Tranny Issues

[heirloomdiesel]

Already know my VP44 is on its way out. Other than having to warm it up considerably before it will perform decently I really hadn't had much of a problem with it. Around 14 mpg on the highway and such. Now I get home from being out of town and jump into my truck , which by the way was used by my wife with no problems over the weekend. Now the tranny is acting up. Will sometimes not shift into drive or reverse when i move the gear selector. When it does shift the only way I know its shifted is by pressing on the gas and it creeps forward. Drove it around the block and it wasn't shifting into second and was racing or flaring or whatever you call it. Checked the fluid and its at the right level but it looks like its Dark Purple, not a redish purple like most tranny fluids I've seen but like Barney the purple dinosaur purple. I plan on changing the fluids and someone mentioned in another forum the rpm sensor. I was thinking of doing the pressure governor solenoid and switch. Not sure how to proceed after this. Can't believe this truck drove and ran like a bat out of hell when I bought it back in September.

[Mopar1973Man]

Fluid change might be a good idea being the fluid is most likely burnt and the filter is plugged up. When you do the fluid change you need to do the band adjustment too. Might be a loose band causing the slip.

[heirloomdiesel]

Thanks, I'll do this tonight if I'm able. Not going to get all that fluid out right without a flush? Also is that a special torx /socket for those band adjustment bolts? Another thing I saw a video where the guy said use the same tranny pan gasket? Good idea or not?

[Mopar1973Man]

Wild and free would know the answers on the bands and such... But as for the gasket I would replace it... Most of the time when you buy a filter it comes with gaskets...

[hubert3317]

How many miles are on you Automatic??? Mine started doing that and no matter what i did I had to get the transmission replaced? Just want to make sure your not throwing good money at a dieing cause

[heirloomdiesel]

I have 171,000 on the truck.

[hubert3317]

If was my truck i would look at replacing it and upgrading. I spend hundreds changing fluid and adjusting bands and after all of it the first time I towed i was sitting on the side of the road. Also i would install a really big flow through cooler the stock one is horrible hope this helps

[heirloomdiesel]

Ok thanks, what would be some good upgrade transmission internals for a stock 5.9 with no plans of increasing its horsepower or building it up. I'm after durability and not so much high performance. Please advice with some average costs of something like this if you know.

[angus]

Ok thanks, what would be some good upgrade transmission internals for a stock 5.9 with no plans of increasing its horsepower or building it up. I'm after durability and not so much high performance. Please advice with some average costs of something like this if you know.

Check out www.transmissioncenter.net they offer everything from a complete shipped to your door tranny to anything under the sun to upgrade your rebuild. personnally I would recommend spending the extra buck on synthetic fluid as well. The Cummins can inflict a hell of alot of torture on an automatic transmission I just got curious and went there myself, scroll down and check out " 48RE performance rebuild"

[heirloomdiesel]

Wow close to $3,000 for that transmission. Guess my truck will be seating quite a while. Going to be saving for sometime. Freaking missing my truck!

[angus]

Wow close to $3,000 for that transmission. Guess my truck will be seating quite a while. Going to be saving for sometime. Freaking missing my truck!

Well, my 21 year old son bought his 99 from a friend, and about 2 months later the tranny was shot. he spent 1,800 at the local shop for a bone stock rebuild. of course that included labor, but if a guy is willing to get down n dirty that extra thousand will buy you some bullet proof piece of mind

[heirloomdiesel]

Yeah thats really what I need. I'm out in the middle of nowhere many times and would like that peace of mind. Guess I'll have to research which is the best rebuild kit to purchase and go from there.

[angus]

Yeah thats really what I need. I'm out in the middle of nowhere many times and would like that peace of mind. Guess I'll have to research which is the best rebuild kit to purchase and go from there.

You know, for everyday normal use a guy could probably get by with just buying an upgraded rebuild kit with the good bands & clutches and have a local transmission guy install it. If you don`t mind doin the R&R work yourself you could probably save quite a bit. My 03 is all original 140,000 miles, and been babied its whole life. The trans is still working perfect for now, but I am considering making some substancial performance upgrades in the future, and if I can swing the budget I am going to spend the bucks on a bullet proof trans first. Then hopefully U Joints will be my biggest concern:pray:

[heirloomdiesel]

Ok tranny fluid is burnt looking. Not only that look at what I found in the pan. Its a torx screw, stuck to the magnet. Any idea where this went and why it would be laying in the pan?

[angus]

Ok tranny fluid is burnt looking. Not only that look at what I found in the pan. Its a torx screw, stuck to the magnet. Any idea where this went and why it would be laying in the pan? [ATTACH=CONFIG]3510[/ATTACH]

I`d say its from a band adjuster?? Never been into mine yet but I read in another post on this site that it takes a torx socket to make band adjustments:whistle: Sounds like bands are toast

[heirloomdiesel]

To the last poster, please don't assume anything when your trying to help ones with repairs of their trucks! It is not a band adjustment screw!! Was just under there figuring this thing out. It came from a little plate that sits above the magnet that has like 6 more screws on it. Anyway anyone out there that has done band adjustment know what the heck is 72 inch pounds is? Thats like nothing? Thats like 6 foot pounds? I don't understand the 72 inch pound thing at all.

[angus]

To the last poster, please don't assume anything when your trying to help ones with repairs of their trucks! It is not a band adjustment screw!! Was just under there figuring this thing out. It came from a little plate that sits above the magnet that has like 6 more screws on it. Anyway anyone out there that has done band adjustment know what the heck is 72 inch pounds is? Thats like nothing? Thats like 6 foot pounds? I don't understand the 72 inch pound thing at all.

Sorry man, I should not be speculating seeing I have not been inside my own yet. A small " inch pound" torque wrench is required for inch specs I dunno if you can convert that to FT LBS. If a fluid & filter change will get you going again? I would run it a little ways & change the fluid again. your Torque converter still has a lot of that burnt fluid left in it. you might consider dumping a can of trans flush in as well. it will help get some of that scum cleaned out. Hope that works for you

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

Anyway anyone out there that has done band adjustment know what the heck is 72 inch pounds is? Thats like nothing? Thats like 6 foot pounds? I don't understand the 72 inch pound thing at all.

most large torque wrenches dont go down that low of foot pounds and arent that accurate at that low of torque. smaller inch pound torque wrenches are there to fill the gap also if i remember right you torque it to the proper amount then back it off a certain amount of turns. should be in the manual though:) and yes 72in-lb is 6 ft-lb.

[heirloomdiesel]

Hey Angus didn't mean to come off as being upset. The truck being down after I just purchased it for 10k has got me a bit on the down side. 10k is a heck of a lot of money for me. :banghead: Being without my truck has made the situation tense to say the least. But I appreciate you offering any help. It just reminded me we have to take everything with a grain of salt. Got to get a inch pound torque wrench today and see if I can adjust those bands. I have a feeling I have bigger problems but I have to give it a shot.

[DezrtRat]

also if i remember right you torque it to the proper amount then back it off a certain amount of turns. should be in the manual though:)

This is correct. There are a specific amount of turns required for each transmission (they are all different) so it is important to look it up in your repair manual.