optimus2

so i know there are lots or tranny problem threads already but i have not found one acting the same as mine so far.


started on my way top work, would pull up to a stop and it would not down shift on its own. force it to down shift on the shifter and it would pull its way through the gears like normal after.

after doing some reading most people said this could be caused by a bad tps.

jeep ran fine to get home.

to save future problems i changed the tps anyway. test drive started fine shifting up and down, by the time i got back into the yard it would not shift at all.

if i selected my gears it shifted ok. but if i put it in drive it was already sitting in 3rd or 4th even from a stop.

transmission had a full flush a few months ago and has been running fine till yesterday. with normal fluid levels.

all of a sudden my fluid is sitting really high and it is not shifting normally.
don't have much money to trow parts or shop time at it. so any advice would be very helpful.

optimus2

first response was some second hand experience. saying there is a chance my rad is gone and pushing coolant into the oil cooler portion of my rad.

how likely is this?

how could i tell for sure?

would the high fluid account for it not shifting on its own?

Bustedback

It can happen. Does the fluid look like a strawberry milkshake? If it does you're screwed and will need a transmission.

optimus2

it did not seem to bad at a first glance. but im new to the auotmatics.

will it hurt it while sitting... waiting on funds to replace parts. hoping i caught it early enough to not have to replace the transmission.

Gimmy

[QUOTE=optimus2;2820593]to save future problems i changed the tps anyway. test drive started fine shifting up and down, by the time i got back into the yard it would not shift at all.
[QUOTE]


i had a similar issue, replaced my TPS, calibrated it, and it worked fine up until a week ago. the parts new in the box are garbage unless you get factory.

if you have a warrenty take it back and get a new one.

but yeah...if your tranny is getting coolant in it...sorry. I ended up buying an aftermarket cooler for the tranny so i wouldnt have that issue.

Bustedback

Once there is coolant in the transmission it is done. There is no flushing to try and save it.

optimus2

dropped some oil out of it last night. its not looking good.....
Ill let someone local with a better trained eye than mine confirm that for me but it looks like im going to be into a new rad and a bunch of tranny work.


Any advise for me as i start into this next project?

stuff to look for/stay away from? brands... types of...?

might start a thread for this specifically but figure ill see what i get here first.

will be looking to:
upgrade rad... maybe aluminum 3 row(have got mixed reviews...)
adding and temp gauge for the trans
separate oil cooler from the rad (anything i need to know doing this?)

anything else i should consider while so much is apart. the jeep is a backup daily driver and gets wheeled about once a week for a short rip, twice a month for a day trip. steep hills some small rocks. so i do want to be in something reliable.

Ye Ol' Cherokee

OK manual shifting with poor auto shifting could be a solenoid issue.

If it turns out that there is no coolant in your fluid, look into potential solenoid failure.

It is not hard to identify fluid with coolant/water in it. Look on google for trans fluid with water or coolant mix and you will find pics & videos with what it looks like. Strawberry milkshake.

Future reference, never flush an old transmission that you dont know the service history of. Best to just do drain and fills using dex merc III only.

If you do need a new trans, get a junkyard one. Try to find one that was from a jeep that was.in an accident or rollover. The AW4 is a strong trans, many good ones hanging out in the junkyard

Ye Ol' Cherokee

If you.live in a climate that gets really cold, be careful about running the trans fluid cooler separate from the rad. Running it through the rad warms the fluid on a cold start. If you live up north, not sure if its a good idea to bypass it.

Say if its 10 degrees out. You wont have the rad to warm your fluid, and youll have cold trans fluid = no.good.

Just get a good, quality rad. Maybe oem. Then you can run it through the rad.

If you stay in warm climates tho, just bypass the rad

optimus2

i live in BC it gets cold enough. thanks for the heads up.

why not flush and fill a tranny i don't know? i though i was playing it safe by making sure all the oil was out. i know for next time, but what is the reason behind doing it this way?

BlueRidgeMark

Depends on what is meant by the word, "flush". People use it very carelessly.

If "flush" means to take it to a shop and have them pressure flush it, DON'T DO IT!

If "flush" means to replace ALL the fluid using only the transmission's own pump to move the fluid, DO IT.

I did this recently on my '97. I cut the rubber line going to the radiator, spliced in another foot or so of rubber line, and ran that to a drain pan. Started the engine while pouring clean fluid into the dipstick spout. Kept that up until I can clean, clear fluid coming into the drain pan.

That brought my undriveable transmission back to full, useful life.

Fresh clean fluid will not harm your transmission. High pressure flushes just might kill it.

DieselDaze

why did you have it flushed to begin with...??

seems to me problems arise when you tamper with tranny, especially if you have someone else do it

Jrox022

My 98 had similar issues. I suspected the shift solenoids but wasn't sure. Went cheap and got some out of a wrecked jeep in the jy. Slapped em in and fixed the problem

optimus2

the flush was done a couple months ago, did not seem to be working 100%, it was new to me and the fluid was pretty burnt. i took it to a shop and they pressure flushed it(did not know that this would hurt anything.)
ran fine for from then till now.

took some oil out(small sample) to a local shop they assured me it was dirty but not terrible and there is no suspect of coolant in it. that my high fluid levels would have been due to heat, a bad solenoid was most likely to blame for what had happened. after talking to him about it i ran the jeep, fluid levels have returned to normal and it was shifting fine.
so a solenoid is most likely the case, one is on its way out maybe only starts sticking when i get my temp up a bit.

CCKen

If you are considering changing solenoids, the standard advice is to change all three. There's a couple tutorials floating around on changing them.