This may sound like a stupid question and should be common sense to an XJ owner but I can't find out what type of fluid either online or on the vehicle anywhere!!!!
I feel really really stupid even posting this lol
all i know is that there are two kinds for jeep/dodge transmission fluids one being dextron/mercon and the other being ATF-4 that is specifically for AW4 transmissions but how the hell do i tell if mine is an AW4 or not??????
fyi: i have a 1994 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0 Automatic 6 cyclinder 4x4 lol help please lol my jeep is thirsty!!!!

Either fluid will work in your rig.

Not a dumb question at all for something that age the absolute best fluid you can put in is DEC/Merk III As II no longer meets vehicle standards. I use Valvoline High Mileage transmission fluid, now if I were to get a 100% brand new transmission. I would put in Amsoil Torque-Drive Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid transmission fluid. Also the XJ only came with one automatic transmissions in 1994 the AW4.

Dexron III, which is no longer licensed by GM. (Note there is no "t" in "Dexron"!) Since it is not a currently licensed spec, no fluid can be labelled "Dexron" or "Dex/Merc". You will instead find wording like "D/M" or "recommended for vehicles requiring Dex/Merc". Also, since there is no licensing, and therefore no enforceable quality control, I would strongly recommend going with a nationally recognized name brand (The Maxlife pictured above would be fine).

On a related note, the current spec is Dexron VI, which GM says is backward-compatible for their transmissions. Of course, they can't recommend it for non-GM apps. It has a lower viscosity than Dex III, so no telling how the AW4 would like it. Just to be on the safe side, I'd avoid it for non-GM apps like ours.

To the best of my knowledge there is another question posted earlier on this subject. The original requirement stated that it was Dexron II. It says it right on the drain plug. Chrysler superceeded the requirement to ATF+4.

If you've run Dex II/III up to now, have a lot of miles and switch to +4, you *may* have slippage problems. I'd stick with the III, personally.

me too

I absolutely agree with Radi. Some AW4 transmissions will run okay with ATF+4, BUT some experience slippage which has absolutely, positively been linked to ATF+4.

Why take that chance? I'd stick with the fluid that got our AW4s to this point and that is Dex/Merc III. Widely available and you'll get a long service life from your AW4 with it.