99 Durango Transmission R&R

My most recent auction pick up appears to have a bad transmission. The fact that it only goes forward in 2nd and 3rd and the fact that all of the fluid I put in, came out, from the front seal lets me know it needs to be changed out.

The vehicle in question is a 99 Durango SLT, 5.9 V8, 4x4, with 46RE. How DIY able is this in the average garage (aka how heavy a beast is this unit)? Are there any other pieces I should keep an eye out for while in there? I understand there is some type of check ball in the line?

Remove the check ball. Should be near the radiator, look for the short rubber quick connect. Normally gets clogged up when a trans fails.

Very DIY-able. Just watch as the rear hung OD unit makes the trans tail heavy.

BUT. I would drop the pan and look for a band strut laying in the bottom of the pan. Common for them to fall out when you don't adjust the bands like the FSM says. Probably needs a new pump seal (unless it is blowing out the vent), converter snout inspected and probably polished up and reinstall of the band strut. After all that, it should drive down the road.

If you're terribly concerned about the weight (you have to use a jack and the jack doesnt care, so im not sure how big an issue it really is..), you can take the overdrive section off the back of the trans and then take the trans itself out. I've never done that except when i knew for a fact i only needed to work on the overdrive section, but it is possible.

Is definitely a two man job unless you have a proper trans jack.

Depending on rust this could be a bitch of a job but other that that not to bad. Most any trans jack could hold the trans.

The only issue with weight is if you think you DONT need a jack, in which case you are flat out wrong.

You need a jack... DONT take the OD unit off and expect to install it later on.. It needs to be aligned properly and thats not a job you want to do as a novice...

DO NOT loose the torque converter bolts.. If you get a new torque converter measure the length of the bolts, and the depth of the holes.. Make sure the bolts aren't to long... Do up the converter bolts by hand, not with an impact...

The check valve in the line only gets pulled out and left out if the corresponding updates have been performed on the transmission valve body during a rebuild... Other wise you can get delayed engagement problems in the morning...

Alright, I am going to get a jack. This is my first auto transmission, the torque converter is new to me and I don't want to rush it unnecessarily.

With the history of the 46RE, I am contemplating weather or not to get a salvage unit or a rebuild. Recyclers are asking $550, rebuilt is $800. The unit I am replacing has 191k on it, not sure if it is the first one or not though.

What is everyone's experience with pulled trans? Am I just asking to do this again in 10k vs getting a rebuilt and being ok for 100k?

Another think to look out for is the crank sensor. It bolts to the back of the block below the passenger side head and goes in a cut out on the transmission bell housing. If you're not paying attention it's easy to break it when removing or installing the transmission. Also, make sure the wiring for it is out of the way before you tighten the bell housing bolts down. Sometimes the rear trans cross-member sucks to get out and put back in (at least on the trucks, but I think it's the same on the Durango). It's not a hard job to do by yourself with a regular floor jack, but I generally use a scrap of 2"x8" under the pan and a ratchet strap to make sure I don't drop it.

Oh, and I've had pretty good luck with tested used transmissions. Most of them fail because of lack of maintenance, and as long as you change the filter and front seal and adjust them properly when you install them, it should last a while.

You need a jack... DONT take the OD unit off and expect to install it later on.. It needs to be aligned properly and thats not a job you want to do as a novice...

I'm pretty sure it doesn't come OUT of alignment unless you actually start taking the OD section apart. I used to align them in the shop press with a cut-down 518 output shaft, they also sell dummy shaft tools to do this. Either way IF i remember correctly it is ok to take it off as long as you dont actually tear into it. There is still a chance i'm wrong because my memory of trans building is pretty bad. It was only... 6 years ago i quit doing it.

Personally, i wouldn't buy a used transmission for that much unless it was tested and came with a labor warranty that was actual useable by an individual such as yourself. If you're just getting something with an exchange warranty and no telling if it worked or not i wouldnt pay much over $200, and if you dont want to take a chance of doing the R&R and used trans search more than once, i wouldnt buy a used one at all. There are some transmissions that are a good used buy because they never fail like a jeep AW4.. I dont consider this trans to be one of them.