I recently discovered Mud/sand in my oil and tranny fluid. Long story short - i have replaced the motor, and likely ruined my trans. I re-torqued the 1-2 and 2-3 shift bands in the Trans. one inside and one outside. replaced the Filter and performed several flushes. A little bit of metal shavings in the initial drain, and barely any flakes noticeable during the 3 flushes i did. The jeep shifts 1-2 like a brand new vehicle and 2-1 just as nice, but it wont find 3rd. Any ideas what to look for here? Should i re-check my 2-3 shift band? Solenoid? Im hoping it may have something to do with my failing NP249 (swap to NP 242 is underway) not allowing the shift, but I know how unlikely that is.

 

Which transmission do you have? Can you upshift manually to 3rd? If so you have to start with the pressure sensor (usually clogged filter screen on this) and the two solenoids. I can't see where the failing transfer case would have anything to do with it.

 

I believe its the 46RE, need to check the ID tag, because its a factory 5.2, and the previous owner swapped a 5.9 in there. I just replaced the 5.9 a few months ago. It will not go into 3rd when manually selected. I tried to bounce between 1-2-3-2-3 and nothing happened. N-3-N-3 nothing happened. 3rd just isnt there. But 1st and 2nd are great. It has a new filter, i cleaned the solenoids with brake cleaner and reinstalled. I flushed the trans, cooler, and hopefully enough flushed the torque converter.

Looking to get a rebuild kit, and a new torque converter and just call it new, but we will see what i find when i tear it down.

 

Sounds like the 46RE. Checking my fsm flowchart for you, which is for the 42RE,..
Check for faults using the DRB scan tool
Adjust throttle and gearshift linkage if complaint was based on delayed, erratic, or harsh shifts

There is a ton of troubleshooting stuff in the FSM and these charts,, scanning through it, they make a big deal out of misaligned shift cables and throttle cables,..a valve body malfunction or the governor valve sticking...or gov valve electrical fault.
There is also a complete set of diagnostics for line pressure tests. Even the TPS can cause kickdown problem..not your problem...but theres a ton of stuff short of replacing the transmission that is relatively simpler.
Might be worth taking to a reputable shop with the drb scan tool just to see, if such a shop exists.

 

The factory transmission in the '98 ZJ w/ the 5.2L engine is the 44RE.

The 46RE was only used in the '98 ZJ w/ the 5.9L engine.

 

Are you sure the 2-3 shift is the one not working? There doesn't seem to be anything in the flowchart for that particular failure. If it's the 3-4 shift, it could be 15 different things, per the chart. Most notable for the engine swap, a "neutral safety switch to PCM wire shorted/Cut"

 

So he's got a 5.9 on a 44re trans then. Could that have anything to do with it?

 

Unfortunately, this is very possible, but I'm pretty sure I have read elsewhere, that this wouldnt work. There are a few major differences, that wont allow it, but if I am wrong its completely possible.


I dont think its a wiring issue, although in the back of my mind I keep wondering if I plugged that solenoid back in. I will be replacing the torque converter, Im going to recheck all of the shift bands for torque, but i always had had minor trans issues. A rebuild is in its future no matter what, might as well do it now.