Shawn and Angela

I have a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4 with 250,000 miles. I was driving home and lost all my gears. Put the car in neutral and turned it off, then started it up again and it would engage for just a moment. I did this process all the way home (about 5 miles). Can anyone tell me if it's fixable or is my transmission gone. I'm changing the filter and fluid now. But after this I will be out of ideas. We are not car savvy and have absolutely no clue. Thank you ahead of time.

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

It's possible it was very low on fluid and the pump just ran out. Letting it cool and drain got enough to pressurize it again. Be sure you read the dipstick correctly. Some say to check in neutral, not park. I'm not sure which transmission you have, but the later ones take ATF+4 only.

Shawn and Angela

I changed my fluid and filter and now the Jeep lives on. Amen

wingless

Welcome to the forum!

Which engine in the vehicle?

What was the old fluid condition? What was the contamination level?

Were the bands adjusted per the FSM when the pan was off?

Shawn and Angela

It has a 4.0 straight 6 in it. The fluid was smelly and an ugly brown color, but it had only the regular amount of slivers of metal on the magnets in the bottom of the pan. As far as if the bands were adjusted, not sure, but the Jeep is running amazing.

dave1123

Just be aware those slivers of metal generally come from the clutch driven plates, which means the drive plates have lost most of their friction material. All you should have on the magnet is a dull grey fuzz that feels like mud. The friction material is non-metalic and settles on the bottom of the pan. This shows me, anyway, that the transmission is well worn and in need of a rebuild.

It may be running fine at the moment, just keep in your mind you're going to need a transmission in the near future. JMHO.