I have a 96 46 RE trans in my truck.

I want to replace the pressure solenoid and the transducer while I am changing the fluid and filter shortly. Since I'm also getting an intermittent non-functioning speedometer (recent development), so I will also be replacing the speed sensor on the tail shaft (second one of those in 2 1/2 years, but at least I don't have to remove the pan to change the speed sensor).

I have a standing order at Rock Auto for the transducer and the solenoid (fits the 96 trans), but I can buy the gasket and filter cheaper locally (shipping is the difference). I don't see a listing for the speed sensor at all. On line I see Amazon (and Ebay) has listings for the gasket, filter solenoid, transducer, a spring, a wiring pigtail, and a couple other parts as a package kit, but there are two different price ranges. Both packages say they cover all the Mopar OD transmissions from the 518 up through the 48 RE, but then give a year range of 96-99 (around $105) and 2000 and up ($54). Both kits are less then the incomplete list of parts and shipping from RA.

I thought that I read that the earlier (which my 96 is) transmissions had a few issues that were corrected as the years rolled on and that the newer parts exchanged in place and solved the old issues. Is this the case, or am I really loosing my mind?

Can I buy the kit for the later transmission and will the parts work on my 96 transmission? Are the Amazon/Ebay "kits" good parts, or ones I should stay away from?

Dumping 9 quarts of ATF +4 to replace defective new parts would suck, and the price difference isn't enough to concern me at this point.

The plug ins are different between the 2 versions. Can't use the 00-up on yours.
Get name brand like Rostra, Borg warner, or OE. Don't settle for a white box with no branding
I've gotten my last few sets off of eBay but I've scouted thru the listings to compare and make sure I get name brand.
If it say "fits" and then references a known name brand it is probably a clone. Like you said ATF+4 ain't cheap anymore so do overs will definitely suck. And if you can get the 3-4 spring that's a good thing. Seen a lot of those broken
Age has as much to do with problems from these parts as miles does.

Nothing much I'm seeing available these days are name brand parts. They have brand names, but are names I've never heard of before. It seems the choices are getting pretty slim, many places are saying there are only 2-3 left in stock. RA only has one transducer (also a brand I've never heard of), and doesn't show a listing for the speed sensor at all.

Wouldn't know why they don't stock many big name parts for a 29 year old transmission, especially if they changed the parts to something different 26 years ago...

Some of the names I've heard of only pertain to the transmission world. What are you finding?many on feebay rebrand using the seller's eBay "handle" as the parts brand. Come back and name some of what you've heard of, maybe trans man or dvw or duster346, or one of them guys might chime in

OE is best. Rostra is next. There is really nothing else. Borg Warner was the distributor for Solero, Sonnax (Rostra) now has those rights. ( I am in the transmission parts industry).

BW was just a distributor? I thought they made parts.

They do make parts. There were certain parts (transmission at least) that they were just a distributor.

Just ordered a solenoid kit from Ebay, it was posted as having Rostra parts, but the nitty gritty stated the parts were BW. The kit includes the governor solenoid, the transducer, the speed sensor, a filter, and pan gasket for $119.85, taxes, and shipping (free) included. For just over $20 more I could have gotten a kit that included the OD solenoid kit and an accumulator spring, but I'm doing this with the truck on jack stands, dropping the valve body, or reaching the shift linkage to remove it is a pretty tough job on this truck.The OD works, and I see no reason to have a new OD solenoid kit sitting here that may not get used. I have read their failure rate is very low. If the spring is broken, I can buy it locally. The ordered parts should be here by the end of this week.

Now, anyone have a Rock Auto discount code?

Will be ordering a thermostat, gasket, and hose tube kit, Wix oil filter, 5 quart bottle of 10W 30 Mobil oil. 8 quarts of AFT+4 and a set of 8 spark plugs from Rock Auto later today.

Let us know what the quality of the pan gasket is. I did a filter change and the gasket was much thinner than the factory. I read later on a Fakebook group some guys are using 727 filters and reusing the factory hard plastic gasket as it lasts forever and doesn't leak. I added washers and used hylomar to seal mine up.

I think BW and Rostra are now the same.
The 3-4 spring can be accessible without dropping the VB. Good thing to. change while in there. That is also an accumulator of sorts.
If OD is working why again are you changing the parts you are? (Beyond fluid and filter anyway)
Look at the wiring to the OD and LU solenoids at least the best you can while in there.
Also check where wiring harness plugs in to make sure it's dry in there as I've had them leak and leach fluid into the wiring harness which causes other issues
I had exactly that on my Durango. The trans case was bone dry but I pulled the 8 terminal plug off and it was dripping with fluid. As was the NSS (different for "01 up than they used for the previous 40 -iah years of Mopar transmissions) so I had to change them both.
I wondered why when (for example) I was pumping gas and knew I had it in park, id notice the backup lights were staying on if I didn't shut the engine off. I'd never seen this on any Chrysler product new or old, though the backup lights staying on for 30 seconds or so when you get out of your car on 201x model year GM's.... With a new NSS I don't get that no more. That Durango sat almost a year between pulling that trans and putting it back in plus I soaked the plug with contact cleaner a couple of times during that sitting time. So that's something to watch for when you're playing with yours.

The parts have arrived here today. I didn't have time to look at them very close, the Solenoid is in a BW box, the transducer was in a Borsch box, and the filter looks like the old 727 filters (no plastic) the gasket looks like cork but I didn't look to see how thick it was. They are out in the garage now. It will be Monday (or Tuesday) before I have the chance to look at them again. The original pan gasket is long gone, it was replaced over 2 years ago with a cork gasket. The current gasket doesn't leak, but the stupid drain plug with the rubber "O" ring I installed does.

volaredon, I have been getting an intermittent code for the trans governor temp, and an occasionally no up shift that is corrected if I pull over to the side of the road, shut the truck off, then restart it (both events usually happens only when its cold outside). The truck is a 4x4 and is our primary transportation in the winter. These things are new occurrences over the last 3-6 months. 99% of the time, the trans works great. These things seem to be happening a bit more often (maybe just in my mind), but I had to wait until March to be able to do anything about it. I can feel the trans shift into OD and I can feel the converter lock up and unlock.

This trans has blown a cooler line off two times and was ran completely out of fluid both times (didn't know it happened until the truck quit moving). I have corrected the trans cooler line issue (a couple years ago already). The last time it blew the cooler line off, I dropped the pan and changed the filter and inspected everything (it looked really good). The current last fluid and filter has 25,000 miles on it. I believe the transducer doesn't function correctly all the time (giving me the code), so while I'm in there its getting both. I can't imaging running it out of fluid twice has helped either electrical part. I am also going to replace the speed sensor at the same time, the speedometer has quit working for a couple miles at a time twice in the last couple of weeks The current speed sensor was an Oriley special installed when the truck was built. I also installed a trans pan drain, and it drips as well, so I'm going to fix that too. I will also check the spring and make sure its not broken (nor is the piston it pushes on broken). I will also make sure the wiring to the trans is good (that was a problem early in the truck conversion along with the cooler line).

This is going to be my spring extended tune up. Its getting new plugs, I'm pulling the throttle body to clean it, and will look into the intake to be sure the plate is good. Its also getting a new thermostat and gasket and thermostat housing neck. And I have a damned rattle when the truck hits a bump I sure would like to fix.

Another thing to check is the output speed sensor, I think that's actually on the T case on that one (been a while since I've been under my 96) I've taken them out and seen stuff stuck to the magnet within, clean that off and good again... I've also had that part busted off on a couple of my vehicles by stuff kicked up from the road and they shift real goofy then... But the electronic parts you mentioned have more to do with 3-4 shift than the lower gears .. yes those took over the hydraulic governor function starting with 96, but the throttle pressure still has alot of influence on when it shifts which is the cable that goes from the throttle body to the lever above the shift linkage on the side of the trans. Both throttle pressure and governor pressure have a part in what they call shift timing. .
I had a problem with my 96 with shifts spaced way apart even with barely touching the gas pedal.
It wound up being the linkage where it passes thru the trans case on the throttle pressure was sticking part way back. It didn't want to return to " idle", even with a second spring to help pull it back .. I reached up and worked that lever back n forth probably 50 times with my hand and so far it's working fine since doing that. I had a thread on here last summer about that. Sometimes it's the stupid simple stuff that bites.
I don't do them often, (just often enough to forget some of the "tricks" between trans rebuilds soni gotta come here and ask stupid questions to refresh my memory) for my 01 Durango.

The output speed sensor is one of the parts I am replacing that came with the kit. The throttle pressure cable was adjusted when the truck was built, and gets checked every year. I've experienced it hanging up before in other trucks. Kind of a poor design, I think that cable must be 10' long...

This truck has been a learning experience so far, and I don't believe its done teaching me yet.

It is a 96 5.2 Dakota 4x4 that now has 68,000 miles on it, with 1949 sheet metal replacing the Dakota sheet metal. The difference between the Dakota sheet metal and the 49 sheet metal changes the air flow around the motor and drive train, and that has an effect on more things then I expected.

Dropping the trans pan on this truck sucks! All of the bolts on the front of the pan are between the pan and the exhaust crossover. The only way to access them is from the front, between the oil pan and torque converter housing on the trans. It is one flat on the hex head bolts at a time with an end wrench! Removing the Y pipe is another major undertaking (its a 4x4 so the front diff is in the way of removing the Y pipe) I was not going to deal with. I also have to undo the 8 bolts for the crossmember behind the trans pan, undo the 4 transmission mount bolts, and slide (read that beat with a hammer) the crossmember back 2". Then I still have to fight the front edge of the trans pan between the exhaust and the valve body to get it odd I sure was happy I installed the trans drain plug the last time the pan was off.

When I finally got the pan off, I noticed the wire plug for the transducer was unplugged. I thought maybe I found my problem, but the more I think about it, I'm thinking fighting with the pan probably caused the plug to become disconnected. The lock clip faces the front of the pan and is the farthest forward and lowest thing at the front of the pan. The electrical connection for the transducer was in the fluid, so I cleaned it several times with the spray electrical contact cleaner (until there was no hint of red) then blew it dry. I also replaced the governor solenoid, the filter, and I dropped the cover and made sure the spring was still good, it was. I pulled the cup out and dumped the fluid out of it. The magnet in the pan was pretty clean, I removed it and wiped it off when I cleaned the inside of the pan. The old pan gasket appeared to look like the original pan gasket, the new pan gasket was cork, I chose to reuse the old gasket, it was not leaking before, so hopefully it will remain that way. I've replaced the pan (It went back in slightly better then it came out, except those 5 pan bolts at the front. I beat the crossmember back in place and have it and the trans mount bolted back up. None of this was unexpected, I fought most of the same stuff 25K miles ago. As the final act for today I replaced the speed sensor at the back of the trans (its in front of the transfer case). I'm feeling way too old to be laying on my back on a creeper dealing with this stuff. My back is telling me so!

The goal for tomorrow is to change the oil and filter, drain the cooling system down so I can replace the thermostat, gasket, and install the new hose neck (once the truck is back on the ground). I believe I'm going to grease the truck, rotate the tires, and I have a back up camera I might install (at least the under truck part) while the truck is in the air. That may be all that gets done tomorrow! I have to take the truck off the jack stands to do anything up above.

Once on the ground I can replace the thermostat, gasket and hose neck, there is a bit of coolant pooling in that area (I have to pull the alt and serpentine belt out of the way to access the thermostat). Then I'm pulling the throttle body off for a good cleaning (the donor truck sat more then it was used before I got it), and inspect the intake floor for a leaking pendulum plate (the truck uses no oil, so I believe that is OK). Then I'm going to replace the plugs (just because), and inspect the cap, rotor and ignition wires (they were new when the truck was built 25K miles ago). Then refill everything and check for leaks.

I will have to pull the headliner to be able to install the back up camera screen. That may be a full day's worth by itself.

Sounds like a full day's work.
Let us know about the camera install. Been contemplating getting one for my old truck.

Yow, all this work on a truck you've been driving for many years makes me certain to try and think of everything when I get into my project. I know I'll have to modify the Dakota cab floor to clear the TH8-70 trans. Perhaps I should plan the tunnel mods to allow me to open it from inside the cab if I ever need to work on the trans in the future? A guideline for me is I like everything about the features and systems on my 2001 Dakota, and I hope to use as much of the Dakota as possible for my 56. Even right down to the overhead console, high brake light, bed lights, all the in cab systems, etc. So whatever wiring I find up the windshield posts and in the Dakota roof will go into the 56 cab in some way even if I don't use then immediately. I'm actually hoping I can use and modify a lot of the Dakota cab headliner in the 56.

Same for underneath. I plan to use as much of the Dakota chassis, flooran, firewall, etc, etc as possible so I don't have to rethink or redesign as much as possible. From the Dakota firewall forward to the front of the frame where I blend into the 56 radiator mounts, bumper mounts, front fascia and fenders support, etc, will all be Dakota. Once I have the cab placed on the Dakota frame and the front end done, then I'll splce the 56 rear frame into the Dakota front frame so I can retain all the box mounts, full depth box, etc.

My top goal is a daily driver I can rely on as much as I have been able to do driving my Dakota for so many years. A fresh 5.2 Magnum engine and reliable trans, relaible driveline and rear axle are the biggest parts of that.

Andy,
This truck has a complete 93 (give or take) Dakota 4x4 chassis with the 5.2 and 46re transmission out of a 96 Dakota (that had 44,000 miles on it, currently has 58,000 miles on it) bolted onto actual replacement Dakota motor mounts. It even still has the 96 Dakota factory Y pipe bon it. This frame was shortened behind the original Dakota cab around 7" (I did not shorten the frame). That was done so the wheel bases was the same as the 49 wheel base was. Everything from the radiator support holes in the front of the frame to the back of the cab is 100% Dakota 4x4 frame. Everything from just behind the front bed mounts to 6" behind the rear spring shackles is 100% Dakota 4x4 stuff. The Dakota gas tank is still on Dakota brackets. The frame shortening only required shortening the drive shaft, the fuel lines, and the rear brake lines.

Everything I have done this week is mechanically 96 Dakota stuff. The issues (other then the cooling system, the back up camera, and the under hood clearance issues) are all pretty much Dakota 4x4 standard stuff.

I used the Dakota trans tunnel, but the rest of the Dakota floor pan does not match up with the 49 cab. For the record, the Dakota headliner is not wide enough for the 49 cab, and it likely won't be wide enough for your 56. the Dakota headliner would have to be split in the middle and have about 8" added, but you would also have to cover each 1/2 of the two large 4" (or 5") wide holes the overhead console requires as you widen it. Just the headliner and the piece around the back windows was $500. You can order a replacement for your 56 at the same place.

I started with a complete wire harness from a 96 Dakota. I pulled extra wires up through the roof pillars into the ceiling on my 49. I even had a Dakota over head console (I had to cut it down, it was too long front to back to fit in my 49). The back up camera I have has its own wire harness I will need to pull up into the ceiling. When I installed my new headliner, the over head console had to go, I was not going to try to cut new holes in my new headliner (that happens to be a 2 piece ABS plastic with an only material center).

The bed sides on your step side 56 are a single piece of sheet metal, the tail lights were hung on a stand outside of the bed side, and the tail gate is a single piece of steel with a small 1" x 1 1/2 inch (or so) top tube, flat vertical edges, and a 1" diameter round bottom tube.
The bed sides on your Dakota have an inside bed side, and an outside bed side, and there is about 4" between those two pieces, the tail lights also sit between those two pieces of sheet metal. Your Dakota tail gate is also double wall with air space between.

My 49 front end has a single piece nose that both fenders and the center hood support all bolt to. Your 56 has the same set up, a bit different shape, but the same set up. On my truck, that front nose piece is 2" in front of the holes the Dakota radiator bolt into. I used the bottom 1/2 of the Dakota radiator support and fabricated the top 1/2, the top of the Dakota radiator didn't clear the sides on my hood. My truck being a 4x4 may be the cause of that. Your 56 may be a bit longer, maybe a couple inches, but not nearly as much as you think (I had a 54/55 Dodge truck). Everything from those two radiator support holes forward had to come off the Dakota frame. That front frame is cut off before it turns outward on the Dakota frame. The Dakota frame, at the point its cut off is at least 6" per side more narrow then the bumper slots cut into the nose piece.

after all this work, i would just replace the transducer in the oft chance it IS bad, then you wouldn't have to re-do this job if it really is.
just my opinion.
your mileage will vary.

Yes, the transducer has been replaced along with the pressure solenoid, and the rear speed sensor.
I drove it around a bit today (40 miles or so). I have adjusted the throttle kick down a couple times (went a little too far the 1st time), I'm pretty happy at this point. It feels like a new transmission! The shifts are great, I can feel the OD and the lock up both kick in, and the cruise control works great.
The process (trans, tune up, and throttle body clean up) has a slightly increased the idle RPM, I had to turn it up a few hundred rpm this winter, it would stall because it was so low on first start up. The stalling is gone, but the out door high temps are suppose to be back in the mid 30s tomorrow (today started at nearly 60 and has been dropping all day), I'll have a better picture of how it runs then.

glad to hear it has worked out.
will be waiting to see what tomorrow brings.