What is this piece?
 

Hey Everybody, long time lurker and recently (almost) fulfilled my dream of a 4x4 Jeep Cherokee.

I live in the U.S. and the state I live in has very few non-grand-Cherokees and I recently fell into a 2wd 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport still pumping at 330000 miles.

I recently got the Cherokee on a lift and noticed there is a piece missing on the front of my Transmission.

Attached are photos of the said missing piece, any Cherokee veterans have any idea where to source this part? I have looked in junkyards locally but have yet to even find a Cherokee in any of them.

The engine has been swapped and I know nothing of the transmission originality.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...41db5234d2.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...4433e5f402.jpg

You are missing the dust shield/inspection cover. I have seen them pop up on ebay from time to time. You can run without, but it is nice to have should you run anything over, like a rabbit that didnt hop fast enough. They make one hell of a mess.

Or, if you find some scrap, you can make your own using a vice, pliers, a rubber mallet, and a drill. Its just sheetmetal. Just a guess, but 22 gauge or so should do it.

It is to keep mud and debris away from the starter and torque converter seal. It's really important in a sandy area because sand will tear up that seal and cause a trans fluid leak.

I'm thinking you could use one from any vehicle that uses the AW4 transmission even if you have to trim it to fit. I'd have to do a little research to figure out which vehicles that is in, but I know Toyota uses a lot of them. I'll be back in a bit.....

Okay, the AW4 is an offshoot of the A340H used in the 88-95 Toyota 4-Runner and 4x4 trucks with the V6 engine as well as the 88-91 Isuzu Trooper 2.6L 4-cylinder. Even so, the field is kinda limited. If you're handy with sheet metal, you can make a pattern out of cardboard, then cut one to fit.

Since the cover is already off... Check that the bolts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate are tight. Shine a flashlight up between the flexplate (sometimes incorrectly called a flywheel) and the engine and see if that oil leak is from the rear main crankshaft seal. I think I see oil on the starter solenoid in the first picture which is usually a valve cover or oil filter adapter leak. Before you cover it back up, it's probably work checking that all the teeth on the flexplate are clean and don't have a ton of oil and grit stuck in them as that'll wear the starter gear.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...0e0abf590.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...7f90171d52.png
#20 on the list, Part number 52118078