Hi, I got a 96 Cherokee 2 wheel 4 liter. I also have a crazy story so get ready...

Bought the thing not running for $600, towed it home. Had some original issues with the distributor and motor, blah blah blah, finally got it to work, ran pretty smooth after that. The guy who i bought it from had rebuilt the engine and transmission so I assumed there couldn't be too many problems there.

Note this: Whenever i start the thing up, it took it a while to shift into 2nd gear. I would always end up flooring the thing up to 25 mph just to force it into 2nd. happened rarely with getting it into 3rd, same issue. After about 5 minutes of running it, the shifting problem went away.

3 days ago I'm driving the thing, did the whole "take awhile to shift" thing like normal. about 15 minutes to driving it, i start accelerating from a complete stop at a green light, and it wasnt in gear! im here at a green light, car in drive, and it took me 5 seconds to actually catch any torque because the car wasnt in gear. Only happened once, and me being uneducated in transmission systems i assumed it could have been a rare error. Thats when **** hit the fan, im on the freeway, slowing down because of a crash on the side, and i slowed down fine. I go to accelerate and it is stuck! im had slowed down to 5 mph and theres a huge line of traffic behind me wondering what im doing haha. I found a temp fix to this. If i turn the car off and back on, it shifts normally. The problem only happens again when i hit about 35-40 mph, and then slow down again. Once i slow down i cant speed up because it's not in gear. Im moving my shiftstick like crazy from park to drive and not a damn thing happens.

SO, basically my jeep is a lemon (right now) and i want to know some suggestions from people who know transmission systems more than i do?
Thanks

 

First, you posted this in the KL forum. I'm not sure you'll get a lot of responses. Second, how can you say a 20 year old $600 car is a lemon? Third, I have a manual shift XJ and have no idea what your issue is. Forth, welcome to the forum.

 

^This, wrong forum, try XJ Tech (if you don't already know XJ = 1984-2001 Cherokee, KL = 2014+ Cherokee), and it is most likely either your TV (Throttle-Valve) Cable or TPS (throttle position sensor) those are used to determine when and how the transmission shifts. Both are easy fixes. It could also be your range sensor (aka NSS, the sensor that tells the trans what "gear" [PND31-2] you have selected which is a little more difficult to access but still not too difficult. Or any combination of these.

TV-Cable adjustment:


TPS Replacement (this is a ZJ, but the intake/sensor is the same):


NSS repair/replacement:



If you haven't already changed the transmission fluid, that wouldn't hurt either (you should probably change every fluid on a 20 year old vehicle for that matter unless you know it has been done recently), this is also easy/cheap, the AW4 trans has a drain plug and can be filled via the trans dip-stick tube, takes 3.5-4 qt. of Dexron-III/Mercon ($15-20). If it is really dark/dirty change it a few times with a couple hundred miles between each change until the old fluid comes out bright red, just like new fluid from the bottle.



It is possible that you have an actual transmission problem, possibly from a bad rebuild, but the AW4 is pretty bullet-proof and sensor/wiring issues are far more common than actual internal failures.