brendancfarrell

So the story goes, I was driven to Wildwood NJ with 2 of my buddies on our way to an Irish festival that we are invited to play in. On the PA turnpike, after driving 98.6 miles, my Jeep downshifted and then just stopped shifting all together. Had to get a tow and then tow it to my home the next day. I thought my tranny blew since I'm on brand new 33s with stock 3.55 gears. But to my surprise, the Jeep started and drove the next day. It seems to me that the tranny just overheated. Now, there is oil ALL over the bell housing, TC and my exhaust. I think it also came out of my valve cover because when I went to check the head for water, everything in the back of the motor near the firewall was all nice and shiny. But the weird thing is, the Jeep runs and drives fine now. No problems at all except for my fuel cut out problem. Anyways, to save my tranny, what shall I need to do now that it over heated? I ordered a B&M cooler, Changing my oil tonight, what else?

Gee oh Dee

Check for metal shavings and such in the old oil...

djlarroc

4.56

Lowrange2

This...

Re-gear or you WILL be replacing it.

brendancfarrell

I know I need to regear, and I have 4.56s coming. My problem is A.) I'm a poor student, I have NO money to pay someone to put gears in. 2.) This is my only vehicle until I can finish my Ford. And I cannot just leave my Jeep for days on my lift if I cannot install the gears asap. I will flush the coolant and oil tonight. New filter and what not. But do I really need the gears right now for just city driving? Long trips, yes I understand that but I need them for only city driving?

ericfx1984

on the highway you need to run it in 3rd gear, not Drive, better gas mileage and you wont be working it as hard

Lowrange2

Put the stock tires back on it until you have time and money to finish preparing to lift the Jeep...

brendancfarrell

whats my max speed in third though? 60-65?

ericfx1984

depends on tire height

I run 33s (actually 33.33" tall on the wheel), in 3rd on the highway at 65 mph (GPS) I see about 2100-2200 rpm

80mph would be around 2500-2700 rpm

so at 100 mph on the GPS you would see around 3200-3400rpm

so 80-90 mph is more than possible

Your 33s might be a little short, as short as 31.5" so you might have a slightly higher RPM, only slightly

ericfx1984

so with tires that are actually 31.5" tall you would see an RPM increase of 4.5%, with 32.5"tall tires you would see an increase of around 2.5%

brendancfarrell

Wow. I appreciate your "help" but my Jeeps been lifted for 2.5 years now, and its about time I bought tires. It is completely possible to run 32.5" tires with stock 3.55s, SO LONG as I do not obviously drive a long way. I did not know that before, but now I do. My Jeep has been my project for the past 3 years, I think I am ready. I will do my search to find out how to and what I need to install my own gears. Like I said, I bought them, just needed help on install, which is kinda why I posted here....

@ericfx1985,
Thanks for the tip on staying in third. Like I said, I've been driving it since it overheated, and it shifts just fine and I have zero drips. So I consider myself very lucky that it was just an overheating problem.

DieselD

Are you talking about engine oil or transmission fluid? If you blew atf all over the place, then you probably need to drains what's left, because its probably burnt, refill and make sure there's no leaks.

Either way if the tranny fluid looks burnt like it overheated than you should drain and refill.

ericfx1984

try the 3rd gear thing, works great, will make it feel almost stock on the highway, better gas mileage, less wear and tear on the transmission, and WAY more highway punch

as for the city my Jeep actually does quite well (unless you count gas mileage, lol)

brendancfarrell

That is what I am trying to get at. There is a blackish oily fluid all over the bottom of the tranny, tc, tc skid and my exhaust. It was no smell though. According to my cold checks of oil and tranny dipsticks, both are good, actually my engine oil is a little high. I would like to flush the tranny anyways, so what ATF should I use? This will be my first time changing that myself

brendancfarrell

To be completely honest, I was getting 20mpg highway before this happened. I get around 13-15 city, with these tires. But when I drive highway I'll definitely try that trick. Thanks!