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97 3.9 42re delayed 2-3 shift when cold

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4.8K views 2 replies 1 participant last post by  Sarge1992  
#1 ·
So I recently bought my 97 Dakota Sport with a 3.9L and 42RE trans, and have been driving it around more as of late (truck is a work in progress, replacing the heads in the coming weeks). Now when the truck is cold like first thing in the morning, the 1-2 shift is fine and 3-4 shift is fine, but the 2-3 shift is very delayed, basically like it drops into neutral. I let off the gas and then it will eventually go into 3rd, sometimes immediately, sometimes not. It gets better as it warms up and after about 5 minutes of driving, it shift perfectly normal in all gears.

What I've done to the trans so far is replaced fluid/filter with Mopar ATF +4 and the fluid level was checked while hot and running in neutral, adjusted both bands per the specs in my Chilton manual, and replaced the governor pressure solenoid and sensor (both bad when I bought the truck) as well as the output speed sensor (came in the same kit as the other sensors). Is there a solenoid or something that deals solely with the 2-3 shift? Seems odd that it fixes itself when it gets warm. I've seen posts on everything from the problem being the valve body or a TV cable adjustment, but none of it really makes sense to act up while cold instead of warm.

Also the truck has 230k miles on it, unsure if the trans is OE so let's just assume for now it is.
 
#2 ·
No one has experienced this and found a fix? I find that hard to believe. I think I'll just take a shot and replace the valve body with a remanufactured one. From what I can tell the only thing that has to do solely with the 2-3 shift is a valve in the valve body. Will update with results.
 
#3 ·
Replaced valve body today, problem solved. If the company doesn't want the core, I'll dissect the old valve body to see what exactly went wrong. I suspect the 2-3 shift valve bore is worn out, but I'd like to be sure. While I was in there I replaced the accumulator piston with a new aluminum one. The OEM plastic didn't seem like it was sealing all that great. New accumulator piston stayed in the transmission on it's own, making re-installation of the valve body easier by just having to worry about the 1 spring.

Side note, that park rod is a serious pain in the ass, took an hour just to get that set correctly into the transmission.