We just bought a 1997 Cherokee, 190k miles, looks brand new, engines runs great, but I think the transmission is going, it hesitates and shifts kind of funky and falls on it's nose when you punch it and stuff. Tranny fluid is pretty black and smells a bit. Okay, I made a mistake, I admit it. But daughter wanted it so bad.

I'm taking it to a transmission shop here that is good, I keep hearing 1500 to 2k as I look around, that seems high, I'm not mechanically capable of fixing it myself. Should I try to go the junkyard route or do you guys recommend going the full rebuild?

 

Assuming you have an automatic transmission there are a few things you can try first before taking it into a shop.

Most guys on here will tell you to drain out the tranny fluid into a pan, measure how much came out and then replace that same amount with new fluid.

Another thing to check is whether or not your throttle position sensor is faulty. When the go bad they cause all kinds of "transmission" problems, i.e. Erratic shifting, delayed or harsh shifting.

One final thing to check is the tv cable which is right by the throttle body. It can be easily adjusted.

Do a search on here to find how-to's on all of these. The automatic transmissions in our jeep are quite stout and put up with years of abuse. Hope this helps

 

First step is change the fluid. You'd be suprised by the difference it can make.

 

^^^

Yep, it make take several drain and refills with some driving between intervals to get the fluid nice and red.

Also, I've heard a lot of good things about Lucas stop slip and how they've helped people who thought their transmissions were dying.

 

Great guys, thanx, maybe I can get out of this without a big bill !!

 

Good luck!! and where are you located? someone on here thats close by may be able to help you

 

I'm in Noblesville, IN it's just north of indy...

 

I echo what Doog says and also recommend a full transmission service. None of those are expensive or difficult. Even if you need a new AW4, they are not terribly expensive or hard to find and you will have a fantastic Jeep for many years to come.

 

Full trans service on these is a waste of money. The filter is just a screen and the only other thing they do is flush the fluid. A couple drain and fills will do the job.

 

Yep. $40-50 in Dex/Merc and a few minutes of draining & filling and you should be good or atleast know if there's a legit issue.

 

Ok, doing a drain and fill tomorrow, with filter change. How long should I wait before i do it again? I'm thinking like only a week, here's why. A good transmission person I spoke to said that once the fluid goes bad a varnish like coating builds up on all the transmission components. Then, when you add the new tranny fluid the detergents break down this varnish coating and when it comes off it's like pulling off a band-aid that rips off all of the hair. IE, when the varnish comes off it leaves a very rough and pitted surface on all the components which is why many older transmissions fail a few weeks to a month after guys change the fluid. All those metal flakes eat everything up, but I'm thinking like you guys, if I change it quickly enough, even if this is true I ought to be able to save the darn thing. I'm thinking driving it like 200 miles only and then changing it again? Too soon?

 

I have noticed that it does idle up on it's own every once and a while when just sitting there not moving on it's own. The oil pressure is right at 50 when cruising, engine like I said sounds great.

 

A week or two should be fine that's 300-500 miles for me. Do not waste the time or money changing the filter. It is just a screen to keep chunks from getting picked up.

 

DON'T change the filter. It's just a screen. The trans has a drain plug.

You're making this way too complicated. Drain and fill as often as you like. These are one of the toughest automatic transmissions ever built.

These transmissions have no hair in them and you're not "band-aiding" anything here. You're doing overdue maintenance.

 

Here's how to adjust the TV cable: