mikestrucks

UGH!

While driving my 1989 D250 home last month the old canister vacuum pump broke. I drove the truck home with no vacuum. (No brakes, no PS steering, and I assumed no shifting of the automatic because it was shifting funny)

I just fixed the vacuum pump and PS with newer style upgrades.

But the transmission is not working now! It feels like it is slipping. You have to rev the engine to get it to barely pull in reverse or low.

I seem to remember it slipping like this a little the few weeks I drove it before the vacuum blew up. It would slip in the morning when first getting going, (cold or warming up at idle) But once you used it for a couple miles it would pull good.

So do I;
1. Grab the bull by the horns and start saving for a rebuilt transmission?
2. Buy a donor truck for all the parts to swap it over to a strait drive? (I am mechanically inclined and will be using the truck to haul other trucks and truck parts up and down the east coast so I want to get the transission problems solved all at once)
3. Do I get away with changing the screen filter and fluids?

I'm looking for advise. I'm real dissapointed to not be able to drive the truck after spending $500+ on the vacuum/ps upgrade!

wannadiesel

I would at least drop the pan and have a look. When you checked the trans fluid (you did check it, right?) was the trans in Park or in Neutral? It needs to be checked in Neutral because the fluid does not circulate in Park.

MrExtreme

True, all autos I have ever seen say to check the fluid level in neutral.

False, there are different hydraulic circuits in use in neutral than then there are in park, if the engine is running, the pump is turning and fluid is circulating. Loosen one of the tranny cooler lines while the engine is running in park for a few seconds and I guarantee you will witness circulation.

X

MrExtreme

With your plans to do a lot of towing with this truck I would change it over to a manual 5 speed. Hot rods are autos, tow rigs are manual. IMHO

Chances are, with the slippage prior to the vac pump going, it is time to rebuild the tranny. I have seen many times an auto will start to slip and the first thought is to do a tranny service, it usually won't help or if it does it is short lived. It seems that the fresh fluid removes buildup from the clutches or is no longer as thick as the old fluid with the worn off clutch material in it and the slippage becomes worse. If the fluid in your tranny is dark and smelling burnt it is probably toast.

The cold, morning slipping you described is a sure sign of not much life left for the tranny.

X

searcher

Wanna is right to a point. I don't know if it circulates at all in park, but if you fill the trans in park and then check it in neutral, as you should, you will be a couple of quarts low. I saw this with our Dodge bobtail tow vehicles in the Air Force. As far as all transmissions being checked in neutral, my GMC and F150 specifically say check in park.

searcher

One of the things I like about my Dodge truck is the 3 speed auto. It's bullet proof and should not be that expensive to rebuild. If it is then I would rebuild it myself. Get a good converter and you have a good system. I agree that if you have a donor truck it would be good to swap over to a standard for mileage but I don't think it would be more reliable. I had a guy from the motor pool teach me how to rebuild transmissions and it was shocking just how easy it was after getting the tools.

mikestrucks

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advise. It looks like I'm leaning toward taking the original transmission out and rebuilding it myself or having it rebuilt.

I speculate that putting it together with heavy duty "towing" parts if available will be good enough for what I plan to do with the truck. (I may never find a whole donor strat drive since it would have to be from a truck with a blown Cummins engine and everything else mechanicaly good. YEAH RIGHT!!)

So I'll rebuild the original transmission. Staying with the auto trany should be OK the way I drive and pull. (I'm doing it right now in a tired 77 Ford F100 with a 302 with a C5 transmission!!!!!) So the Auto behind the D250 Cummins should be a FAR step up!

Thanks, and I'll post my progress as I go. Hopefully I'll be able to help someone else out down the line on these Dodge trucks as I log more and more miles and experiance with them. This is my first Dodge.

mikestrucks

Besides anything bullet proof is good!

Ace

Long live the venerable 727 torqueflite! They don't make 'em like that anymore.