97 problems

[tank3544]

i have a 97 that won't go into reverse about 50% of the time until you give it some gas then it jolts in .. it also has trouble shifting from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 .. you push the gas but it seems like its in neutral for a few seconds .. the rpms go up and it'll jam itself into the next gear or you let off the gas and it shifts .. then after its warmed up none of the problems occor .. i've read alot of this problem but no one has ever posted a fix .. is this torque converter related or tranny? my father in law suggested throttle position sensor for the shifting problem but i don't think thats it .. any thoughts?

[LTJGWorth]

I don't believe it. A person with the exact same problem as me. This is a very very odd problem indeed. I thought I was the only person. Well, it's not the TPS, by the way. I don't know what it is. Mine fixed it self. For over 6 months it did what you just explained above. The wierd shifting. Or should I say, lack thereof. Then one day, it shifted fine and has for about 2 months. If you find an answer, please let me know.

[RELENTLESSAPBT]

Sorry To Ask The Obvious But When Was The Fluid And Filter Changed Last. Sounds Like A Little @#@$# In The Valve Body Or An Orifice Is Slightly Plugged. From My Past I Also Recall That Many Filters Will Actually Filter Out Everything Even The Extremely Small Non Harmful And Start To Plug. My 85 Chev Did That Once And When I Got Around To Looking At It The Filter Had Been Sucked Apart.

[sak1]

My 97 2500 does that on very cold mornings. It has been doing it since I bought it in 97, 189k miles ago. Anoying but seems to be somewhat harmless, in that it hasn't turned into a bigger problem. I just figured it's a design flaw since so many Ram owners complain about the same symptoms.

[LTJGWorth]

The problem I described to you was what prompted me to have the fluid and filter changed. It still did the same thing.

[RELENTLESSAPBT]

Never Have Been Much Of A Dodge Auto Trans Fan. But Gunk Has A Way Of Sticking Around Even In Simple Old Carbs. Sorry I Wasn't Much Help.

[richards83]

I had all kinds of shifting problems with my 97' Ram. It started out intermittant, with the old check engine light and a code45. Then it would decide to shift when it wanted to. I changed the overdrive solenoid, but that didn't fix it. I went back to the dealer and bought the other 2 solenoids and changed them too and it has been shifting like new every since, almost a year now. You can buy all 3 solenoids from the dealer for around $300 and they're not too bad to replace, except for putting the valve body back in, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than paying somebody to do it.

[tank3544]

i changed all the plugs and wires and filter about 5,000 miles ago but changing the fluid is a real pain so that hasn't been done .. its unfortunate this seems to be a common problem and no real exact fix

i wonder if the newer dodges have similar problems cause if they do it'll be my last dodge .. i love em to death but i've had way too many problems to keep driving them around

[sak1]

It seems like all the manufacturers quality goes up and down, and all of them put out good vehicles and bad ones at the same time. I used to drive Chevys back in the eighties, and vowed to never buy another one because they nickle and dimed me to death. Now Chevy seems to be making good trucks again. Dodge is producing good, powerful trucks, I think you take a chance with any of them.

[BleedDodge]

Chevy - Rust problems.

Ford - Couldn't make a fuel miser.

Dodge - Bad automatic transmissions after the 727.

[fredjacksonsan]

All hail the 727!