I am curious if it is not going into 4th gear (only shifting twice when starting from a stop) or if the torque converter isn't locking up (shifts three times when starting from stop, but when 50~MPH is reached the converter doesn't lock which you can feel as it drops the revs a few hundred)

 

It doesn't seem like that is what's going on. When it does happen it goes up to 3rd fine and then the RPM just steadily goes up, no hesitation or skip, never acts like it wants to go until I slow down, speed up again in a few cycles

 

I'm still somewhat of a noobie here but learn a ton about these trucks and quality parts and fluids, etc.

I almost want to bet on this stuff fixing your problem because it has worked so damn well for me in so many applications, especially my transmission. I had very rough shifting, sporadically, all of a sudden - some weird hesitations and prevention from shifting and this made my transmission feel better than new. I also add it to my gear oils in my transfer case, my differentials, and my engine oil as recommended. Give it a try:

Drain some ATF out from your transmission and empty the whole 24oz bottle of this into it:



Also add about 24oz of this into there:


If you're feeling ambitious, drain some gear oil out of your transfer case and throw some of this second one in. Next time your service your differentials and do an oil change, throw some of this in as well....all as recommended on the label of course.

I bet it will help. I can personally vouch for it, this stuff is magic, enjoy.

 

Of course, follow procedure for filling the transmission as other have mentioned. Don't just fill it while cold and not running.

 

I did use a quart of Lucas in my last oil change and power steering flush. I already had this is in mind going forward with the transmission if I continue encountering issue as discussed. That would be the first thing that I would do unless someone advises other external fixes or factors that could be related. Thanks for your responses everybody. She is behaving presently but I will surely return to this post and update if or when that changes

 

The past few days, I have shuffled it through every gear, reverse, neutral...while I'm letting it warm up to operating temp in the AM. I have found that it will then shift through the full range OK as it did before. So does it then hold true that the torque converter or whatever else has to "warm up?" I just don't know the coincidence of this whole thing as climate dropped 10 degrees at the same time I did the drain-and-fill on the tranny fluid but it gets on my nerves that I now have to go through a whole scherade and interary before I leave my house for work in the mornings now.

 

I'm re-checking the fluid, and it comes out of the fill hole as soon as I back the screw all of the way out, with the engine OFF. Did I overfill it, and now have an excess of trans fluid that is causing the problem I originally posted about?


If the engine is off, no fluid should be coming out, and when started and circulating it should then rise to the fill hole and that is max level, correct?


Should I be draining a bit of this fluid out or what?

 

No. That is normal. With the engine off, all of the fluid has drained into the pan. Once you start the engine, the excess fluid above the bottom of the fill plug threads will be sucked from the pan and into the transmission.

 

so should I not even worry that I overfilled? I had someone move through the gears, the oil stopped coming out of the fill hole and I began to add but didn't get any more in than whatever came back out shortly thereafter. It seems this is as close to what RAVE calls for as I can get.

 

I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I am trying to remember how much fluid I was able to pump in after the engine started and all gears gone through the last few times I've done it...I think it was around a quart, but it's a blur as I was focusing on not burning my arm on the catalytic converter as I pumped and pumped until it finally began to trickle out.