hurry, but I didnt understand what you typed. On my three wire connector (orange/green, brown, orange/brown), the Hanes manual says that the right wire is for the O/D solenoid (orange/brown). With the truck running, I get 12v between the brown wire and the ground. At 25mph, I get 12V between the brown wire, and the O/D wire (orange/brown). At 45mph, I remembered getting nothing on the other wire (orange/green). Is the transmission supposed to be in 3rd before the O/D kicks in and in O/D before lockup occurs (in order)?

I tried to test the solenoid pack by taking it off and attaching a 12 battery pack between either of the two solenoids. Nothing happened. They ohmed out at 30ohms each. What is supposed to happen? Is a small rod supposed to pop out or someting? I dont know how to tell if they are defective.

Thanks again, Larry. I hope I am not asking too much in this post. I am seriously baffled by this tranny and why it just simply doesnt work like it should. We are tired of taking these things in and out already and we hope that there would be an "easy fix" for it.



Tony
Dodge Dakota
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4/18/2005
15:14:11

RE: More strange tranny problems!
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Anyone ever have a problem similar to this? I know that Crysler transmissions were never very good. I wanted to know who else had really bad experiences with these older (GenI or GenII) dakota transmissions and troubles with "used" ones from junkyards. They never tell you whats wrong, and they tell you, "try this one, it should work." It can be too expensive to buy a rebuild transmission or get yours rebuilt. I wish I knew what was exactly wrong with this thing. I hate to drop it again to put another junky one back on and be completely dissapointed.





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