Fluids and maint.
 

Hey Guys and Gals

So im new to jeep and the XJ. Its a 1996 Cherokee with 4.0 4x4 NP231 Txer case.

Question, I run Mobile 1 10w40 in it due to her having high mileage 258,142 miles.

I want to know is how many qts does the fron diff take and how many qts the rear Chry. 8.25 take.

Also Ive heard rumors to not use ATF+4 in the trans.

To do the trans do i have to drop the pan or can i rain it from a plug. havent crawled under there yet.

Also My rear is making noise i assume from the tail pip hitting the leafs....

If you guys can give me any pointers in these id appreciate it as im new to jjep minus my disel liberty crd.

what ive done so far is

new plugs
new wires
new cap and rotor
new fan clutch
new electric cooling fan
filters air and oil
oil change
and flushed cooling system
brakes.

WELCOME>

-With the vehicle sitting level fill both front and rear diffs until they just seep out the fill holes.
-For the trans use nothing but Dex/Merc. To do the trans drain from the plug on the pan. Add 3.8 qts. Keep changing periodically until the fluid looks like new.
- The 8.25 rear in my '96 has been loud since I got it 11yrs ago with 98K miles on it.. But the tailpipes are close on these.

Guess the only thing I'll add right now is that the '96 was a transition year so you may run into needing parts from a '97.

as long as it is not electrical or doors fenders tailgate 96 only fits 96 ........................... so be careful when shopping for parts

Bled out the brake fluid? Remove fluid from master. Fill with new. Bleed til clear.

Remove as much power steering fluid as you can with a turkey baster or the like. Add fresh fluid.

That rear noise could also be the exhaust pipe hitting the crossmember. (Cruiser has a nice picture of it) If this is the case, a new transmission mount (use either Mopar or Napa brand -- never use Anchor or a cheapo) will provide the proper clearance.

Also don't forget to change the fluid in your transfer case as well. It uses the same Dex/Merc as your automatic transmission. Just make sure you can get the fill plug off before you open the drain. A Harbor Freight fluid transfer pump makes the fill part super easy. On my 95 it uses a ridiculously large size hex head for the plugs (over an inch), but later XJ's use a hex key/allen wrench IIRC.

Pat, you're always welcome to save and use my images. Share them all you like.

Valvoline MaxLife full synthetic ATF, Walmart.

Drain, fill, run for a week and repeat until ATF on stick is nearly clean. Then drain, drop pan, replace filter and gasket for last change. Add trans cooler at this time for bonus points. Fluid should now be clean and good for 30,000 miles via owners manual. Make sure to always refill/top off when engine is running, in neutral and fully hot. If adding a trans cooler, more fluid may be needed to compensate for the added volume.

You will likely need several gallons of ATF using this method depending on how bad your current ATF fluid is.

As I recall draining the pan still leaves about 5 quarts left in the system. How is adding 3 quarts over 30,000 miles going to remedy ATF that's been neglected over the last 100,000 miles or more?

"Then drain, drop pan, replace filter and gasket for last change."
This is what I figure he's referring to. Not the amount of fluid you recommended. Unless the pan is leaking there is no need to remove it. There is no filter per se if you compare it to other makes of auto transmissions. It's just a fairly course screen which I believe it's not even recommended to be changed. Hence the drain plug.

You are correct Earl.

Factory recommended interval for drain and fill under normal duty was 30,000 miles. 15,000 miles for severe duty like lots of towing, postal delivery, taxi etc.

There was never an interval to change the "screen" at all. It was there to protect the valve body in case of a real trans failure.

I saw 2 AW4s fail in my years as a service manager at a Jeep dealership. One, they just sent us a new one and asked for the old one back, so I don't know what happened.

The other was on a Pro-Rally Comanche that punctured a cooling line during a race, was repaired at a stop and refilled. Only they replenished the trans with Power Steering fluid by accident................

BlueRidgeMark has a great little diddey on fluid changes on AW4s.

1. Here's how to save a "hopeless" transmission that is slipping and has brown or black fluid.

So we’re in agreement that the fluid should be cycled until clear.

Consider it a personal preference then regarding dropping the pan... At 250k miles I would personally drop the pan, replace the filter (screen), clean debris magnets and reinstall.

I agree on the initial fluid change. After that follow the factory recommendations.

Have you ever removed the pan on one? I haven't. But those who have say detaching the dip stick tube can be an ordeal.

I did mine about a year or so ago. The dip stick tube can definitely be difficult as described. I was pretty concerned about breaking something the whole time I tugged, and tugged, at it. All went well though, and was pretty cool to see what it looked like. It was for me at least because I'd never dropped the pan before. Also got to see how the magnets really do work with magnetizing the small particles. Where I messed up, and it became a real nightmare, was over-tightening the drain plug. Destroyed the threads on the pan, had to get a whole new pan (wasn't cheap). Nuts, bolts, etc. seem to always give me issue (pretty much what most of my posts are about on this site).

Next time, if theres a next time, I probably wouldn't drop the pan if I got another jeep down the line. In this case this XJ has been pretty much the first vehicle i've put my own sweat into so I've wanted to look and learn as much as I could.

actually there is no need to separate the filler tube in half...just undo the bolt that connects the whole tube and drop the pan down enough..good to go