1369jayson

First off I want to say that I have looked at every thread I could find on the subject but I couldnt solve my problem. So here is my sob story.

I have an 1996 XJ Country 4.0 AW4 4x4. I bought it about a year ago and I have been having a shifting problem since day 1. When driving at highway speeds after the vechicle has warmed up completely it will shift out of overdrive, if you press the gas petal it will shift back into overdrive but as soon as you let up slightly it will drop back out. If you are driving a good distance 50+ miles it will occasionaly drop all the way to second without changing the position of the throttle. When you pull over and put it into park, shut the engine off and restart it will operate fine for a few miles then start dropping out of overdrive again. Also occasionaly when driving in the city the transmission will not down shift out of 3rd or 4th when stopping at stop lights, if you move the selector to 1/2 then up to 3 it works fine. When I first bought the Jeep I pulled the transmission plug drained the oil, filled with new and drove for about 250 miles then pulled the pan and changed the filter and oil. I drove about 3000 miles and changed the filter and fluid again. Nothing ever looked wrong with the fluid I changed other than the first time when it was burnt. I have been doing research and have already checked and replaced and adjusted my Throttle Position Sensor. I have adjusted the TV cable that is controlled by the throttle lever. I have also replaced all 3 shift soleniods (resistance was a little out of spec). The only other thing that I can think could be causing the issues is the TCM/U, or the tranny is working on dying. Any feed back that could possibly shed some light on my situation is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jayson

1369jayson

Anybody??

may pop

Check the condition of the connector near the trans dipstick tube. Mine had a bad pin in it [corroded]. Causing a no downshift back into 1/2.
Ron

ct67_72

have you checked it for codes? They are electronically controlled so there should be something. possibly speed sensor

1369jayson

I will have to take a look at the connectors... I will let you know what I find.

As far as codes, I hooked it up to a reader and there was nothing.??? If I am thinking correctly the 96 was the first year with the OBDII, I would assume that if there was a code thrown then it would store it until you went in and cleared it out, right?

paulisawesomer

sorry to hear that, I have the same issue. It also started right after I got my jeep about a year ago and it's a 1996. I changed the fluid and filter and right after that I had the same issues. I have replaces the trans speed sensor, Throttle position sensor, adjusted the kickdown ( I think its called) cable on the intake and replaced the TCU (actually tested 2 of them) with no luck. I was going to check the solenoids next, hopefully I will have better luck.I always thought that maybe I dinged one of them but sounds like you already ran that scenario with yours. And still no codes either. I'll be following this post and like he said if anyone has any ideas please let him know!
Also, just wondering would the MAP sensor have somethign to do with it?

1369jayson

Well it sounds like between the two of us we will have covered pretty much everything that can be looked at besides pulling the actually tranmsission. Im wondering if it is something to do with with the 96's.

Has anybody else had experience with this problem?

96jeepsport

having the same issues here with my 96 sport. was serching the forums myself and was leaning towards the speed sensor or tps or tcu but if some f you have already done that with no improvement then im at a loss hope it's not rebuild time.

funny thing with mine is i got stuck on the hill by my house cause i had to stop when i hit the gas to go i got nothing but rpms climbing with no movement i thought for sure the trans was toast so what i did was turn the truck off then on in a matter of 5 seconds and the trans was fine after that which leads me to believe it's electrical

paulisawesomer

Had that too, I've shifted into neutral and i've gotten stuck into third gear out of nowhere.

1369jayson

Yeah I have has the same kind of problems, recently I was driving from Bozeman to Idaho Falls and crusing at about 65 and all of a sudden I was in Second gear and about 5K on the tach, so I pulled over and shut it off and restarted and everything was good for about 3 miles then it started dropping out of overdrive again.

96jeepsport

anyone figure this problem out yet?

Vakis

ok I actually just got on here to start looking into my trans problem, similar but a little different. My 98 just started dropping out of o/d when on the highway, it would try to shift back in or lock the converter again and again but keep failing. It did this consistently for a week with no warning lights, then it finally came on. Other than that it shifts fine, just the o/d prob, I was driving it in D3 and it was fine, so I was thinking torque converter or solenoid, just had codes checked and I have a p0700 and a p0705, both related to trans range sensor. The previous owner did replace the trans range sensor for a backup light concern and it was over a year ago. I am thinking my concern is related to the trans range sensor and quite possibly so are yours. Just a thought I figured I would share it. Anyone had the smae problem with theirs and has it been a trans range sensor concern?

cruiser54

There are two connectors there. Unplug them, spray out with electronics cleaner and plug back in. Common issue for many years. ALL the info from speed sensor, TPS, TCU, solenoids travel through those connectors. They get corroded. Do this first.

paulisawesomer

Are we talking about the NSS (neutral safety switch)? When I looked up trans range sensor, everything pointed to the NSS. I have had to start in neutral once or twice I do recall. Is there a link to remove it anywhere, I have heard they can be a pain. Thanks.

SuperGlue

Sure am happy I have a 5 speed! LOL! My neighbor took his aw4 and set up a switch panel so he could just flip a switch for which gear he wanted, then added a 5th for locking his torque converter. Sounds like a permanent fix to me =P