Transmission shifting issues

[Skatulaki]

Just got this thing back together after a few months engine work. On drives I've noticed that it tends to rev hi when shifting out of first, 2000+ rpm, sometimes it revs really high and loses forward movement ( 3 to 4000 rpm ) it wasn't doing this before I started working on it. Could I have mis positioned the linkage while trying to see why it wont go into park?
Also the truck seems to shake while accelerating, the steering wheel doesn't shake, the engine doesn't seem to be the cause, the truck itself seems to shake, not a lot.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Skatulaki]

Guess I'm on my own on this one.

 

[Sirriggs]

I would say that maybe go back through what you worked on and back track to see if anything looked to change? You weren't clear to what you worked on. I know my shifting issues required me to change some senors the first time. Shaking I don't have a clue. Sorry not much help here. Seeing it didnt do this before hand would make me think something may not be back in its happy spot.

 

[Skatulaki]

Getting ready to put it back on the stands . It didn't do this before I started work on the front of the engine. After i got it put back together this started, although I hadn't worked on the trans!
However before I started the work it would not go into Park. So I'm going to put it back on the stands pull the pan, and valve body, see if I can fix the park sprag (etc) change filter and fluid.
If i can't get it to work , I'm swapping to manual! less mainainence and less problems!

 

[Sirriggs]

I wish you luck. I have never dealt with shake from a transmission before so I couldn't help om ideas.

 

[Skatulaki]

Ok , this is my first attempt at an auto trans repair, so I'm hoping I'll get some help! Got the truck back on the stands. While the fluid looked reasonably clean on the dipstick, after I started pulling the pan I found out otherwise. Pretty much looks like dirty motor oil, except more chocolate than Black. So far my efforts were somewhat comical as I didn't know what to expect while removing the pan. Anyway I managed to catch most of the fluid and got the pan and filter off without much hitch other than the fluid on the floor.

I took a bunch of pictures, maybe not clear enough, because it also doesnt go into park
I was using 2 phones one for light and the other for photo, so I might have to retake them, not sure if they are clear enough.

 

[Skatulaki]

Ooops one pic too many, anyway most of these are the shift linkage area and the valve body. I cannot see anything obvious stopping it from shifting into park. Most of the pics are in nuetral or reverse !

 

[Skatulaki]

I read RonG's post 48RE shift issues, he goes into detail about pulling valve body and mistakes he made, so I started a Conv, I hope he shows up to help.
Anyway, I'm hoping changing the dirty filter and oil will resolve the shifting issues, somebody told me before in another post what might be wrong with the not shifting into park. trying to consolidate some information. Also don't blame me for not doing proper maint. The truck came with the house, i'm putting it into proper working order.

 

[Sirriggs]

Amazon carries a transmission book for trouble shooting and rebuilding for both the 46 and 47 re transmission for I believe is about $29.00. I have one but can't find it right at the moment to post a picture. I have the 46re and i have changed both sensors, spring and speed sensor but I haven't ran it lately to see how its doing? You do have what the call a tv cable that runs up to the throttle body on the left side if look from the front of the truck. I don't know if adjusting it will fix your shifting into park. let me look up the book. I can find it that way. You should be able to troubleshoot from this book.

Here it is.

ATSG 46RE 47RE 48RE Transmission Repair Manual (48RE Transmission - 48RE Governor Pressure Solenoid - 48RE Valve Body - Best Repair Book Available!)​

 

[Fast69Mopar]

I read RonG's post 48RE shift issues, he goes into detail about pulling valve body and mistakes he made, so I started a Conv, I hope he shows up to help.
Anyway, I'm hoping changing the dirty filter and oil will resolve the shifting issues, somebody told me before in another post what might be wrong with the not shifting into park. trying to consolidate some information. Also don't blame me for not doing proper maint. The truck came with the house, i'm putting it into proper working order.

I have posted about this issue a couple of times on some other threads. Did you remove the valve body to inspect the park pawl and the parking sprag?

If you are unable to get the trans to shift into park you will probably have to remove the valve body for inspection. Before you do that try these things...

Put the truck up on jack stands. Disconnect the shift linkage from the side of the trans. Operate the shift linkage by hand while spinning the driveshaft to see if you can feel the park pawl attempting to engage the sprag. If you cannot get it into park this way then valve body removal for inspection is imminent.

Now, for the shift flare. Have you done anything to the trans since you took the pics?

 

[scrounge]

When I bought my '99, it had a similar problem: after it warmed up a bit, it took way too long to shift from 2nd to 3rd. I may have solved it by accident: the driver's side cover for the wheel well was missing, so I found one at a junkyard. Before I installed it, I sprayed the electrical connections toward the rear of the wheel well with some CRC electronic spray (and a few other connections underneath while I was at it), and when I installed the cover, I no longer had the problem.

I was told that the O2 sensors are on the same circuit as the transmission starting with the 46RE (previous versions were 46RH: E = electric, H = hydraulic), and a bad one can cause the same problem. I replaced the upstream one after it generated a fault code, but if yours is showing frayed wires, you might want to make that replacement before the CEL comes on.

There's another fix that involves replacing a solenoid and another part inside of the transmission. Since it's roughly $200 for those parts alone, you might try electronic spray and O2 sensor(s) replacement first.

 

[Sirriggs]

I myself replaced both those solenoid ( Thanks, I called them sensors.lol) I never knew the O2 sensor was inline with transmission. That doesn't make any sense to do in my opinion. I did the speed sensor as well as the spring located in the throttle body so I understand his pain. I'm going to check those electrical connects you spoke about. I have a 99 as well. I gave him a link to a real good transmission book for Dodge. I hope it helps him out.

 

[Skatulaki]

Thanks for coming back Fast69, you did reply to a previous post, but thanks for coming to this one as I'd like this to be the priority posting.
I have not done anything since removing the pan and taking pictures, beyond reading. The only thing I did prior to that was I did loosen the bolt by the end of the shift cable and tried to see if the bracket was adjusted a little off. This made zero difference. I have disconnected the shift cable and tried to shift by hand, and the result is still the same, it simply wont go into park position. it also looks like I accidently have broken the plastic sleeve that holds the cable the other day trying to disconnect the cable yet again.
Indications are still pointing towards needing to remove valve assembly. Weather and work have delayed me in actually doing it. RonG's post also made me a little hesitant without more info as far as getting it back into place afterwards.

As far as putting it on jack stands and spinning driveshaft, I'm a little limited on doing that right away, currently I have the rear wheels on ramps and my jackstands are as far front under the frame as I can get them, I will need taller jackstands to put under rear axle to do that. Having said that, and not to question your knowledge. I drove this thing for probably 3 months after not being able to get it into park. I would just put it in nuetral and set the park brake, and after running the battery down a few times, I would disconnect it if I wasn't going to drive it within 12 hours.
So my question is: would that test reveal anything that 3 months of driving didn't? Might it have gone into park a time or two? Just asking, maybe save that step?

Additional Question(s): Do I have to flush the trans? Does some old fluid remain in the torque converter? Replacement fluid, I tend to go for Valvoline products, the only reccomend I could find was ATF +4, is there better stuff?

 

[Skatulaki]

Thanks Sirriggs on the manual recommend !

 

[Skatulaki]

Thanks scrounge for your info also : Makes we wonder that while I was doing all my other engine work ( see my paint scheme thread ) that maybe I buggered up something that you are suggesting.

 

[Skatulaki]

Also the plug where you plug in the electronic machine that gets the codes is broken, I was once given a repair replacement number to fix this, but I lost it before I could act. If I can get this fixed, it might help solve some problems.

 

[scrounge]

I never knew the O2 sensor was inline with transmission. That doesn't make any sense to do in my opinion.

Agreed, I'd rather they just route every sensor straight to the computer than through other unrelated components, some of which are major.

the plug where you plug in the electronic machine that gets the codes is broken, I was once given a repair replacement number to fix this, but I lost it before I could act. If I can get this fixed, it might help solve some problems.

My experience, at least so far, is that the CEL only comes on long after a problem starts to occur. But yeah, it's better to know than to guess. You might be able to find a replacement in a junkyard (make sure it's for an OBD II scanner, which started with the '96 model year, I think).

That said, the dirty wire connections didn't throw any codes. The O2 sensor did, but those wires looked like they'd been frayed for a long time.

Also, some of the info and warning lights in my instrument panel burned out. Two rows of them should come on when you turn the ignition key to on; I had to replace 3 or 4 amber ones (again, the junkyard is your friend). The CEL is amber. The red ones might be somehow hard-wired; I've yet to see how to replace them, though they all seem to be working.

And yes, definitely use ATF+4, which is Mopar-specific. It ain't cheap, but none of the synthetics are. I loaded up with several quarts from an Auto Value store when it was going out of business. Otherwise, the cheapest I've seen was at WalMart, and their prices just rose to over $5/quart. They don't stock gallon sizes, either. Don't know how much remains in the torque converter; mine remains very red after replacing 8 quarts, so probably very little.

And no, I've never flushed the trans, and have never had any problems as a result. You might consult the manual about it, but I consider it overkill.

 

[Sirriggs]

If i remember correctly, you have to remove the torque and drain it or drill and put in a drain plug to do that. Isn't doing that considered as a rebuild? I think I seen someone pull loose the line or lines and turned the motor over saying this was a way to drain it but to be honest, this would be draining all the fluid and a risk. I wouldn't do it myself. I still think you can disconnect the cable and see if you can manually put it into park or and other gear.

The last thing i did was a while back before it sat. It was going in and out of over drive so I checked the spring in the throttle body and found it was broken so I replaced it. It start to light slip after that but wife got hurt so the truck was put on the side burner and I'm now starting to work on it. After a couple of things are done and get it back legal and on the road. I will see if that problem still is there. I ran it up out road. Maybe half a block and it didn't but wont know till I can run it further so i know what you feel. I haven't really had any real issues with it otjer than going into limp mode a couple of times which just turned out to be solenoid changes and the spring. Other than those couple of things. The transmission has been good to us. Even though Dodge doesn't have the best rep for them.

 

[scrounge]

The only car I had with a drain plug on the torque converter was a '65 Monaco. It had to be exactly at the bottom of its cycle when I took off the plate. When I drained it, I had to put in about twice the fluid it called for, but it was Dexron III, and that was decades ago, when I could buy a gallon of it for $10 or less. Now, it's almost that much for a quart at most parts stores.

I should add that "only" means the only one I've seen, and have actually drained. I don't know for how long the old TorqueFlites had torque converter drain plugs.

 

[Skatulaki]

Ok, I began to remove the valve body, ( another puddle of fluid on the floor, lol, b4 I got a pan under it. ) Unfortunately a mysterious piece fell out from the front side. Resembles a rectangular rear gunsight, with a square notch in the middle on one end, and a cupped indent on the other as though a 00 buckshot size ball went there. The metal is however rough, not smooth. In addition
I ran into an anticipated issue with the linkage, seems the linkage rod must come out also. Guess I need review You Tube school !
More images to follow.