"Barely reach" is a bit of an exaggeration. The bolt end of the first bolt contacted the threads in the TC before the head of the bolt bottomed out on the flexplate, but yeah, the first one definitely had to reach a bit further in to grab the TC and bring it forward, compared to the other bolts that threaded with the TC flush against the plate. I'd say somewhere in the vicinity of 1/8th of an inch.

 

My experience is with GM and with those, you can just barely get one bolt started, then push the converter forward by hand until you can put the others in.

 

This might be a quirk of these, but I have not separated one yet. But when pressure is applied by pulling against a flexplate it can fracture it later on. Maybe it was just pulling it into the crank pocket. But unless it was real dirty or rusty in there everything I have worked on slid in all the way easily and the TC came all the way up against the flexplate with no gap at all.

 

Hmm. Well, there is no gap now that the bolts are there But it seems like there has to be a small gap before bolting the tc up, if it is supposed to spin freely until bolted up. On Fords there is a small gap per the service manual install guide. The service manual for the jeep grand cherokee doesn't say either way, just that the tc should be able to spin with the bell housing bolted all the way up.

 

Maybe it was just tight sliding into the crank pocket. I know you don't want much pull on a flexplate. It could be a fatigue issue later. But he said it was only 1/8" so it is probably not enough to worry about.

 

You are probably good. I get worried when I hear the words "barely reached". lol I have always cleaned the nose of the TC and the crank pocket well before putting them back together and they always slid all the way up flush with no gap at all.

 

OK, we are hanging to hear good news.

 

Me too haha. It will be later this afternoon. I had to come into the office today.

 

Oh OK... lol

 

Well, I bought the gov pressure sensor and solenoid, tranny pan gasket and 8 of ATF+4... I decided to do a check over the wiring first before digging in to see if there were any obvious issues and I found one: The transmission pigtail



It may not be the only issue, but it makes the top of my list. To experiment, I cleared the codes, adjusted it, and pulled them again. When the CEL came on, it gave me a different code: P1763 - Gov pressure sensor too high condition. I cleared it again and repeated and the P0748 came back. I figure the messed up pigtail is the root of the issue, though I think it is very possible it also may have ruined the sensor and/or solenoid. I'll have to see if a dealer or a junk yard has one of these pigtails on hand. None of the auto parts stores carry it. When I can get my hands on one, I'll splice it on and see if the codes stick around. If they do, I'll put in my new sensor and solenoid. If they don't, I have $300 of parts and fluid to return

 

Funny thing, I can't seem to find that pigtail anywhere. Anyone got a lead?

 

Nevermind. Found it.

 

Good. I have repaired a lot of those with hot glue. lol I make sure they are all separated good with no strands touching each other and then fill them up good with hot glue to insulate them again.

 

I tried the hot glue repair before work. It looks good, but the codes are still there, and another code, P0031: HO2S Heater control circuit low, appeared. That has to do with the 02 sensors I think...

I chatted with a tech at the transmission shop that rebuilt this tranny two years ago. They can't honor the warranty, but the guy asked me if I happened to do anything with the O2 sensors while I was swapping the motor, and in fact, I did. The exhaust manifolds that came on the new motor were in better shape, so I used them, sensors and all, AND there is an O2-related code now. He said Jeeps use the same circuit for the O2 sensors and the gov solenoid, so in effect, a bad O2 sensor or circuit issue could cause the solenoid to fail. The tech said he's seen it before, and he thinks it is unlikely that a 2-year-old solenoid would fail, especially while the jeep wasn't being driven.

I'm going to swap back in the old O2 sensors today to see if that makes a difference.

If that fails, I'm going to return the $300 worth of parts and fluid for the solenoid swap, and just tug the jeep to the shop to diagnose the electrical issue. I feel like better that then throw the parts at it with my fingers crossed.

 

Did you happen to ask him if it was OK to drive it?