Hello all, Im a new member here want to say hideho.
I have two old jeeps a 75 cj, and a 48 ******. We , as in wife and I both have a 96 xj that is pretty well set up. here are a couple questions I have. I hope you cats that know all the know, can sort me out and point me out on this thanks ahead of time.

First off, all ive ever had jeepwise was standards, well wifie cant drive stick and is past " i want to learn stage"
the xj is a 96, it is a 4.0 it is an automatic, the books and all the limited research ive done shows the tranny should be an aw4, which I assume is a 4 speed, but the shift lever on the cherokee is 1, 2, D, N , P ? is this normal for the aw4.

Now question 2, we are wheelin , well trying to get to where we wheel. a couple days ago and here is the story.
45 miles from the part of the trip where we start to climb.
45 miles 65 mph on flat more or less pavement.
started the dirt road climb up toward mount baldy, colorado. not a real steep road but a constant dirt trail climb, lots of ruts so i went into 4h cept the shifter in d after about 40 minutes of climbing i noticed the tranny temp guage heading up to 200 degrees. a minute or so later it went to 250 and the thing just started slipping, my rpms went up i stopped put it in neutral, set the parking brake and let it idle for about 20 minutes. checked the tranny fluid it was full ok but stinky at this point. after the temp went down to about 180 i shifted to d and the damn thing drove great, "down hill" we got off the mountain and made the drive home without incedent and the thing never slipped ,revved up stunk or even got about 180 on the temp guage. ????? I would so much appreciate any and all insight into this phenomina, Im not an auto guy and confess to know nothing more than to put the thing in d thats it. it shifts perfect and smooth. no slip or chatter or hard shifting. I have not drove it since we got it home. again any help would be much appreciated. thanks. this jeep is so awesome, its a bummer I have lost faith in the tranny.

is my tranny roached or is it still savable. more info. the thing is a 96, the milage is 138.000
i think its an aw4 but dont know how to identify it. it does not have an aftermarket tranny cooler on it , but im open to suggestions. thanks again.

 

Yes, your correct in assuming it's the AW-4. The shifter should be labeled as

P
R
N
D
3
1-2

The AW-4 is computer controlled and does not allow for 1st gear only without modification.

Sounds like you heated it up, a flush and installation of an auxillery cooler may fix the issue. That would be my move..

 

If it smells burnt or did I say yes you should definitely drain and replace the fluid and I would also put a new filter in it at the same time.

The addition of a trans cooler would definitely help the situation.

Just curious did you add the trans temp guage? They didn't come stock.

And as far as it being trashed. I would say its fine. They are a very stout auto trans.

 

the trans guage was in the jeep when we bought it, it is a really well done auto meter guage. It usually dosent show any temp , originally I thought it didnt work . but I noticed that when I was 4 wheelin it would rise in temp usually around 180 or so, So im assuming it works. thanks you guys for the input. Like I said im diggin on this jeep it crawls like a tank and has all the cool **** done on it already. but no trans cooler. Id like to get one with its own fan . is this worth it or unneeded. thanks again yall.

 

I don't think you'd need one of those with its own fan. It should function fine if you put it in front of the AC condenser. Do you have the aux electric fan? If you already have the stock one it may be worth your time to wire up a switch for it so if your trans temp starts to creep up after you put in a cooler you can have some on demand air to pull through it.

 

New fluid and tranny cooler would be step one for me..

 

It'll run hotter if it's in overdrive while climbing hills. Try shifting to "3" and ditto on the tranny cooler.

AW4 operating range is 125-176 degrees, it'll vary some depending on where the sensor is installed. 176 isn't cause for immediate alarm, but it puts you in the "severe service" category, with more frequent fluid changes. Over 200 deg stop and let it cool. 240 change the fluid ASAP as you're making varnish. At 260 neoprene seal damage starts...

 

radi thanks for the temp dope on the aw4, makes sence that most the time I never see much in the way of needle movement on my guage it starts at 100. and I rarely if ever see it move unless of course im in 4x4 adn creepin along . I will put in a cooler, what do you guys use as coolers , type , or brand or size. that you would say works well. I will hook an aux fan cooler on and wire it to turn on at temp. or manually. thanks again you guys for the help. Im starting to think there is hope for the old girl afterall. oh one more thing, Im gonna install the cooler, what is the suggested way to tie into the tranny. Should I go from the tranny to the aux coller then into radiator, or from tranny to radiator then cooler . I live in colorado and the winters are a little cold at times so I dont want to under heat it in the winter either. thanks .

 

If you can I say bypass the radiator "cooler" and run it straight to the real trans cooler. The one on my 91 that came with the tow package is about 15" x 5" by guesstimation.