Alright guys so wanted to start a new thread about my transmission on the 02. I'm not even sure this is an actual issue, but being that the trucks new to me, I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth worrying over or not. So if it seems like I'm chasing nothing, I'm not trying too, just want to verify it's nothing before I ignore it and move on and it turns out to be a bigger issue I could've prevented.

So, what's happening is when driving with O/D on, the truck will engage 3rd gear lock up around 38-40mph, then as speed gets up to 45ish, the trans seems to shift into 4th and attempt to lockup all within like a 1/2 second (and a slight jerky feeling) and then resume back to normal unlocked 4th gear pulling, then around 50ish it'll lock up 4th and everything's good.

I drive like a gramps (if I haven't already made that clear in the past haha) so I'm not sure if I'm just not accelerating fast enough and I'm just confusing the trans. I don't know if it's the bigger tires. It seems to only happen when I'm going up an incline accelerating fairly slowly, or on flat ground accelerating the same. It also seems to be far less noticeable if I'm accelerating quicker, or going down hill. It's almost like the truck gets confused about which gear to be in and whether or not to lock up or not but only during the conditions stated before. 

Is this anything to worry about? Is it really just my driving style and certain conditions that are causing this or should I look into something further?

Thanks in advance guys!

I dont mind haha, provided you continue to help people out.

Of course...! I do what I can...

@Dynamic I've got to ask a question about 46RE trans in my 96 Dodge 1500. 

What would cause a trans to hang in 2nd gear, drop to like neutral and then jump into 3rd and behave fine from there on out?

@Mopar1973Man Most likely a heavily worn direct clutch.

Ironic that you ask that... Last weekend, the battery failed in my wife's '04 Durango. I was playing music at a gig, so my Dad ended up rescuing her. In the whole process, we ended up with my parent's '99 Durango (46RE) overnight. When I drove their Durango back to their house, I noticed that it was doing the exact same thing that you're describing. Under light throttle (low line pressure), it will upshift 1-2, then flare badly when the band is released for the 2-3 shift, waiting for the direct to come on. Under a little heavier throttle (more line pressure), the direct comes on quicker, and it's not quite as noticeable, but still there. I'll be building them a transmission pretty soon.

So the cause is from what?

Worn out direct clutch...excessive clearance due to worn clutch discs.

Dude you are not making feel good. Think it would hold out for one more trip south for 300 mile trip? Guessimate. Need to pick up a driveshaft for my truck.

Edited February 27, 20169 yr by Mopar1973Man

I'm not trying to bear bad news, that's just what it sounds like to me, based on your description. How many miles are on the transmission?

As far as lasting another 300 mile trip, probably, but you never know...

160k miles. OE trans just been serviced and had the governor pressure sensor and solenoid replaced. 

Behind a 5.9, I assume? It has given you all it had...

The 46RE's behind the 5.9 (360) really need a 4th disc in the direct. The 5.2 (318) weren't quite as bad, but it's an easy mod, so why not...? You can set the 46RE up with a 4 disc direct (like a stock 47RE), and a 5 disc OD brake (again, same as a stock 47RE), and some valve body mods and you'll have a real nice transmission.

Yeah behind a 5.9L V8 with Mopar Performance PCM. 

Sad thing is I have zero knowledge of transmission work. So where are you located in Washington? 

Also what is the average cost to rebuild?

Edited February 27, 20169 yr by Mopar1973Man

Haha... I hear ya. But, luckily for both of us, I do...

On 2/27/2016 at 1:21 PM, Dynamic said:

Haha... I hear ya. But, luckily for both of us, I do...

Lucky for me too!  Jon is worth the trip to have him do it.  You won't be disappointed.  

RR

So figured I'd post this here since I think it still applies to the original thread topic.

I've noticed for the last few days, on initial startup and drive to work with the truck still fairly cold from sitting over night, my trans seems to get hung up in 3rd. It'll just hold on to 3rd up to around 2k give or take a few hundred rpms either way. After changing around my throttle input it'll finally catch 4th and I'll be on my way. It really doesn't seem to be an issue any other time after that, but is this really being caused by just a cold tranny? Or is there some underlying issues?

Normal for me, at least. In the winter time, 3rd would not lock up for me until everything was warmed up a little bit. My hemi did the same thing, it would not go into overdrive until everything was warmed up. Don't know exactly why, but it's supposed to protect the transmission. 

Yes, in really cold weather, the PCM will leave the converter unlocked until the fluid warms up a bit.

Makes sense. I've pretty much figured out that I drive my route to work exactly the same day in day out so today, on the way in I just gave it a little more skinny pedal and it finally locked up, just took a little more then normal since it was still a little cold from sitting over night.

Glad to hear it's normal.