So I was driving around a corner today accelerating away from a stop and kinda heard a pop. Thought nothing of it until the next stop light. Now first gear grinds hard. Second seems to be fine, but in first I can feel and hear it and it's def metal on metal. My question is what most likely broke and can I fix it. I am pretty mechanically inclined but have never done my own transmission work. BTW the Jeep is a 98 2wd 4.0 automatic 195k miles.

 

Drop some of the fluid from the pan and see if there are metal shavings in it. If so, you are most likely going to have to replace or rebuild your transmission. Hard to tell without an inspection of the transmission.

Rebuilding a transmission can be done by a DIY, but there are a lot of parts in an automatic and if you've never done it before, you may want to try to find a salvage yard transmission that you can plug and play......that is an economical solution that I've successfully used before.

 

Is there a write-up anywhere that I could find to see what is involved in the work required? Thanks for the quick reply.

 

This is not something you want to be following a "write-up" for. You need a detailed model specific overhaul manual. There are just too many small details that can be over looked in a simple "write-up"

 

That makes sense. I will check the fluid in a sec and get back to you.

 

so I drained the tranny and there are no perceivable metal shavings in the fluid. Not any sort of grit at all. Could it be the dif and for some reason only acting up in first when the most torque is going to it.

 

It would be hard to say without hearing it. But the rear diff would be another good place to look. If you've got some gear oil and gasket maker it might be worth taking off the cover and having a look.

 

Yeah that may be my next step. That or put it up on stands and in gear so I can pinpoint the sound better.

 

I agree to this...Make sure its secure on stands and block it or better yet use a lift and accelerate until you can get it to do the same thing it was doing for you before. If It was the rear end itd more then likely whine or if its really bad it could grind as well if your gears or spiders are getting eaten up while you drive.

 

It will do it even at idle. There is a whine almost like a power steering pump whine just coming from the back.

 

So I put the rear on stands and you can barely hear the sound but it appears to be coming from the trans. Any more suggestions on what I could look at because I am really surprised there are no metal shavings in the fluid?

 

Possibly your trans pump? Or even your torque converter?

 

did you just check the fluid for metal? or did you drop the pan and check the two magnets on the pan? that's where the metal will be

 

Today I will probably drop the pan and do some investigating. Of course if I need a new trans now would be a great time to start my 4wd conversion!

 

So the diagnosis is bad there are metal chunks in my pan and what appears to be 15 or so roller bearings mixed in with it.