joshsmommy642

Im a girl, and not hand with mechanics so please work with me. I have a 1997 Jeep Cherokee that I bought in 2011. It had been sitting for at least two years. It needs some work done, different things but to my main problem. Ive been having transmission issues, when I start driving it acts like it doesnt want to shift but after a few seconds it will go into gear, usually only when its 1/2 gear or I can switch down to 3rd and it will change then go back to D. It usually only does this when I drive it for the first time each day. Recently I found fluid under it and it was so black that I thought it was oil. It turns out it was transmission fluid. So we thought it had something to do with a breather tube. I had a backyard mechanic clean out the tube completely, change the filter and drain the fluid. After he did this and left it running it wasnt leaking. I drove the jeep about a mile and stopped in a parking lot to find it leaking pretty bad, was worried it would catch fire. Its still coming out of the dipstick. Is there something that I should have them check before purchasing a transmission from the junkyard? I know it needs a new one based on the codes saying the **** solenoid is bad and the way it drove before the leak... but Im trying to buy time if possible. Any help would be appreciated so much! I use this vehicle for my delivery job and Im just stuck.
Thank You!!

JackJare9455

It sounds like your transmission might be overheating or you have a clogged breather...

Did the mechanic clean the breather on the transmission itself? Can you verify this?

It will take possibly 4 drain and fills on the transmission to get all of the burned up fluid out of your transmission if it is as black as you say it is.

Radi

They spit fluid out the dipstick when they overheat, or if they are over filled. I'd check the level for starters.
Agreed on doing a couple more drain and refills, even if the pan was dropped a few quarts of old fluid stayed in the torque converter. If the fluid was black and burned it may be too late though. As good a transmission as the AW4 is, they do not deal with overheating well.

joshsmommy642

Thank you for the responses. I'm not exactly sure if he cleaned the breather on the transmission, I know he specifically said that the took off a tube from it, as well as the dipstick holder and cleaned those out. He said the fluid in the pan was so dirty that he could write his name in it. When he put it back together it was still coming out of the dipstick so he drained out an additional quart to have it a bit low and it wasnt coming out of the dipstick anymore while it was sitting and running. When I picked it up, I drove barely a mile and stopped to find it leaking out again pretty bad. I'm going to ask him about the breather on the actual transmission. I have found a transmission for $350 but I want to be sure that there are no other parts that work with the transmission that could be causing this, rather than the actual transmission. Also, when I had an actual transmission shop look at it a few months back he said it needed to be rebuilt but it is the imported version so its more expensive... ever heard this? The junk parts places are not aware of the differences.

t-cell

Okay so i'm not taking credit for this i just think its in the best interest for everyone who owns an XJ to know this. I have always disliked the way my XJ shifts from 2-3-4. It felts sloppy and had trouble down shifting on steep inclines. Well here is the solution that worked for me! It costs all of $0 and about 5 minutes including the test drive.

Here are the instruction

-Open hood while vehicle is off in park.
-Find TB
-Press and hold cable release button.
-While holding cable release button push conduit into ratcheting cable release button.
-Hold conduit in.
-Release the cable release button.
-Open TB to wide open and the button will automatically ratchet and lock into the correct place.
-Test drive!!!

I found this on one of b16a90teg's posts on NAXJA.

I know its a "write up" but i think it would have more use to people on the tech section Attached Images

Radi

If you have a 1997 XJ (not Grand) Cherokee with an automatic transmission, it's an AW4.
A lot of folks believe (mistakenly) that it's a Toyota transmission. It isn't. AW stands for Aisin Warner, Aisin is partially owned by Toyota, Warner is what's left of Borg Warner, a longtime AMC supplier. They built Millions of Jeeps with this transmission, it's far from a rarity.
They changed very little over the years and are one of the simpler transmissions to rebuild I'm told.
Still they are so plentiful in scrapyards it's usually more cost effective to just pull a good used one.

My opinion, for what it's worth- if you've verified the level is correct with the transmission HOT.....there's most probably an internal issue that's causing the fluid expulsion. Dirty burned fluid indicates something catastrophic happened in the past.
There isn't anything outside the transmission that will cause that other than a pinched/failed transmission cooler or line(s) causing the trans to overheat. If correcting the fluid level and inspecting the cooler and lines doesn't turn up anything, go for the scrapyard trans.

BlueRidgeMark

Yes, it is important info, but it has nothing to do with this thread. Putting it here is likely to confuse the OP.

XJ Sam

I would check this as well. Cheap and pretty easy. If the breather is clogged, or the tube is pinched and breather is not functioning, the transmission can't release pressure build up. The next likely source its going to come from is the trans dipstick.

anarce

I had a similar problem recently, and it turned out that the top of the vent tube comes up near the dipstick, and it had somehow melted on the back of the engine and melted shut. My transmission kept puking fluid and wouldn't shift right. The shop found the melted hose, replaced it, and it's back to normal now.