P3rfect

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.

fb97xj1

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.

dave1123

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.....

dave1123

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.

lawsoncl

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.

petejeep95

#20 on the list, Part number 52118078