Here is the breakdown...
1999 Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0L inline 6 motor. Has Aisin Warner AW4 Transmission with the NP242 transfer case. Had a mechanic replace the throttle cable that connects inside the transmission. They drained the fluid, put a new filter in and I believe forgot to put transmission fluid back in. When I checked the tranny fluid, it was bone dry on the dip stick. I then started the Jeep and checked it again. It was definitely bone dry. So, I put 3 quarts of ATF+4 in and checked it again and it registered at the MAX level.
The problem is... when I put it in Reverse, it wont budge. When I put it in Neutral... it drives forward. Gears 1, 2 and 3 work fine as well. Once I filled the tranny with clean fluid, I drove the Jeep 30 miles(hoping to get the fluid moving and hoping to engage the solenoids etc. well, it didnt help. I still have no Reverse. I will say though, there is a fair amount of trans fluid leaking. I have identified exactly where it is coming from though.
Can someone please help me? I would like a good starting point but, dont know much about transmissions.

PLEASE HELP AND THANK YOU IN ADVANCED!!

 

Can anyone help me with this?

 

The mechanics who handled this job need to stand by there work. I would go in there and at least demand a refund.

 

Reverse is not controlled by a solenoid(s). If your XJ drives forward in Neutral, I would think your linkage is the issue.

Take it back to the ones who worked on it and tell them.....although if they screwed it up the first time, why would we think they would not screw it up the second time (no fluid, really??)

 

Agreed with those who said that the Jeep needs to go back to the Mechanic. They clearly didn't do something correct. Also, ATF +4 is not the recommended fluid for the trans, Merc III is. You will want to change that out once the no reverse/forward in neutral linkage issue has been sorted out.

 

I dont think you will enjoy my answer, but following my recent inquiry on this forum, I subsequently changed out my AW4 for a spare following loss of reverse gear

not much of a fun job

I was unable to ascertain why my reverse failed...I did not measure the pressure from the M14 x 1.5 T55 port on the side of the trans,
as I did not have the adaptor, and was in a hurry to get my DD back on the road, I had a spare trans on hand

In my case, reverse was definitely engaging, but had no drive power at all

loss of reverse in the AW4 can be caused by several things, including loss of pressure due to internal seal or valve body problem, failure of clutches in reverse pack or failure of a couple of other parts inside the trans...any of these faults means valve body or complete rebuild

a junkyard trans is a cheaper option

always replace the torque convertor front oil seal

I agree with the others about speaking to the mechanics who worked on it, but they might not be too keen

see if the trans fluid seems to be running down the junction of engine & trans, the torque convertor oil seal would be the issue

 

I just wanted to make sure something was understood by the way. If this is not the answer you're looking for and really just want someone to start helping you diagnose your transmission problem which is understandable I was having a radiator problem and everyone was telling me to change my radiator when I really just wanted to make the one I had work. If you give it some time someone who is actually very educated in the AW4 will give you a clear answer, try your best to give the most detail you can though. Make sure every single wire is plugged in not once but check it thoroughly TWICE figure out where that leak is coming from. as a none expert (for god sake I have a manual trans XD I know nothing) I'm pulling the darn thing out day one it is not staying in the car for more than a couple of hours while I go through some basic steps to make sure my dumb self didn't screw something up or the dumbo mechanic either.

Just these common-sense steps could really help. You have to understand that the shop you gave it to may not actually be that bad and done most of a proper job. Often times though some of these people don't know how to write things down on a piece of paper and make a god dang list.... So make a list check it twice and then go from there.

Hope this gives you some instant answers
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/tra...everse-220207/
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/no-reverse-200492/
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/98...roblem-219680/
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/aw4...y-hard-227395/

 

But honestly.... it wouldn't be hard to prove that your trans lost reverse and now drives forward while in neutral immediately after they worked on it. Especially since it was the linkage they worked on. I'm guessing a quick look at the linkage could at least either fix it, or rule it out as the issue since that is what was replaced. I dont think the low fluid would hurt it to the point it stops working correctly, but if you've added more fluid and now it reads good ( when checked properly) it may just be the linkage isn't adjusted right. Start with the part that was changed and rule it out, and then go from there. If the mechanic wants to give you a hard time about looking at it and fixing what obviously seems like something they screwed up, just tell them they can explain their crappy service to the local news channel when they come by to interview them for the evening news so everyone knows they do crappy work and then they won't stand by it if it breaks afterwards or doesn't work correctly.

I had an issue with an old vehicle a few years back and I confronted the dealer about fixing the stuff and letting him know he needs to correct it because its his obligation.

Story is, when I bought the truck, they provided a list of all of the things they looked at and said were in working order, kind of like a 60 point inspection. Well I got the truck home and started to notice several of the things on that list that were actually NOT in working order. They just checked them off saying they were good. One of the fog lights wasn't working, the weather seal on the passenger door was ripped about 2 feet long and wind noise was bad, I didn't have a tire change kit (jack and crow bar), the spare tire was a different size than the other 4 tires, etc... There was a total of about 14 items on that "list" that they said was checked and was good that actually weren't. I went round and round with them for a couple of weeks and threatened them with going to the BBB, calling the local news, and probably something else I dont remember. They ended up mailing me a check for $300 to replace things and get EVERYTHING in working order.

 

sorry, I didnt notice the bit about it going forward in Neutral...sounds like that would be a linkage issue

definitely to be re-examined by the mechanics

although it is easy to check yourself, so long as you have an assistant to move the gear lever,

there is a plastic part that goes thru a bracket in the bellhousing, this may be mislocated or broken.

Undoing a 1/2" nut allows one to manually move the trans detent lever into each gear

 

I appreciate all of your information and agree about taking it back to the mechanic however, that is not an option. The mechanic is in Montana. I will not be able to take it back to the guy. I will try the linkage route and hope that works.

 

Real quick, I did take the drain plug off and decided to drain all the fluid I had put in there to see if there was any dirty trans fluid. It was definitely a bit dirty and smelled a bit burnt. I had put ATF+4 in previously. After draining it and putting the plug back in, I am going to fill it with Mercon III this go around. I will definitely check the linkage. Here is my next question though... today, I was working on it and I had someone shift the vehicle into R, N, D, 3, 2 and 1. I watched the linkage as my buddy was shifting into each gear. I could physically see the linkage shifting. Wouldnt this be adequate enough to troubleshoot the linkage problem? Or, do I need to take further steps?

 

that should be adequate, so long as you can see it make 5 distinct changes

to verify, you can detach the arm from the selector lever by removing one nut, and move the selector with multigrips to make sure it is the same as with the cable attached

do the rear wheels turn in reverse if raised on jacks ?

low trans fluid will cause reverse to slip or not engage, but if its at max on the stick when warmed, that isnt an issue

 

First, I would check that the new throttle-trans cable is adjusted correctly. It's simple to do.

In reverse, does it load down the engine at all or even try to move, or is it just like being in neutral (not moving versus slipping badly)? In forward gears, is it shifting normally, not sluggish or slipping? Slow shifting would also point to a disconnected or misadjusted cable. Slipping could also mean not enough fluid. The trans and torque converter hold close to 10-qts, and losing about 3 quarts from dropping the pan is about right. In park, can you push the vehicle?

Looking at the FSM, a misadjusted shift cable is a common possible cause list for both no reverse and creeping in neutral. The shift linkage is near where they would have been yanking the TV cable out, so it could have been whacked. Or the mechanic messed with it, getting his cables mixed up. Swapping the TV cable does not require removing the valve body, or even the filter so it's hard to see what the mechanic could have damaged or messed up internally. My suggestion would be to disconnect the shift cable and shift it manually at the trans and see if you can get reverse.

A few possibly helpful threads
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f5/shi...stment-139441/
https://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=976565

 

So my 04 jeep grand cherokee tires lock up only in reverse after a few inches of moving... it goes into drive fine no check engine light tranny fluid Is fine what is the problem?

 

You should try in the GRAND Cherokee forum.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f5/