Tech Question - Dodge Tranny

Granny

Granny

One day at a time...
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Location
Cabarrus County (Rimertown)
I have searched various forums, and today, stopped by my local tranny shop (well experienced) looking for an answer. So far, a mystery remains unsolved...

My truck: 1992 Dodge/Cummins D250 (2WD) with A518 auto trans (overdrive) (rebuilt less than 10k miles ago)

After sitting for an extended period of time, at least a week or more; the next time driven for the first shift only it will bang/slam going into overdrive. It's a hard shift and I can feel it. After that one shift, it's as smooth as a baby's butt from then on... just a couple days of sitting won't cause it. I have tried letting it go into OD as a normal up-the-road shift , an as-slow-as-possible speed and am considering trying it next under fairly-hard acceleration to see what happens. If it needs repair, I want to find it and get it taken care of. I can't find an answer and no one I have talked to about it has had a clue thus far. Anyone have any ideas, I am all ears. THANX!!! :beer:
 
First step in dodging a tranny is to stay away from where they shop!:D

But really, I have no clue, can not help and only have senseless humor to offer...sorry
 
Probably the check valve in the transmission line next time you let it set let the truck warm up in neutral Dodge transmissions Don't pump in park

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
 
Since it does it only under very certain circumstances and does not repeat unless under those same circumstances, I'm gonna have to say it's a fluid/clutch issue. I suspect the OD clutch piston is oh so slightly compromised (not bad, not failed, not indicative of a potential failure) and once the clutch piston is properly lubed from initial engagement, it's fine from there on out.
Personally, I would simply call that a quirk and not attempt to address it. I'd spend that same amount of time verifying TV cable adjustment as that will have a profound impact on essentially all forward shifts.

Cliffs: wait till it does it with more frequency before losing any sleep over it.
 
ProbablyBroke said:
Has the trans done this ever since the rebuild?
Click to expand...
No... can't say for sure, but I'm going to say it became noticeable over this past summer.

Jody Treadway said:
I'd spend that same amount of time verifying TV cable adjustment as that will have a profound impact on essentially all forward shifts.
Click to expand...

Good info in the entire post... ThanX! I have instructions for adjusting the TV cable, but I have never felt comfortable with them. At the present setting, the truck shifts nice, but doesn't waste any time getting into 3rd gear... sometimes feels like too soon. I have toyed with it since I bought it (2004), but always end up back where it's at now. If there is a fool-proof way of doing it, I would love to know it. ThanX!
 
If it is shifting a little too soon across the board, that is a symptom of a mis-adjusted TV cable.
I'll write a longer reply when I'm on a PC on how to adjust it.
 
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clear as mud. directions for 98 1500.
 
Jody Treadway said:
I'll write a longer reply when I'm on a PC on how to adjust it.
Click to expand...

Come on Jody!... I'm sittin' here like a little kid waitin' on a Christmas present! :D
Really..... would like to hear how you go about this... please remember , mine is a 1st gen. ThanX!!! :beer:
 
Granny said:
Come on Jody!... I'm sittin' here like a little kid waitin' on a Christmas present! :D
Really..... would like to hear how you go about this... please remember , mine is a 1st gen. ThanX!!! :beer:
Click to expand...

With the throttle fully closed, unhook the TV cable from the ball stud. Pull the slack out and note if the retaining clip (where it connects to the ball stud) aligns with the stud or if it is fore or aft of it. It should align exactly beside the stud. Adjust it until it aligns perfectly.
If you want to quicken the shifts and add a little additional line pressure, adjust it so it takes just a ____ hair of throttle opening to align.
Let me know if this helps and I'll do my best ol' buddy
 
After tinkering a little, and digging a little deeper. I called a good buddy, who has access to AllData. He printed out the whole works for my model truck. Things are a whole lot clearer now.

Jody, what you printed was mainly how to adjust the throttle cable. By combining your info with what I saw on AllData I found that my throttle cable is slightly out of adjustment, and I need to correct that before going on to the TV cable adjustment. So, your info was very helpful and I thank you for steering me in another direction.

Once I get throttle adjustment right the TV cable should adjust easy. Now that I understand what all is involved it seems relatively simple. I believe the main problem was my being so focused on one particular tree that I simply couldn't see rest of the woods.

Appreciate all the help... I'll update when I get around to working on it again.

Merry Christmas to all!!!! :beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:
 
It's going to be so easy once you finally do it that you're going to kick yourself in the ass for not having done it sooner!
 
I can't believe two months has passed since the last post on this thread. With the spell of crappy weather behind me I got back on my project yesterday. During my downtime I bought a factory service manual and actually spent some time reading it.

Following the manual, I had to backtrack into the linkage adjustment as far as the low-idle setting and work my way up from there. With the low-idle setting tweaked in I moved on to the throttle cable settings which had obviously been modified at some point before I owned the truck.

First of all, was a linkage modification that I returned back to stock position (just a picture, not my truck).

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A youtube video shows it as a performance modification. I have been driving it that way for a long time, but after putting it back to stock position I have no idea what, if any, the advantage is. The throttle pedal is much smoother, and at my age I like comfort far better than performance.

Anyway, I finally got all the adjustments related to the throttle within specs and the related gears have never shifted so nice. Under moderately heavy throttle, 1st-2nd shifts around 25 mph and 2nd-3rd shifts around 45 mph. Those shifts are controlled by the throttle valve cable to the transmission.

Next, came 3rd-4th (overdrive) which was shifting way too soon. That shift is controlled electronically by the throttle position sensor and I found it to be a simple voltage adjustment. All I needed was a digital volt meter and a 10mm wrench... something easy for a change.

I have no idea if anyone is interested or not, but I just felt the need to follow up on this thread. For the record, my truck is a 1992 and my factory manual is specific to that year, but I believe all the 1st gens are about the same other than maybe something specific to Dodge. If anyone has a 1st gen and is in need some tech advice on it I will be happy to relay what the book says.

Again appreciate all the replies and advice! :beer::beer::beer:
 
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