swnp101

Hello everyone... Deep breath... 1st post!

So, new XJ (new to me at least). It's been driving fine for the last two, maybe three weeks or so since I've bought it. When I first got it, tranny shift mode was set to comfort. When I noticed there was a switch, I promptly changed it to Power (cause I'm all about the POWA! ). LED aluminates, shifts occur at about 2,100 RPMs... no problem. Feels great. Not like that comfort BS; had me thinking I needed a new motor! Anyway, when I purchased it, I noticed METRIC TONS of old oil on the passenger side and bottom of the engine. From the dampener to the middle of the tranny... covered in oil. There was too much to know where it was all coming from.

So, because it was more work than I wanted to do (and trust me, I still have plenty left to do on this Jeep), I farmed that job out to an egine steaming company. They did a great job of cleaning the top and bottom of the engine, and generally, the whole engine bay. Now I know where at least one place that the engine is leaking from (Rear main seal). It may still be leaking from valvecover and oil filter too, but I haven't gotten any signs of that... yet.

Okay, okay... I'm getting to the point... Geezus...

When I leave the steam cleaning place, the Jeep no longer shifts like she used to. Now, she revs almost to redline... whatever redline is, 5K maybe? Well, it shifts RIGHT before that, and ONLY then. That's it. I've tried putting it in 1-2 Gear. Nope, won't shift till redline. Turned Power/Comfort back on and off again. Nope, same thing. Turned the car off, and back on again a few times. Still does it. Tried manual shifting it from 1-2 to 3... Nothing, till ~4,500 RPMs. Tried to engine brake it like I would with a standard... Doesn't matter. It'll stay in 1st, till I hit that pre-redline sweet spot. It will downshift to 1st when I come to a complete stop. I don't think it ever shifted into 4th, but on the freeway (on my way back home) I _think_ I got it into third. Naturally, it took high revs to get there.

Now, it feels great to have it power shift like that... but I don't want it doing it ALL THE TIME. So... what do I do?

Taking it back to the shop that did the cleaning is not an option. They have a HUGE sign that clearly reads that if any damage was done to the car during steam cleaning, they will not be held responsible. Plus, I honestly don't mind working on my own car.

Do you think the tranny fluid got too hot during the cleaning? I may have overlooked it, but where in the world is the ATX tranny stick to check the fluid level? Hell, where do you fill this **** up?

If it's not the tranny fluid (too hot, or lack thereof), what are my other options? I've read elsewhere TPS? Mind you, the whole engine bay was steam cleaned, so on the outside, all these parts look good and shinny again. I know it probably is still gunked up inside.

Really what I'm looking for is for you guys to tell me something that would really be obvious is disconnected. lol That's really what I'd like to hear (and it be true).

But please direct me in a logical order of things to check.
BTW, she has 147,000 miles on her. Unknown amounts of abuse or previous owners.

Mattpar

could they have gotten water into the trans via the trans dip stick tube? I'd probably pull the trans pan and throw in a new filter[plus you dont know when the previous owner last serviced the trans anyways]. Or you could try getting the trans flushed.

93XJLI

http://www.lunghd.com/

adjust the TPS

swnp101

Thank you for that. I've been playing with the TPS adustment cable, and sometimes it seems to do the trick, and others it doesn't. I don't really know what's wrong because the cable doesn't seem to have moved after it stops working.

For example...
I adjusted the cable per the instructions, and there was no change.
Read it over again, and did what I thought was the exact same thing, and it worked... somewhat. Instead of shifting at 4.5K RPMs, it would shift at say 4K.
Said, ok; that's better... did it again, and then it would shift at like 3.1K. Great!, I thought. I can live with that!
Parked the Jeep at a store during the test run. Ran inside, pickuped my dry cleaning, started her back up to go back home, and she's back to shifting at 4,500 RPMs. I figured, maybe the locking device is messed up, and the cable has moved. Nope. It's in the same spot. Well, at least that's what it looks like.

Any other suggestions?

PS... Not that I've really been looking, but where is the dipstick for the tranny fluid? Is it one of those short deals that I have to crawl underneath the car to see it right at the tranny itself? I really don't think I've seen a dipstick for the tranny under the hood. I'm pretty sure the Jeep tranny isn't one of these new "sealed" trannies that you don't have to check at all!

-Vic

Metmknice

Also, try disconnecting your TCU and drive it and see if that does anything different.

The trans dipstick is on the pass side near the back of the block.. black or red in color?

swnp101

Ok... I found the tranny's dipstick. If it were a snake, it would have bit me. It's very close to the engine oil dipstick, yet closer to the engine and firewall.

In my own defense, it's a rusted brown color (like everything else under the hood), so it just blended in. lol

Still no love with the throttle adjustment cable. It's still reving to redline before it shifts. It seems to have only worked before the steam cleaning, and that one time afterwards.

Is there something that needs to be adjusted on the tranny side? I've only messed with the cable by the throttle body. It is connected to something on the other end cause if I give it a slight tug, it stays in place. If that means anything. lol

-Vic

Metmknice

I would maybe check any electrical connections also, see if maybe there is moisture somewhere

swnp101

Thank you for the reply. I prob should have read it before my last post? lol

Anyway... where is the TCU? Is it under the hood, or in the cabin? The ECU and TCU are two unit that I also don't think I've seen under the hood. Plenty of cables, hoses, relays, vaccuum lines, ect.


[edit: Umm... moisture? Possible, I guess. But I doubt it at this point. I'm in Southern Cali, and the air here is pretty dry. It also hasn't rained in a few days, so I would think anything would have dried up by now. But I will keep an eye out for moisture. ]
I'll go back outside and start looking for it while waiting for a reply.

Thanks again!

swnp101

I found a controller.... I don't know if it's the ECU or TCU. It's under the stearing columb.

Metmknice

There could be residual stuff from when you had it PW'd.. that is why I said that.

swnp101

Ok... Found it. Passenger side, behind the dash. I unplugged it and went for a ride with manual shifting. All gears enguage and shifts fine when done manually.

Should I leave it unplugged for a while, or just plug it back in and try it out?

98 JeepJeep

you probally need to replace it as mine just went out also.....bought one from the JY all is great.

swnp101

Yep. Seems that way. I plugged mine back in to see if it would work again after a "reset" of sort. Nope. No cigar. So right now it's plugged in, but it was faster to unplug the fuse for it while I was in traffic.

Will have to add that to my junkyard list of parts to pickup.

Thanks, all!

swnp101

Guess who's back!



Same problem. Still hasn't gone away after all this time. What am I missing here?

So far, I've changed all the fluids (diffs, tranny & xfer).

I've adjusted the TPS, tranny/throttle cable, replaced the TCU, and checked it's fuse. Still no shifting in "D" with everything connected.

Here are some photos of the parts that I've mentioned above. If I'm calling something the wrong thing, and if it's not relevant, please chime in and calibrate me.

TCU: Located on the passenger side, behind the dash. Replaced.


TCU Fuse holder: Very near the TCU itself. I've checked the fuse. Still a short.


Tranny Throttle Cable: "reset" w/button and adjusted w/WOT @ pedal


TPS: Checked for variance in voltage with multi-meter. It varies with throttle and gives 0.56V @ WOT. Way less than that at closed throttle. (130 mV I think? Less than 200 mV for sure)



Yes, I know this is the xfer case. Would this cause the problem? The connection is solid and nothing between the terminals.

Now, I know I probably should have already checked these... But I don't see any other electrical connections on the tranny itself except this one. Are there ANY other electrical connections (or any connection) on the tranny side of things that I should check?


At this point, I'm very frustrated with this and I may even bite the bullet and take it to a proffecional mechanic so he can rape me analy.

Firestorm500

They knocked the hose off the vaccum modulator valve.