jeepster90xj

Hey all, I have a 1998 jeep cherokee, transmission fried. I have a transmission from a 1993 grand cherokee willl that fit or no? Both 4.0s, both automatics. Thanks in advance for the help

dans98xj

In 93 I think there were 2 transmissions that came with the Grand Cherokee. The first run of them had the AW4 like in the XJ. Then came the 42RH at the end of 93 model year. I would look for one from another 98 XJ. I don't remember if the spline count changed on the t-case for the 4.0 autos. if they did then you would have to remove the input shaft from the t-case to the older one. Or remove the output shaft from the transmission for the splines to match with the newer case.

Firestorm500

The AW4 was only used for a few months early in the '93 model year on the Grands with the 4.0.


If you have a 1998-2001 XJ:
1987-1997 AW4s are not going to work without significant machine work. Reason is that your TCU is expecting an input speed sensor signal, but the mounting boss for the ISS is not machined out on the donor transmission housing and the rotor needed is not installed in the geartrain. You will be fully disassembling the donor transmission, doing specialized machining on the housing, swapping some parts from your old transmission, and basically doing a massive amount of work to swap in a non-ideal part. I would not suggest this swap unless you are really, really screwed and don't care that your CEL will be going off and you will have to leave the transmission unplugged from the wiring harness and shift it manually, with no second gear available. This swap is also fine if you are going to be building a trail only rig, don't care about your CEL going off all the time, and will be installing a custom shifter setup. You could also swap in a proper-year manual transmission XJ ECU and install a custom shifter setup to avoid a CEL.
1998-2001 AW4s are bolt in.
UPDATE Mar4 2013 - user memasmuffn reports that installing a 1997 TCU (designed to work with the older 1 pulse/rev reed switch output sensor, and no input sensor) in a 98-01 XJ with a 97 and earlier AW4 swapped into it results in no codes! This is great news, any AW4 (2wd vs 4wd, 2.5L 87-90 vs 4.0L all-years, and 2wd 95- vs 2wd 96+ notwithstanding) can be bolted into any XJ/MJ with only minor wire splicing, hard-part/housing/sensor changing, and perhaps TCU swapping at the worst. Awaiting further testing from the field to make sure the code stays gone!
UPDATE Jan/Feb 2013 - a thread by Boostwerks shows that it is entirely possible to convert a 97- AW4 into a 98+ one if you're suitably motivated. First bullet point of this section is basically the procedure he used - machined out port for ISS in main trans housing, installed geartrain parts intended for a 98+ in front half of transmission, etc. Not for newbies or those without significant transmission rebuild and machining/fabrication experience.
UPDATE Jul20 2015 - user Milner reports that a 97 TCU and sensor/rotor did NOT work for him in his 98-01 recipient vehicle. Unless you have the parts around to try this and don't mind possibly having to take your transmission apart a few times and drop the transfer case just as many times, I recommend sticking with a 98-01 AW4 for these recipient vehicles.

Hannes van Eeden

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jeepster90xj

Okay thanks for the info guys. I couldn't find any for sure info online but this is good stuff. Thanks again!