1996 XJ decided to just stop engaging in gears mid-drive to work yesterday. Pulled off on the side of the road, cut the ignition, started it back up and it started to engage again for a few minutes before it stopped. Thankfully was able to get it to engage long enough to get it into a parking lot.

Checked the ATF and it was looking pretty dark - so I drained and refilled it in the parking lot hoping maybe that would fix it. Nope.

Backstory - my last post on this site was trans related. Ended up having a dead torque converter, replaced that as well as the TCM and some other minor things, back in October '23. Thankfully haven't had any trans issue since.

Not really sure if anyone has any ideas. Everything I search up keeps saying it's the Neutral Safety switch, but the car starts in Park and brake lights are working. It just wont engage when shifted into Drive or Rev. It sounds like its going to engage when shifted into D/R, but when I shift into Neutral or Park is does almost sound this the engines dying out/loosing power...

Also disconnected the TCM and cant shift manually (another forum said that can help weed out electrical issues like a bad solenoid but not sure how reliable that actually is).

The Jeeps my daily so really looking for some helpful input - and crossing my fingers im not looking at another 2k + transmission problem. TIA

 

Unfortunately, I do not like your prospects, as Reverse in particular is manually selected, not electronic, so if there is no drive in R or D, or any other gear, its likely the trans has failed internally.

One way you can get an idea is to jack the rear wheels and see what happens.

If the wheels now spin, or shows signs of turning, it will mean you have low trans pressure or failed bands or other critical parts

On a '96, there is a T55 port view from where you can measure trans pressure, that would be the next step in diagnosis

Before losing hope, you should check underneath that moving the T-handle is also moving the trans selector shaft as well, there is a plastic part down there somewhere that can break

You did not say whether your trans was rebuilt at the time of the TC?, or how many miles on yr AW4

 

*sigh* Trans was rebuilt when the TC was replaced - but it is pushing 223k miles...

When I was underneath yesterday I couldn't see anything that felt/looked out of place. (It was dark and 7pm so Ill have to take a better look)
No fluid leaks.
Other than the clip that connects the shift lever to the shift cable. I barely poked it and the cable slipped off, but I rigged it up so it would hold and still basically nothing as far as shifting... It reversed back a few inches, then back forward a few inches before it stopped...

Ill get it jacked up tomorrow to see if theres any wheel spin-age

Ill also add no lights came up - when my TC blew the check engine light immediately came up, but this time theres been nothing

 

I would check with an OBD2 scanner to see if any TC codes have come up

In my case, when I cooked my trans (fit a trans temp gauge!!), I replaced it with a used item from a '96 that I had thoughtfully purchased for just such an event from a gent that was wrecking 2 x '96

I bought heaps of parts of him, and they have been invaluable.

The AW4 cost me $125, I bought 3 of them, one was already gutted of solenoids and harness etc though

Just make sure you swap out the front oil seal on a used trans for $20, or you get to do the job twice

 

If you're considering a used AW4, consult this thread for interchange info.
https://naxja.org/threads/everything...e-aw4.1053970/