well today while I was wheeling my tranny started to slip in first gear after going through some deep mud. after about 10-20 minutes it stopped slipping and started driving normal again. this was the first time I ever had an issue with the tranny. when I checked the fluid it was a little low on fluid (just at or over the add line) and it is brown in color and smells burnt so I want to put some new fluid in it. I have 129k miles on my xj and its tranny and im not sure when it was last changed or if it has ever been changed before. I did some research online and saw that I shouldn't bother changing it because it could lead to more problems. so what should I do? just top it off and keep driving it? not really sure what to do

 

top it off and hope for the best. DO NOT get it flushed as in your xj may never move again with your tranny

 

can I add any stabilizers to try to maybe thicken up the fluid a little bit? or is that not a good thing to do?

 

maybe worth a try. it didn't save my dodges tranny. but then again that's a chrystler tranny. these Cherokees are tough. trya stabilizer not a flush.i cant stress it hard enough don't flush. I don't care what a local shop says they don't care as long as they get their money is all that matters.

 

yea ive heard a million times not to flush so I don't plan on doing that. just trying to see what my options are. it drives fine now and doesn't slip as of right now so im prob just going to leave it be. I think it started slipping because I might have over heated it then once it cooled down it was fine again

 

I agree don't do a pressurized flush, but do drain and fill the fluid. Old burnt fluid isn't doing any good, get that stuff out of there. Drain it (there is a drain plug on the bottom of the trans pan), refill with 3.5-4qt DexronIII/Mercon (DO NOT USE ATF+4), drive 100 mi or so, and repeat until the "old" fluid that comes out is bright red like fresh fluid out of the bottle (may take 3-4 times if it is really dirty). Get good fluid in there first before you start messing with additives. (Note: most additives only delay the inevitable, if additives are the only way you can stop the slipping, start looking for a replacement transmission).

 

heat kills these trans (plus water ask me how I know ),,,,good after market oil cooler is a nice we mod ....x4 don't flush .....

 

HERE^^ is the answer.

 

Top it off until you have the 20 minutes to drain the pan, and add back that amount of DexIII or Dex/M fluid. Pan drain takes ~4 quarts it seems. I am doing it tomorrow. I can't imagine fluid additives would help (maybe BG but even then). You will have to drain & fill a few times to flush out the full amount of fluid as there is a bunch that doesn't drain when the plug is pulled. I'd recommend atleast twice but you should do it until it's red. You can pick up D3/M fluid for the AW4 transmission at local parts stores for <$20/gallon.

edit: beat me to it.

 

I've slowly been flushing my tranny with super tech (walmart) dexIII.... for almost a year now

its cheap and up to spec so I'm confident it will do the job....

anyone on board with this train of thought??

 

I'm with you 100%.

 

Yes, sir! That's the way to go!

 

flush the trans with atf+4 then do a fluid anf filter change with atf+4. then hope for the best. chances are if it already started to slip you're screwed.

 

Not good advice to follow^.

Aw4s do not like +4.

 

No no no

Dex3 only