HELP: OD going in & out

[91Explorer]

Okay, I was driving on the freeway today going about 65MPH in OD when I noticed that the transmission would shift in and out of OD. Same amount of trottle, flat road, sea level, etc.... the conditions of the road is the same but it just shifts in and out of Overdrive. Is this a sign of the tranny going out?

Oh, the fluid level is good, checked with engine warmed up and running in Park. Changed the tranny fluid and filter about 3 weeks ago and also the owner before me changed the fluid about 2 months ago. When I bought the truck, I checked the fluid and it was kinda brownish/red so I decided to change it again after I changed it, it's more of a redish/brown color...... Also the tranny fluid doesn't seem to smell burnt.

Any ideas???????

 

[Allan T 97XLT 4x4 SOHC]

I had a '93 Dodge diesel pickup with the same problem and it turned out to be the throttle position sensor. After about three hours on the road it would shift out of overdrive for a while, then drop back in when it felt like it, then drop back out again. It didn't matter if I was going uphill or downhill, speeding up or slowing down. It was doing it as I returned from a trip so I wheeled it into the dealer and had him connect his computer stuff quick, it showed the TPS to be bad. They changed it and the problem never came back.

 

[91Explorer]

I was thinking about the TPS sensor acting up but not really sure. I'll probably hook up a scanner to truck and see if there are any codes. Thanks...

 

[AgExplorer]

My '95 started doing something similar to this around Christmas last year. We brought in the year 2000 with a tranny rebuild. All of the clutch plates were worn to nothing.