dodge didnt pass the my test

well I gravity bled the brakes and Im having problems. With the new brake line its leaking on one end I double checked it to make sure its tight. But, heres my two big problems in 1st gear ill be driving and the tranny slips out of gear then it just sits while the truck coats along then I brake. I shift back to park wait 10 seconds and then shift back to drive and the pattern continues. Also, the same problem with the brakes from day one. I have to push the pedal all the way down and then it will stop and thats going 5 miles an hour. Also, the vacuum is still at 17psi.

You have to get all the leaks taken care of on the brake system or the pedal will always be low. When it sucks air back through the leak the pedal falls. The master can't compress air so it falls to the floor. Can't even determine if the master is bad till the leaks are fixed. So get that done first and stop driving it till you make sure it has some brakes and the leaks are stopped. Just don't want to see you wreck it before you get to fix it up like you want it.

Have you checked the tranny fluid level with the tranny in neutral? The pump only pumps fluid when it's in gear or in neutral. Does it smell burnt? If so it need changing along with a filter. I would change it anyway. Does not cost much for a case of fluid a gasket and filter. I bet it's never been changed. May also be a seal in the low reverse band as well.

Has the bands ever been adjusted? I'd also do that while I am changing the fluid and filter. Second gear band is on the outside of the tranny. Looks like a stud with a jamb nut on it. Loosen it up the nut and turn the stud into the tranny till it bottoms with light pressure. Don't crank down on it, just let it bottom with light pressure. Then back it off 1 and 1/2 turns and hold it while you tighten the jamb nut. The low band adjustment is inside the tranny. When you pull the pan you'll see a lever toward the rear of the pan area. It has the same stud and jamb nut.

If none of that cures the problem it is much deeper than you and I can get into on this boar and will require a tranny shop to rebuild it for you. Hope that helps. And get a Chilton's or Motors Manual or a factory service manual if you can find them. They will have pics shwoing you what I just hastily described to you.


O.K. I checked my tech pics folder and I have a break down pic for you. This is the low reverse band and the 2nd gear kick down band. The low reverse band is the one on the left. You can see the arm with the adjuster and jamb nut at the top of the pic. The snap ring and all the piston servo parts on the far left will be in the case right below that adjuster arm. The arm rides on it and that piston is what moves the arm to apply the band.

The band on the right is the kick down or 2nd gear band. You'll see the adjuster and jamb nut at the top of the pic. This is an external adjustment and you can do it without pulling the pan. Once you pull the pan You will see the lever at the lower right attached to the band and that arm rides on the piston servo parts that you see in towards the middle of the page.That lever is what we change to make faster second gear shifts. You can change that arm from a stock 2.0 up to a 5.0 ratio arm that was used on the Hemi trans to make it shift to 2nd a little faster, plus it adds more holding grip on the band too.

i understand about the air sucking problem, when I do press the pedal I hear air sucking in. I guess Ill mess with that line one more time. As with the tranny It has new fluid and new filter. I dont drive the truck much at all just in the yard. Im thinking though ill just get towed to my uncles, I work full time, im on my own with working on this truck for a year now and its getting frustrating. I had no idea that it would be this much work on a truck that was driven a lot before I bought it. I need it though to be able to go the farm once in a while due to the 4wd.

I can understand that. I have several things I need to get fixed around here too. You said you can hear it sucking air. Are you talking about the booster making a noise? You should not be able to hear it sucking air through a leaking brake line, which is what I thought you meant when you said it was still leaking. Is any of the steel brake lines leaking fluid?

yes the booster is making that noise sucking in air, and that new metal line is leaking from the coupler.

Would it be better to have the a 727 rebuilt and at the same time get a rebuild 360 engine put in there? or just rebuild the tranny?? like I said that 318 has low miles but, the vacuum is only at 17 psi.

Don't worry about the booster. IT might have a slight leak around the fitting or rubber hose and that's an easy fix. It's working or you would be complaining about the pedal being harder than all get out to push to the floor. Get the leak at the coupler fixed before you do anything else. That is what is causing the low pedal and bleeding hte lines wont matter till it's fixed.

If the tranny needs building I would just do that to get you on the road again. I'd adjust those bands first. 17 inches of vacuum is fine for that little engine. So don't worry about that.

ok thank you for the help. That pan I put on has two stripped bolts but, the pan isnt leaking. Ill try those bands first. Is that the reason my back up lights wont come on either? I have checked eveything else for the back up lights and im stumped on that one too.

Look on the tranny on the drivers side and you will see a plug near the shift linkage. It's the neutral safety switch and it also controls the back up lights. IT has three wires. One should be hot with the key on. When in reverse it sends power to the rear back up lights. When it's in park or neutral it sends power back to the starter relay. Check so see if you get power to two of those wires when it's in reverse. You can just push a test light probe through the wire insulation and see if it lights on two wires with the key on and the tranny in reverse. Make sure to set the parking brake or block the tires so it wont roll off too.

I found out something, if the dipstick has fluid to the full mark the tranny works fine but, I filled it up last month and today its below low. Where is the fluid going? I know only two bolts are stripped however I dont any fluid leaks around the pan.

Is there any traces of tranny oil on the ground? Could be from the pan, front pump seal or vent, dipstick tube, real. That's about it. Also check the radiator for coolant. If it's milky or some strange color other than green the tranny cooler may be busted leaking into the rad. If this is so, DO NOT DRIVE IT !! The coolant will hurt the tranny and it'll need a rebuild for sure. Check that out and get back to me. If it's low, it has to be leaking from somewhere. You can also clean the case off and put a large square of cardboard under it over night and see if it drips from somewhere.

This is an Idea to my problem. Could the shift mod. be bad and its sucking fluid causing the fluid level to go down?

Im not familiar with this transmission but, heres the important part of this reply. When I bought the truck, I found the kick down rod removed and I found it behind the seat. I reinstalled it, it nows has this problem. Does that tie into this main problem?

If someone drove that for any period of time with the kick down linkage off the tranny is toast. It need rebuilding. It not only sets shift points but it also controls line pressure and increases it as you throttle up. Keeps the clutches from slipping and such. Not sure what your talking about when you say shift mod. If your talking about a modulator valve, you wont find on. Only ferd and chebby uses those stupid arse things. If the fluid is going down, it's leaking either to the outside or through the cooler in the rad tank which would kill the tranny in a pretty short time.

ok thank you. Why the heck would someone rig that truck without the throttle rod?? As soon as my check from taxes comes in, its going to a transmission shop. I hope its not more than $1200.

You can buy one for that. If I pull mine, I can get them done for less than $300. Below is a couple of performance trans.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=TCI-111138&N=700+4294908128+4294861220+4294905607+4294818679+4294925054+115&autoview=sku

TCI 111138


$799.95

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=TCI-111100&N=700+4294908128+4294861220+4294905607+4294818679+4294925054+115&autoview=sku


TCI 111100


$969.95