1999 Ram 46RE HELP!!!

[OH71RRunner]

1999 Ram 1500 360 4x4 Auto

TL/DR
Truck is constantly going back to 1st gear when applying throttle.

This is gonna be long, but here is the background:
Bought the truck a few years ago. Transmission had been out of the truck at some point, previous owner knew nothing about it as he'd only had it a short time.

Had to do a bunch of work to it - front steering/ suspension rebuilt, rear end rebuilt, intake, tune up, brakes, tires.

Last year, hit a huge hole on the interstate and it fried the computer. Found another at a junkyard that got me home. Bought a couple others that worked until they got hot. Always kept several in the truck to swap when needed. Everything was fine for couple months.

One day OD light came on. Went off after stopping. Few days later, light came on again this time followed by Trans Temp light. Stopped the truck. Light went off after restart. After doing some searching, eliminated the check ball valve thing by radiator and installed temperature sensor and guage so I can get an actual reading of transmission temperature. Light kept coming on but temps were normal.

Driving home one day, after stopping at a stop sign, truck didn't downshift to 1st. Had to put it in 1st manually. OK for a couple minutes. Lights came on and it was bucking and not shifting right. Swapped computers. It was OK for about 30 seconds. Had it towed home.

Bought new computer. Truck acted like it wasn't shifting out of 1st. RPMs would just climb. No shift. Put in new sensors. Fine for about a mile.
Borrowed a Snap On scan tool. Truck DOES actually shift out of 1st once I'm off the gas but immediately returns to 1st when back on the gas. Could hear sensors clicking when running tests. Scan tool showed pressure going up with speed.

Changed harness in transmission. Screens were clogged on sensors. Cleaned and tried again. Drive for about a mile and things were fine. Problem returns. Unplugged transmission harness to manually shift gears. Did OK for a couple minutes. Then back to wanting to stay in 1st gear.

Took valve body off and apart. Screens were clogged again. Cleaned valve body and screens, and new filter again.

When trying this time, after a few minutes, there's a loose scraping sound. Very faint but I could hear it. Went away after shifting to neutral. Returns after being in gear for a few seconds. It did this once before after fluid change but went away quickly.

There has been no slipping at all even the couple times times everything was working properly. Most of my test driving is under a mile and under 35MPH unless things feel good enough to go higher or farther.

The drums above the bands have no visible marks. No scratches, scuffs, or marks that I can see. The throttle valve cable moves when gas peddle is pressed. It is adjusted according to different videos.

I'm thinking the transmission needs rebuilt or replaced. I'm hoping not though. I don't have the money to keep throwing at this with the same results. Maybe somebody here can shed some light on what I'm running into.

Thanks

 

[Rebelrouser]

If the material clogging the screens is a light red or gray material it is most likely the lining from the lock up in the convertor. That is the weakness of this tranny from my experience, material clogs the screens people keep driving and then it burns up the rest of the transmission. Never had one that wanted to downshift into low like you describe. Governor pressure has to overcome throttle pressure to shift. Governor pressure is created by a solenoid, scan tool should say commanded pressure, then you look at what the computer thinks the pressure is a sensor, and then you put a gauge on it and see if they all three agree. If the solenoid or sensor is bad they will not.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Sorry I gotta do it....

 

[OH71RRunner]

If the material clogging the screens is a light red or gray material it is most likely the lining from the lock up in the convertor. That is the weakness of this tranny from my experience, material clogs the screens people keep driving and then it burns up the rest of the transmission. Never had one that wanted to downshift into low like you describe. Governor pressure has to overcome throttle pressure to shift. Governor pressure is created by a solenoid, scan tool should say commanded pressure, then you look at what the computer thinks the pressure is a sensor, and then you put a gauge on it and see if they all three agree. If the solenoid or sensor is bad they will not.

The stuff clogging the screens of the thing with the wire harness (can't remember what it's called) looked like stuff from a heater core or radiator when you clean them. Except it was smaller pieces. The screens on the solenoid was much smaller, almost like fiber. But larger than the fuzzy stuff the magnet in the pan would catch.

Here's a picture of the screens from the harness piece. Ignore the junk on the gasket, I pulled it out of the trash after I saw the screens from the solenoid. Notice the one side is completely clogged.

After noticing this is when I decided to tear apart and clean the valve body. I was thinking that I messed up when I took out that check ball valve thing and allowed more flow from the coolers and put debris in the valve body.

 

[OH71RRunner]

Sorry I gotta do it....

Noooooo!!!
I hope not but that's what I'm afraid of.

 

[ESOXER]

TV cable adjustment?
Mine was out of wack after a rebuild and it smoked it shortly, nice dude that rebuilt it told me to pound sand.

 

[OH71RRunner]

TV cable adjustment?
Mine was out of wack after a rebuild and it smoked it shortly, nice dude that rebuilt it told me to pound sand.

It does move when throttle is pressed. I cannot say it is 100% correct as I'm going by YouTube videos. I tried to move it to different positions and didn't notice much of a change.
Also, I can't imagine it would come out of adjustment out of nowhere.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

If second gear has a mechanical fault the trans will initially shift but then default back to first.... How is the adjustment of the front band?

 

[OH71RRunner]

If second gear has a mechanical fault the trans will initially shift but then default back to first.... How is the adjustment of the front band?

I think I adjusted the bands correctly. Both tightened to 72 inch pounds. One is backed off 2 turns. Other is backed off 2 3/4.
I did not try to move the bands too much but moved the metal bars and pulled the band out a little too see material on the bands. There is material there and the drum looked OK.

 

[Rebelrouser]

The stuff clogging the screens of the thing with the wire harness (can't remember what it's called) looked like stuff from a heater core or radiator when you clean them. Except it was smaller pieces. The screens on the solenoid was much smaller, almost like fiber. But larger than the fuzzy stuff the magnet in the pan would catch.

Here's a picture of the screens from the harness piece. Ignore the junk on the gasket, I pulled it out of the trash after I saw the screens from the solenoid. Notice the one side is completely clogged.
View attachment 1609330

After noticing this is when I decided to tear apart and clean the valve body. I was thinking that I messed up when I took out that check ball valve thing and allowed more flow from the coolers and put debris in the valve body.

Again the only way I know of to check it right is with a scan tool and pressure gauge. Computer commands the governor solenoid to make pressure the sensor then tells the computer if that pressure was made. Hook up a manual pressure gauge and run it on jackstands, the scan tool pressures should agree with a gauge within a couple lbs. With debris like that I would almost guarantee it would flunk the test. Aways replace the governor and pressure sensors as a pair no way to really determine which one would be defective.
And the material has to be coming from somewhere, my best guess is the converter. Does seem odd that the filter did not do a better job of keeping it out of the valvebody. If I was building this unit, valvebody needs to come out and completely apart for cleaning.
And if you pull a trailer for example and have to rebuild this unit, they are expensive, but a double clutch towing converter is well worth the money to keep it together.

 

[gtx6970]

Looks like clutch material in the screens.

 

[Dodge-Scatpack]

Without proper diagnostics you can only make a most probable cause. Sadly the 46RH & 46 RE trans are notorious for needing full rebuilds due to some less than optimal design specs & compenents. On the bright side, the aftermarket has resolved the prone failure points with improved materials (seals) in the rebuild kits including more robust torque converters (furnace brazed fins). When I was at the dealerships during this timeframe, the amount of Rams, Dakotas, and Vans needing trans overhauls was overwhelmingly at times. My Dakota needed a full rebuild and my 00 Ram will be in need at some point. It’s not a matter of IF you will need a rebuild but rather WHEN. This gave Ram a bad reputation at the time.

The 45RFE used behind the 4.7l was a much more reliable trans. Sadly they never used in the Magnum series.

 

[Budnicks]

Did anyone recommend to check the transmission 'output speed sensor' in the side of the trans ?
(mine was on a 5.2ltr 4x4 auto 46RE TF, at like 50k miles)
it's only like $10.99-ish, I had one go out & it temp caused shifting issues
I was close to home luckily
need to change it soon, or it can cause damage excessive wear...

Just a thought, if all else has been checked

 

[Detective D]

Here is what I know about second gen truck transmissions-
The converter is a weak spot. It just is. Not like "gonna fail at 50k miles" like tire kickers want to tell you if you try to sell one of these trucks, but they will be a thing that could fail before other items in the trans.

Even though they will all bolt up etc, year over year between the start of them to 2001 the computers and transmissions are not always interchangeable. Brother in law has my 2001 off road edition with 5.9 auto. Rebuild guy(at 170k miles) says he can swap in a 99 transmission, should be fine. NOPE. That thing runs to 3800RPM before it shifts out of first, no matter the throttle. It runs fine, but boy oh boy is it amusing driving through town. Every stop sign or red light.... ROOOOARRRR away lol. Everything in the 99 trans was stock. 2001 computer is looking for a different pressure I think, the off road edition may have a different spec. It all bolted in though.
On top of that, dealerships flashed the ECU's for various reasons, including detunes to try to help the transmissions last longer.

Also, aftermarket computers: the aftermarket likes to take chrysler and lump every single year a thing will bolt in as one item. Ramcharger, truck, vans, whatever fuel sender unit as an example for 1981-2001 dodge vehicles (LOL) not kidding. you can see stuff like this on Amazon if you want a laugh.
Computers and other parts can be similar. Not sure where your computer came from but might be good to have it reflashed to match your VIN, factory program for your exact year.

Fluid. These transmissions are picky on that. And you can;t just grab a comparable synthetic or even brands. Some are not as viscous as others, and that matters. Might need to do some internet search research to see what people use lately for their old trucks to keep them happy.

 

[OH71RRunner]

I did and tried everything I had found online. Sensors, flushing, band adjustments, computers. Had some junk yard ones. Then bit the bullet and got a refurbished one flashed with my VIN. My computer issue was a separate thing in itself.

I ended up taking it to a shop. Full rebuild. The problem was a planetary gear. The pin had pushed up on the housing piece not allowing the gears to spin properly. It was deformed. Not sure how that could've happened. It was ugly.

Now it drives great, shifts perfect. Only problem I've got now is the internal temp sensor/ governor losing connection every so often. Throwing a light. But I've got a temperature guage to know for certain what the temp is. I'll have the shop look at it when I go back for a fluid change in a month or so. It's got a 2 year warranty on the rebuild, so I'll let him change the fluid and check things out while it's under warranty.