Sorry if this is the wrong section. I know this is a lot to read but im in need of help bad. I really need to get back on the road so i can drive to school and work instead of catching the bus everyday.

Hey guys my name is Richie, Its my first time making a post to these forums. Im 17 and just got my first 1989 Jeep Cherokee Laredo 4x4 from my uncle about 2 months ago. Ive always wanted a jeep and now i have one. Well the jeep has done me well till a few weeks ago. Me and my friends go trail riding and mudding all the time. This was probably the 6th weekend i took it mudding. Well one of my friends got stuck and i pulled his bronco out. He messed up his transmission because it was sitting in the puddle for so long so i had to pull him to the nearest gas station which was about 2-3 miles away. His bronco was really heavy so i had to put it in 4L and put it in 3rd gear and pulled him the whole way in the same gear because my TCU is messed up so i cant just throw it in D and go. Well i didn't notice any problems till the next day. My motor was shaking real bad and it turned out i messed up my motor mounts from pulling him or something. Well i didn't have the money at the time so i drove around for about 5 days with the motor mounts messed up and it shook like crazy. The same day i took my jeep to get the motor mounts fixed i started hearing this god alfull noise coming from the transmission area. Well i ignored the problem and went ahead and got my motor mounts fixed and i was hoping that the noise was because of the motor mounts but it wasn't. I got it back the next day and drove it home and it was doing the same exact noise and it was REALLY loud. I went home and called it a night. Well the next day i woke up early because i scheduled a appointment to get flow masters put on at a local muffler shop. On my way to the shop i almost got there and it started like revving up as if it was in neutral then going back into drive. It only did this about 3 times the whole way there. After i got the muffler put on i went to go back out of the shop and it would not move at all. I tried every gear including 4L & 4H. We couldn't get it to move at all so the guy told me to put it in reverse and just gas it as he pushes the jeep. As he was pushing it it kicked into reverse for about 2 seconds then it was completely threw. I had to call a tow truck and it get towed home. Well a few days pass and me and my dad decide to go mess with the jeep. We noticed that when your starting it up it also makes the noise as its turning over. When its started up it will continue to make the noise but if you rev it up it will slightly go away but you can still hear it. Now for the weird part that kinda gets me. When i put it in park it still makes the noise but if i get out and roll my jeep frontwards or backwards while its in park it will make a even louder grinding noise whenever you push it back and forth in park. Me and my dad dropped my transmission and as we were draining my fluid we were looking from dirty and burnt smelling fluid but its red as can be. The transmission and motor were rebuilt a few years ago and only has 5000 miles on both of them from what ive heard. It was my uncles backup/wood toys vehicle. We looked at the torque converter but we have no idea what we are looking for and every shop we call says to bring my transmission in but i just don't have the money right not to do that. Im really depending on some of you guys out there to help me out.

 

Hi Ritchie;
Here's what I'd do if it were mine and budget was an issue:
Grab a good torque converter from the salvage yard, a new filter screen and 8 quarts of Dexron III. Don't let the parts guy talk you into ATF+4, get the Dex III.
Give the flexplate (flywheel) a good inspection too before you bolt the trans back up. It would be good to check the line pressure (there is a test port), but it's difficult to do that without the trans powered up.
I'm willing to bet the torque converter failed and your fluid overheated badly. These transmissions are pretty stout, chances are fairly good the rest is OK. Of course I'm taking a shot in the dark without seeing it, so FWIW applies.
If that doesn't fix it, just grab another AW4 from the scrapyard. It's cheaper than having yours rebuilt and they are pretty easy to find.
If you intend on mudding, get a good trans cooler on there too. It isn't the most efficient transmission, they generate quite a bit of heat when you work em' hard.

If you don't want to replace the TCU, there are some folks who have added manual switches to do the shifting. It's a pretty interesting setup. You can control overdrive and TCC lockup manually that way too.

 

Yeah Radi I was planning on finding a used one from a salvage yard but mine was just rebuilt 5000 miles ago and it leads me to what you were saying which is that they are pretty stout and shouldn't mess up that easily. The torque converter looks old and rough also. Whenever i put it back on the transmission i can kind of move it back and forth but if i take it off and shake the torque converter around it sounds like fluid swishing around but i can also hear and feel a metal substance swishing around with it? I plan on putting a trans cooler in it also because i love riding trails and mudding with my buddies. And when you say my fluid overheated do you mean the fluid in the torque converter? Also if there is any threads you know of about the manual switch for the TCU and the overdrive control could you link me please?

 

Here is the logic table for the solenoids, and a simple wiring diagram for the switches.
Credit for the diagram goes to a member named "twisty" on a different forum (i'm not into stealing, lol) ,info and photos here:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-...fter-mods.html

 

Post#19 here has some stuff> https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/dec...105739/index2/

 

Best advice I have is to give everything around the torque converter a good inspection, make sure nothing is stripped, cracked or otherwise damaged.
If you have metal swishing around in the converter it's a goner. Probably broke the fins. They bend when they're overworked and eventually snap when overworked too long.

The fluid overheating- sure, in the torque converter and everywhere else. AW4 will cook the fluid when it's overworked. Most folks notice when it spits the fluid out the dipstick and vent leaving clouds of smoke.
More often than not the only thing damaged is the fluid, a complete change (or better yet several in succession) is often all that's needed, provided you don't keep driving on the ruined fluid.

 

Well i guess on the good side my fluid didn't smell burnt or cooked and no fluid around the dipstick area. The torque converter looks rough and sounds rough. I have a free day tomorrow so i will get out there and look around and check some things. I have a pretty good feeling its my torque converter just by the way it was acting. Is there a way to open up the torque converter because i plan on getting a new one anyways so i wanna look on the inside of the one i have now. & thanks to the other guys for the TCU posts.

 

Torque converters cannot be opened up for inspection. If it truly came apart inside, you now have metal particles throughout the rest of the transmission. Pull the drain plug and see what comes out. If the fluid is full of metallic bits the whole tranny is a toast. If it is clean, then the converter may be OK.
Best of luck.

 

Thanks Nick-B, I got out there and messed around with the transfer case. I didn't unbolt it but i went through the gears and they seemed ok from what i could tell. I put the transfer case in N and both spun free but when i put in 4L or 4H i tried as hard as i could and couldn't spin the front or back. But when i put it in 2H the back shaft i couldn't spin it but the front shaft i could spin it. Is it supposed to be hard to turn?

EDIT: Nevermind it does spin i had the transmission in park. Also before we pulled the transmission out it grinded in any gear PRND31-2 and also grinds before the engine is even running. When i go to start the jeep it takes a minute to start so it sits there and turns over and as its turning over i can hear the noise :/