I have a 99 2500 Quad cab, only power upgrade is a superchips re-programmer. I am having some transmission problems.With OD on, at about 80km/h (50mp/h) the transmission will tend to 'hunt' around. The rpm bounces up and down and doesn't want to settle down. Heavier throttle seems to reduce the occurance. At highway speeds 110 kp/h (70 mp/h) it will once and a while do the rpm hunt. I thought it may be the od shifting on/off, but now think it is the t/c lock up controll!!?? I have had the tranny flushed and bands adjusted. Any insight would be appreciated. Thank- you.
Alan F

 

It sounds like it could be your torque converter lock up clutch. Does it rev up higher when you initially step on it in 3rd or 4th without any movement forward until a few seconds after? Was it doing this before trans flush? In just 3-4th or other gears as well? You should have od locked out in city driving(under 50mph) or so, not in overdrive. I don't recommend doing flushes on trans, as they tend to cause more problems than they cure. They will dislodge debris/material etc. and send thru system plugging passages etc. Hopefully it will go thru filter before anywhere else, but not always the case.

Best route IMO is to just drain fluid and change filter and adjust bands, either yourself or at a shop. Do not flush UNLESS you have had a major internal failure, where it is required to get all material out of system, but not as a sheduled routine maintenance. Seeing as you have done flush already you can check a few things: check and adjust tv cable, do APPS reset, tighten all electrical connections, if it still continues after these you can install DTT noise filter(at this point it's probably too late). If you've had chip on since 99 and you do towing, and you don't have VB or shift kit, and have lots of miles on rig, and it just started doing this, chances are your trans is in need of rebuild. Then it's just a matter of which transbuilder NADP, DTT, ATS, Goerend Bros., then trans will be able to handle any bomb you can throw at it.

 

Assuming your batteries are GOOD, clean the terminals and see how it goes.

 

Dodge has a bulletin on that issue regarding a reflash. It dampens the signal from the APPS sensor to prevent fluctuations caused by electrical noise from worn components such as alternator brushes and such.

 

There is a lot of information on this problem in this forum. The first thing to remember is that this most likly is NOT a mechanical problem. This is an electrical problem. It is NOT your overdrive or transmission at all. It is your torque converter, which is electrically controlled. That is what you feel poping in and out of "lock up". I have the same year truck in the 3500 type with the same superchip and wrestled with the same problem for months before solveing the problem. Go to the thread "another TC lock/unlock question' and read through it. You will find all you need to know to fix your problem. It isn't expensive or difficult, but it will take a few hours of your time. DO NOT do anything with you trany untill you have read and followed the instructions found above. Also remember, the superchips program has nothing to do with this. Let me ad, the dealers can't help either as they are stumped as well (the reflash is not a permanent fix). Dodge failed us on this one badly! If you have more problems, or can't figure out the fixes, send me a PM, and I will help as I can. Again, I had the same problem and fixed it, as have many others. You are not alone.

 

Thanks for the information people. I will clean (shiny) the grounds at the battery and the PCM. Hope it works. A free fix sounds a lot better than a tranny rebuild and new TC.
Torque - The problem did happen before the tranny flush. It has not behaved any worse after the flush.The problem also happens when OD is turned off when driving in the city.
Just curious, has anyone bought a master rebuild kit and tackled a transmission overhaul themselves?
Thanks
Alan

 

One note. As this condition worsens, poping in and out will occure both in and out of OD. Mine got so bad, it was poping in and out even at highway speeds. Even over 65 MPH! Lots of added wear and tear on all driveline parts. It does seem as though no permanent damage was done to my driveline by the time I finally solved the problem. Last tranny service yealded a thumps up by my local tranny expert. Who, by the way, struggled through this with me, and was disscovering things in parralel with me. We kept in touch so he could help others with the same problem locally. My truck was the 'ginny pig'.

 

Alan, as I had stated to check electrical issues first, then if it doesn't go away you're probably in for a new torque and trans rebuid. You didn't mention if you tow at all, or have VB or shift kit installed, these are big factors with chip. I have rebuilt a few auto trans myself, but not our 47re, they are not that hard though. You need proper tools for measuring and installing, and including trans lift, space to lay everything out, area has to be clean, and have the time to do it. If you have access to a friends shop, you could do if you are very mechanically inclined, and have service manual and follow all the steps. Most people don't have access to this, don't have the time, or want the headache, but want warranty if something goes wrong.

Extra 300, the electrical portion controls the lockup clutch for torque converter, but if power is complete thru circuit(electrical issues have been ruled out), and still revs up afterwards, it is time for a torque changeout and rebuild, as friction material is at this point almost non-existent and unable to hold lockup sufficiently. Removing filter and inspecting for friction material, will usually back this up(as will burnt smelling oil), unless it was serviced and tech didn't notice or know enough to say anything .

I see in your sig you have a aftermarket rebuilt trans and torque, did your electrical fix not hold for long, or was it torque that was the culprit all along, and reason you had to change it? Just curious as to if electrical fix temporarily masked the real problem.

 

My transmission rebuild and new torqe converter was previous to this problem and not done because of a lock up symtom. There is absolutly no connection to the two. My transmission problems were physical not electrical. I hate to see folks with this problem led down the road of thinking the worse prematurely. This is fairly common from '99' to '01'. It has, i'm confident, now been solved, after much time and effort. Of course, one may still, after 150,000 or more, give or take, have more than one problem. But that doesn't nessasarily mean they are related.

 

I never lead him down the road so to speak into thinking it was a only a straightforward mechanical problem, check out my statement again . Why was yours rebuilt then(what was the true failure the torque lockup initially, or electrical issues only masking true problem and causing mechanical failure) and how long ago before this problem and rebuild?.

As even yours could have been related, only a competent technician who did it would know true cause of failure. You can't say as a blanket statement that your fix will solve all issues, because it won't, too many variables involved. There can be mechanical issues that bring on or mask as electrical issues and vise versa. Your experience is not necessarily everyone's problem all the time, but could be some of the time. Now that he has all this info, hopefully he will find a minor electrical problem, and not a problem requiring a mechanical rebuild. This is why I asked him what trans mods he's done, if he tows and how heavy/often, and mileage on it, it will help narrow his problem down more.

 

Let us try this again, and it sounds like you are the 'competent technician' you have so much confidence in. Much like the trained, and 'competent' technicians at the dealers who can't seem to fix this problem. If I am guilty of missreading you, we apparantly share the same problem.

1. 'Down the road'..........Was not a personal attack on you
2. I steared him to a thread that has a lot of information about lock up issues, not ALL issues
3. You keep implying that my rebuild was some how connected to this lock up problem. Once and for all, as I thought I clearly stated already, NO! My tranny was shifting pooply and finally went into limp mode. I tow a 10,000 lb tool trailer around the country for a living and was on the way home. By the time I got home, she was wasted. I have very 'competent' tranny technicians who did a great job on her. The lock up issue started some time later and, one more time, turned out to be completely unrelated to anything mechanical. I too, turned to a mechanical sorce at first. A lot of us have already been down this road and are just trying to spare others with the same symptoms some of the frustration and agrivation we have experianced. Unless you have personally been through this, and personally worked the problem, you will not fully understand what it's like. I do not want to see others have to struggle with this for months as i did.
4. No 'blanket' statements were intended. The symptoms for this problem are clear. Poping in and out of lock up, usually in the 40 to 50 MPH range, or 30 to 40 MPH range with OD locked out. This may vary and in extreme cases even at highway speeds as mine did. Miss shifts, sticking in gears, shuddering, unusual noises, and a myriad of other symptoms are, of course, things that may lead you in another direction. And all warrant further investigation and study by those 'competent technicions' you love to refer to.
5. If one has the afore mentioned symptoms for lock up issues, in all likelyhood, it is electrical and repairable in your drivway at very little cost. It is worth the few hours of ones time to eliminate this possibility, at least. Before the trip to the 'competent technicians'.

 

.......as a dealer tech I find the biggest problem in trying to correct this problem is having a person that is willing to pay to have it corrected.

 

Bingo, J BODY, in fact most competent technicians(myself included) CAN find the problem if enough time is given to them, to properly diagnose the problem and find ALL symptoms, and root cause of failure. Even the average person can do most things themselves, and don't need to be a "competent technician".

When I referred to your tranny, I have no idea who did yours whether it was a "competent technician" or yourself(no flame intended). Maybe he missed your problem to begin with( I dunno). I've stated for him to check electrical issues also, but not to rule out mechanical problem, on the other hand you don't seem to aknowledge any other cure for the problem but your fix only, which of course you don't need to be a "competent technician" to see.

 

Please understand, if you can, that what you are referring to as (my fix), is really the result of many people working on this problem. Some were 'technicians', some just owners with verying degrees of mechanical aptitude. The solution most dealer service centers have is to simply throw new parts at a problem till it goes away. If you argue this, you live in a differant world than we do. Being willing to pay for this is not the issue. Is it nessasary in this case? No. I ask, have you dealt with, and solved this particular problem? I have, first hand, in real time, accually hands on, lived this problem, gone through diagnostics (with the help of many others) and solved this problem on my truck, permanently. Untill you can say this, all you have to offer is no more than guesswork, educated as it may be. If this man has the same problem that many of us have had, I'm confident he will find the answers and solutions without throwing a lot of money away. This is what I would hope for him, at least.

 

While I'm in agreement with the "not throwing" parts issue, the problem I see that there seems to be quite a few different issues that can actually cause this. It's pretty difficult on knowing where to start, but the first things I look at are the battery condition and terminals, and have the updates been performed (99, some 00). I've simply replaced the batteries in some trucks and they have gone years with no issues. I installed a lift pump one time as the old one had failed (imagine that). The customer picked up his truck and was back in 15 minutes with the TC engage/disengage issue. Went for a ride and it was really bad, right at 45-50. The guy said he'd never had that prob and he seemed to be worth trusting in that opinion (not "Mr. Eversince"......us techs don't care for him!). I covered the lift pump and a section of the pig tail with tin foil and went for a road test. Truck ran fine. Removed the foil and the prob was back again. Installed another lift pump and that one was fine. I've replaced an alternator and got rid of the issue. One of the latest ones that has had a long history of the prob, but happens intermittantly, I cut the field wires at the alternator and made a new separate harness back to the JTEC controller. I twisted the pair and wrapped them in foil tape and routed it over by the air box. Jury is still out on that one. I've also seen trucks come in with the DTT filters and the "Happy Box" that were also having the lock/unlock issue.....and on a couple of rare times there has been leakage at the input shaft seals or torque convertor seal that has caused a lock/unlock issue, but in the latter case it was easy to watch as the JTEC was commanding lock up and it wouldn't. With the electrical issue the JTEC is actually commanding the lock/unlock issue. Knock on wood.....my 01 hasn't had this issue yet.........yet!