Hi All,

Been having issues for awhile now with the shifting on my 1986 Dodge B-250 camper conversion. Comes with the 318 + TF.

We bought it last year and noticed that it does not want to shift into 3rd. You can finesse it sometimes by letting off the pedal and once rpm drops some, sometimes it will drop into 3rd. But never on the gas hard will it change to 3rd and lately I cannot get it into 3rd at all.

First to second works as it should but when in second if you are going slow and stomp on it, it does not drop into first most times.

I have had it to the transmission shop where the guy dropped the pan. He said the bands and everything looked fine and there were no shavings or anything. He did do an adjustment on it which made first and second work nicer but seems to have killed any chance or 3rd gear happening.

I have added a pic and if anybody can tell me if there is something I should try adjusting on that would be much appreciated! The linkage and setup on this thing is not like anything I have seen before.

Probably time to come out for a rebuild. The clutch seals harden with age and won't seal fluid pressure. The clutches glaze and refuse to grab. Usually what you describe is the way the torqueflites die as hydraulic pressure is not as great in third.

Really can't afford to do that right now, hope there is some adjustment to try that might help

You could try something like a transmission additive designed to soften up old clutches and seals. It could buy some time....How many miles are on this?

I did n't know they made stuff like that. It has 97k on it.

There s no adjustment for dried out seals. Additives can help but don't expect miracles. It may just be too late and only a rebuild will fix it. That's what happens when you buy an old vehicle. May have been the reason it was being sold to begin with. Are you sure that's not 197k.

I'll give that a shot thanks.



Yeah just hoping for a miracle :P No it is 97k. It was only used for camping in the summer, rest of the time it was stored inside. Is there anything I can try to verify that is indeed time for a rebuild?

How does reverse work?
What do you mean he adjusted something and 1st and 2nd work nicer?

Does it shift late into 2nd with light throttle? It should almost shift from 1 to 2 in a length or 2 of itself if you give it light throttle from a stop ie enough to hold 10-15 MPH.

I was thinking maybe a sticking governor.

There was a thread on here a while back about a rude, crude, down and dirty fix for that. It involved jamming it into Park at low speed... . The park pawl ratcheting at speed is supposed to shake the governor up enough that it will quit sticking.

Kevin

Before I took it to him the shifting from first to second was not I don't know how to put it "crisp" maybe. It just felt better accelerating froma stop and shifting to second. Not a huge difference but noticeable. I think now I get a bit more out of first before it shifts (rpm).

Ho told me he adjusted "the cable" I was in a rush when i picked it up so I didn't ask any questions. But the linkage is not cable so not sure what he meant.

Reverse works ok but at times when it is warmed up there is a bit of a delay from the time you start to give it some gas and it actually engages causing a bit of a bump, first gear does the same when it is warm. When cold that doesn't happen near as much.



Yes actually that you mention it, with light throttle it will stay in first longer than I feel it should. A little bit sketchy about throwing it in park while moving though! Where is the governor located?

Governor is in the tail shaft section. Do a quick online search for it and you will find the info you need.

where does that rod going forward [towards the radiator that the kick down rod tension spring attach to] in the pic end up ? what is it attached to ?

It attaches to the firewall on some sort of a pivoting arm. I can take a picture if it will help?

One other thing I remembered just now. When i was able to get it to go into 3rd by letting off the gas and letting it coast I usually feel a little bump on the pedal right when it changed. I did drive with the doghouse off and noticed this happens when the little round actuator thing you can see in the pic pin moves out like an 8th of an inch. Not sure even what that thing is or how it contributes to the whole operation.

a pic would be good. i was thinking you might want to remove that rod for a test drive just to see what would happen.

That forward rod goes to the acc. pedal.The cable on the carb is most likely cruise control.I would set the throttle pressure rod adjustment correctly first before tearing into the trans,most likely the guy that messed with it before did it wrong

i was thinking along the same line.

Ok so just checked out the lever on the transmission with no pedal and WOT and at both times the lever is neither all the way forward or all the way back.

With WOT there is probably a good 1/4 to 1/2 inch short before it hits a hard stop. Same goes for when there is no throttle. When pushing the lever all the way forward the linkage actually hits the transmission before it can hit a stop itself.

Have no idea where to start trying to adjust / fix. In my research I see people saying start with the lever all the way forward when no throttle. Does that mean lever all the way forward as it hits a hard stop or is there a point before that where it should be?

Oh forgot a pic of that rod, attached. Also a video of the movement on the lever with 0 pedal is here:

https://youtu.be/4_Jmqf266-Y

Leaking seals generally leak more when cold, does the trans behave worse when cold? And then the hotter it gets the better it works upto a point.

It's actually the opposite. It shifts better when it is cold than when it is hot.

Edit: Well around town it shifts worse cold (holds first to long), on the highway it goes into 3rd easier when cold.