I noticed recently that my tranny is slipping when in drive. When I put it in drive and hit the gas the truck acts like the parking brake is on. It move a little but it takes a lot of gas. One time it almost felt like it "dropped in" and then went fine. Lately I have been starting out in "1" and shifting manually to get around this.

I checked the fluid and it is to the top of the range but I noticed it has a brownish tone to it. It is an '01 with about 80,000 miles on it.

Is this a typical scenario with these trucks? If so, what is the fix? I know a local guy that is real good at working on these trucks and I was going to give it to him but figured I would check here first to see what you all think.

 

After doing some searching I think I am going to replace the governor pressure solenoid, governor pressure transducer, and the filter and will adjust the bands while I am in there.

Just curious, should I reuse the old fluid that is brownish in color or go with new fluid? Common sense tells me to go with new fluid but a few years back I had an auto trans car that shifted worse after I changed the fluid at 100K. I was told after the fact that it was because all of the worn friction material that was in the old fluid was now gone.

 

Are you noticing a difference when starting out in manual low???

Anytime you drop the pan ALWAYS put new fluid in it!

 

When I shift manually..1..2..D it runs/shifts fine. It is when I try to take off in drive that it feels like the E-brake is on or something is holding it back. What does that tell you?

I am ready to dump money into the Suncoast governor pressure conversion kit, a new transducer, and filter. Do you think this will take care of it? I figure for a couple hundred it is worth a shot. If it doesn't work then I guess it will be time to have it rebuilt or drop in a rebuilt one.

 

change out fluids to synthetics .. if you have not already done so
drop the pan and re-adjust your bands...

 

So are you saying not to even mess around with the solenoid and transducer?
What synthetic fluid should I use?

 

By going to manual low, you are applying the rear band. It has a sprag that does the same job in forward. This sprag must be damaged. It will have to come out and be rebuilt to fix it. It is the last thing that comes out so it is a complete rebuild time.
Any chance someone did a few neutral drops to spin the tires? This really shocks the sprag.

 

Definately no neutral drops. The truck is used very lightly. The hardest work it sees is pulling my car to the track twice a year. Guess I will forget about the solenoid and transducer. Do you have any idea how much a trans rebuild will cost? Would I be better of going with a pact viper or dr evil relacement trans?

 

I was in the same situation about a month ago. 01 qclb auto 4x4.91k. Not used very hard. Just pulling stuff around the farm. (Mods in my City Of Monroe WTP) Was doing the exact same thing you describe and I also shifted it manually to get around it. Took it to a shop. And the gov pressure solenoid and transducer was packed full of metal and I had basically welded 1st gear together....time for a rebuild. Took to reputable shop near me. Hd converter. Hd clutches, shift kit..etc. After tax it was right at 3k. And has a 50k mile warranty. If you have a reutable builder in your area..I'd go that route.

 

On second thought, it is starting off in second, right???
If so then the gov pressure sensor and solinoid could it and a rebuild is not needed!

does it start off in 2nd or 3rd?

 

Do you mean will it start off in 2nd and 3rd when I shift it manually? If so, I would have to assume yes but will have to try it again this weekend. When I put it in drive I do not know if it is trying to start in 2nd, 3rd, or if it is just slipping. I just know it doesn't feel like it wants to go anywhere.

One time I felt like it "dropped" into gear and then went. I also noticed that when the truck got hot it seemed to shift better when in drive if that tells you anything.

 

I think we are getting somewhere now!
This is why it is tough/impossible to diagnose from a remote area.

Start it, put it in drive and let it roll forward several legths. Now, without touching the accelerator or brake, pull the shifter into low or 1st.
Did you feel it shift down?
Now does it take off better?

If so it is starting in 2nd or 3rd.

 

Ok, I got to take the truck out today and it definately seems to be starting out in 3rd when I put it in drive. On level ground it has to wind the engine up to 1500-1700rpm to get the truck to move. Then I let it roll a few lengths and when I pulled it down into 2nd I could feel it downshift and the same when dropping it into first. I tried starting out on level ground in 2nd and the truck did not labor as much to get moving which I think also points to it starting out in 3rd.

I also tried this with the truck on a slight incline and it was much more noticeable there. It took a lot more peddle to get the truck moving up hill when starting in drive and I could again feel it drop into 2nd and 1st. when down shifting during a roll.

I took a look at the trans fluid again and it isn't as bad looking as I initially thought. It has a reddish-brown color to it and there is not a burnt smell.

One more thing I noticed is that the fuel mileage is getting worse which seems to make sense. When I first got the truck 18-19mpg was normal. Earlier this year I noticed I was getting around 16mpg and lately it has been around 15mpg (right now the readout says 14.7).

The truck has 82,400 easy miles on it. The guy that owned it before me pulled a camper with it once and babied it the rest of the time. I bought the truck 5 years ago with 60,000 miles on it and use it to pull my car to the track a couple times a year and have pulled a bobcat with it a few times since I owned it. This trans hasn't had a rough life so I am hoping it doesn't need a full blown rebuild or replacement aftermarket trans?

 

I installed the new governor pressure transducer and solenoid today. Also put in a new filter, fluid, and adjusted the front and rear bands. Buttoned it all back up and problem solved.....for $150. Can't complain about that. Thanks for the help.