I am having some issues with my trans and I would like to see if someone may have some insight into what the problem may be. <br>When the trans is cold and I shift out of park or neutral into first or reverse, it is a nice smooth engagement. Once the trans is at operating tempurature and I shift out of park or neutral into gear, it is a very harsh engagement. I am just trying to figure out what is causing this. I recently changed my fluid and adjusted my bands which did not help this at all.<br>Any ideas????

 

Dodgezilla: If the shifts get harder too when the tranny is warm it may be a result from improper fluid- not enough friction modifier.<br>Another cause could be the tranny temp sensor. (Pin1 on C2 of the PCM) (sorry didn't find correct resistance for the thermistor)<br>Did you change the filter and can you test teh tranny with a pressure gauge?<br><br>HTH and good luck!<br><br>AlpineRAM

 

I know that you checked the bands, but I think that you should check again. The diagnostic procedure indicates a loose band.<br>

 

I was having hard shifts also before I flushed and changed the fluid and filter. The bands were loose so I tightened them some. No inch/pound torque wrench so I got them finger tight and backed them off about 2.5 - 3 turns. My shifts have gotten much softer which is very nice. I think that if anything I actually need to back the rear band off a little more as I now have a slight howling at times. I have adjusted them twice now. The first time they were too tight and you couldn't even feel the trans shift. I also still have a problem with my first to second shift point. It is too quick(no matter how much I accelerate) while the other shift points are fine. Thanks for the replies.....

 

I don't know that this is your problem but I will give you this on the operation of the dodge transmission. When using them for performance you get into different situations. One is that when going from second to third there is some overlap of the gears. Adjusting the band just right cures this for better speed and will also affect the shift quality. Second gear is closing a band where first is on a one way roller clutch so second just takes over the power with no clash. When going to third, the valve body has to release the second gear band and apply the third gear clutch pack. Since the clutch pack is not adjustable, different setting of the band controlls it. If the band is too tight it will be still engaged when the clutches for third engage. If it is too loose there will be an overspeed between the gears. If you think about it you can get the idea. A harsh shift generally is too tight a band if the accululators and check ***** are good. If it is too loose then overspeed with come. When mofifying a valve body and rail pressure, the band has to be set to operate right regardless of the stock setting because of the different pressures and timing. The reason that it does not do it cold is that the fluid is thicker cold taking longer to fill the chambers then when hot. All that being said you could just have a sticky check ball or too high a throttle pressure setting.

 

I measured the line pressure adjustment on the valve body and it was right on so I didn't mess with it. I'll mess with it again this weekend and post my results.