2004 sprinter trans went to ONLY reverse real fast

valleyweather

New member
Is there anyone out there who can diagnose/ fix transmission problems on a 2004 "Dodge" Sprinter?

I have a 2004 Dodge Sprinter Van, short height van and not the long one, that when shifted into Drive goes into reverse, as well as reverse in reverse also.

Story: This just happened yesterday, as it was shifting and driving fine up to that point. I heard a whining sound, the gears started shifting hard and funny, and then It sounded like a belt broke and then the issues, first weak pulling down the road. I parked and had a look, then drove it out to another spot 1/4 mile way. It went forward (weak-ly) and I pulled it to the side of the road. After parking I shifted into drive again and it would only do reverse. The whole process from good shifting to the end result lasted about 5 minutes. Help...
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
The trans pan needs dropped, and the filter and fluid checked for debris. A scan of the TCM for codes with a scanner may reveal some useful info. However your description sounds like internal hard parts failure.

If the pan, oil, filter have significant debris, especially large chunks, you are looking at a rebuilt transmission.
 

valleyweather

New member
Thank you for that info. I smelled the trans fluid and it had a bar-b-q scent, smoked, as is the trans most likely. I found a trans for $1,200 nearby with 160k miles on it, works great, tested and 6 month warranted. The install will cost $780, done by a shop called Clutches Plus which has a 5 start rating out of 32 reviews on Google, which is almost impossible for any shop to get. I am feeling good about this.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Flush the trans cooler out before installing the new trans. If you are reusing the torque converter from the old trans flush that too. The new trans will drive oddly for a few minutes until the tcm recalibrates.
 
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220629

Well-known member
... I smelled the trans fluid and it had a bar-b-q scent, smoked, as is the trans most likely. I found a trans for $1,200 nearby with 160k miles on it, works great, tested and 6 month warranted. ... I am feeling good about this.
Drop the pan and inspect. If you find chunks or contamination then consider a good flush and a TC swap or contaminates can ruin your good used transmission. (You probably should flush and replace TC as SOP.)

vic
 

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