At 09:34 AM 11/8/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Heard an interesting statement from my local Dodge-Truck dealer today
>while I was getting a filter and gasket for my planned tranny fluid
>changing adventure.
>
>He told me that adjusting the bands was not necessary on late model
>transmissions (mines a '98 with the 44RE auto-tranny). This is a bit of
>sore point with me as I had already bought the super secret "special tool"
>required to adjust the front or rear bands (can't remember which).
That's what they told me too. Your timing is excellent, as I'm due for the
30k mile "transmission service" and was just researching the project. The
book says to "change fluid, filter, and adjust bands" while one dealer says
they only power-flush the fluid and change the filter.
Another dealer says they DO adjust bands every time...while charging
another $50 for the service. A reputable transmission shop told me that
bands only need adjusting if there is wear in them, which is not common at
low miles unless something is wrong or the truck is abused. They recommend
a fluid flush & filter change at regular intervals and only check the bands
at high-mileage stops, such as 80-100k miles. Same info from the shop
where I work (I drive school buses) who tell me that band adjustment is
only done when necessitated due to wear or poor shifting, not as regular
maintenance.
We've had two Mopar 727 transmissions that have gone 200k with only
religious regular maintenance and no band tightening. They still run as
good as new, with nice firm shifts.
I'm beginning to think that I can do the "transmission service" for a lot
less than $150 and leave the bands for later.
Kevin
Kevin Sellstrom, W6KTB E-Mail:ksellstr@softcom.net
***Wilton, California***
'99 Dodge Dakota 4x4, 5.2,
'69 Dodge D200, 4x2, 318, NP435,
Also: '83 Volvo 244Ti, '85 Volvo 244, '68 Volvo 122S, '98 Specialized
Rockhopper A1FS
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