green96xj

I have a 96 cherokee 4 door 4.0 and all that other happy stuff. Im having problems with the trans slipping a little when it changes gears. It's the death sentence for any automatic so....... i will be rebuilding this trans unless anyone has a 5 speed on the cheep. Now this isnt the first trans ive rebuilt however its the first aw4. Ive been rebuilding gm trans for years so i understand how things work. I however need to know if there's any special tools that are required to rebuild this thing. If there's anything you want to add about the finer workings of the trans it would be greatly appreciated.

5-90

Seeing this sentence relaxed me a bit - overhauling a slushbox isn't for the neophyte (and the AW4, while mechanically simple, does require more attention to detail. I know this - I've overhauled plenty of THM350/400, A727, and C6 for street/strip cars...)

Tearing an AW4 apart requires only a couple of tools that can be considered "special," but you can save bux if you can make them yourself!

1) You'll need a tool to deal with the very large snaprings for the drums. You can make these using 1/4" aluminum round rod, then drill and tap the end to accept a #4-40 setscrew. Leave enough out to catch the holes in the snapring (if you want insurance, you can drill the other end to accept a #2 as well. But, I want to recall that the #4 worked with the rings without any trouble.)
2) You'll need a bridge puller with a fairly long reach. I wasn't about to fork over the two hundred bucks for the kit that ATSG told me I needed - so I grabbed a bit of 1-1/2"x1/2" steel bar that I had. Cut it to a foot long, drilled/tapped a centre hole 1/2"-20, and then clearance drilled various places to pass M8 threaded rod. I used M6-1.0 and M8-1.25 threaded rod, nuts and washers to fit, and that pulled the drums neatly (the ram for the press I made using a short section of 1/2"-20 threaded rod, and brazed a nut on the end. Et viola! - 1/2"-20x11-1/2" fully-threaded screw!) The ISO threaded rod was all in 30cm sections, and the bar was cut down to a foot long - then shortened a bit more just to get it into the case. I'll probably throw a handful of other threaded rods into the box I put the kit in, just to round out the kit. And take the bar to a machine shop and mill some slots in to make it more flexible.

Apart from those two, conventional ISO hand tools will get you everything you need. Don't forget to take a Polaroid or a digital pic of the valve body when you separate it - there are variations in ball placement, and the five or six valve bodies I'd opened up didn't match the picture in the manual. Fortunately, I'd learned that lesson a long time ago - the Polaroid is in the drawer where I keep the surgical tools, the hair dryer, and the draughtsman's electric eraser (all useful tools...)

Keep it clean, pay attention, and soak the clutches if you're going to replace them (unlikely - they hold up rather well. Probably because there are so damned many of them!)

jeepdsmer

i have a 94 aw4 with 160k on it it drove fine i didnt drive it tht fast cause its a donner car

XJ4MEPLZ

I suggest popping off the shift lever from the shift cable instead of trying to unbolt the shift lever from the shaft, the shaft may shear off.

green96xj

What does this have to do with rebuilding the trans? I dont need a junkyard special transmission to put in and be put back in the same boat im in now only a couple miles down the road.

green96xj

Ok so i dont need a clutch piston spring compressor or some off the wall seal installers and such? i have most everything to rebuild turbo 350, 700r4, 4l60 and glides.

5-90

I don't recall needing anything beyond the bridge puller and "snapring chopsticks" that I ended up making on the workbench.

As slushboxen go, the AW4 is really quite simple! If you're used to GM THM boxen, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised by the AW4.

green96xj

Sweet that sounds good to me. i was afraid it was like the new gm 6l60....its a wretched pain in the a.....

iamtheyetti

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2922823/AW4-manual1

maybe helpfull.