nursing222

check engine light came on for governor solenoid fail, changed jeep worked great for a week and then I lost my reverse, works fine in drive, noted when I down shifted the jeep no engine braking, it maybe connected to my loss of reverse gear? what can I do to fix or do I need to get the trans rebuilt?

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

I'm guessing it's the failure of a snap ring in the overdrive unit that's the basis of your problem. The overdrive unit can be removed from the transmission without removing the transmission from the jeep. That snap ring holds an 830lb spring for the forward clutch. Then the forward clutch fails to engage. The forward clutch must be engaged for reverse to work.

There's a trick to removing the O/D unit without releasing that spring EXPLOSIVELY! You have to replace 4 of the bolts with threaded rod with nuts on them, then remove all the other bolts. Loosen the nuts a little at a time until the spring pressure is released, then remove the unit. You can either get the unit rebuilt or buy a rebuilt unit.

If that snap ring is broken, you can find parts of it in the transmission pan when you drain the fluid. Most of the time they're in the bottom of the pan, but sometimes pieces will be on top of the valve body. Check for that snap ring before you go any farther. If there's no broken pieces, your problem is deeper than the O/D unit.

nursing222

thanks for the info, I removed the overdrive and the unit came out fine with your suggestion. after relieving the pressure from the spring the OD guts all came out. will have pics of the unit and follow up info after I am done with the rebuilt OD

nursing222

when I put the OD back on do I do the reverse of when I removed the OD?

dave1123

No, it just slides onto the trans shaft. When you reassemble the O/D unit, it HAS to be done on a press with an alignment tool to keep the clutch units aligned so it WILL slide on.