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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
Hey guys. I picked up a new cherokee the other day without it running. It had lots of goodies on it and it was cheap. For those who wasn't involved in my last thread about the leaking antifreeze then heres a run down. The fuel pump was out of it so I was not able to check it out before I bought it. It does have full hydro steering, trussed dana 44 front, ford 9 inch rear, onboard air, locked...etc. Now, I bought a fuel pump after testing fuel pressure and got that installed and started. Went the next morning to add antifreeze in it since the guy had drained it antifreeze poured out of the bellhousing. So I pull the transmission and thankfully it was just a freeze plug. Replaced that, filled it full of antifreeze and installed the transmission and transfercase back in. The serpentine belt was loose so I tightened that up and fixed 2 vacuum leaks. Starts and runs good now...when its cold it misses and struggles but once it is warm, it runs great.
Now, up to this point I had not drove it at all. When I pulled the transmission I noticed that there was not any trans fluid in it. I bought tranny fluid today and added to it. Took about 4 quarts. I drained the transfercase and it had water in it rather than tranny fluid. I put trans fluid in the transfercase. So at this point I'm getting excited. I go to back it out of the garage and all is well. Put it in drive and it acts like it is stuck in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. IDK which it is stuck in, but most definately not first. I check the 2 connections that go up to the firewall, and those are good. I pull the plug off the TCU and try to drop it down into 1-2, 3rd, drive....no change between any of them. You can smash the throttle and it will barely move. Had to put it into 4lo to pull it back in the barn.
So what do you guys think, anything else to check or do you think the transmission is toast?
I will recheck it tomorrow. I did buy dex III today and that is what I put in it. Reverse is fine, it will blow the back tires off in reverse. There is no TV cable, its been done away with...Why I have no idea..Is it something I need to get off my buddies parts jeep? This is a trail only rig.
Last edited by matholland; Dec 14, 2016 at 11:34 PM.
Gotcha, so it could be what my issue is then huh? It still wouldn't shift manually with the TCU unplugged? Eliminated might not be the word for it...Broke might be the word for it...I just checked...It comes from the driver side of the transmission about halfway up right? I wasn't actually sure what that was for when I was pulling and reinstalling the trans. It was disconnected already though so I assumed that it was eliminated. If that is it, its too short, and it has a black end with a hole in it like the cable might be broken. I can attach a picture if you like.
Ohh, sometime that just dawned on me...on the transfer case there are 2 sensors....one of mine is broke...the one that is furthest back by the output shaft....Would that cause me any issues? I was guessing that it was a speed sensor.
Last edited by matholland; Dec 15, 2016 at 12:13 AM.
Ohh, sometime that just dawned on me...on the transfer case there are 2 sensors....one of mine is broke...the one that is furthest back by the output shaft....Would that cause me any issues? I was guessing that it was a speed sensor.
Between all of the research that I've done, and considering that there was water in the transfer case, I am pretty confident the transmission was toast. I did buy a RADesigns shifter that I'm excited to get. My buddy had a good trans out of a 93 that I bought for 100 bucks with a torque converter...With that being said, that TV cable is good too...I figured I would be ahead if I just swap it out. I didn't have any help last night, but managed to pickup the transmission, then get started. It only took me about an hour to pull the transmission and transfercase out by myself, seperate the transfercase, and that's about as far as I got....Here is my junk...she's had a very rough life, but has lots of goodies...It was pretty cheap too.
Well I got the transmission put back in with a different torque converter, this transmission also had the TV cable, and I adjusted it... started adding transmission fluid to it...same damn thing....Unplugged my TCU, and it still will not go into first when dropped down to 1-2...WTF?!?
Engine: 4.0, new lifters valve job with new springs and exhaust valves, preload set with shims
Originally Posted by matholland
Well I got the transmission put back in with a different torque converter, this transmission also had the TV cable, and I adjusted it... started adding transmission fluid to it...same damn thing....Unplugged my TCU, and it still will not go into first when dropped down to 1-2...WTF?!?
Ouch. Well the parts cannon got some use here! Sorry..is the Shifter cable or linkage not moving all the way? You got some good skills there pulling that out in an hour.
Update...i figured it out.Turns out after all the work it was something stupid. The lever for the gear selector at the trans had been welded and I didn't think anything of it. There was 3 washers between the bellhousing and the bracket for the cable that I didn't think anything of it. Turns out the cable was bottoming out and wouldn't allow it to go to 1-2. Therefore unplugging the tcu it was staying in third. Now when I unplug my tcu the jeep idles normally. With it plugged in, it idles high. Anyway I was able to get it down to first after removing the cable and using channel locks to lock it into 1-2. I suspected my tcu was bad so I got another one from a friend and it does the same thing. So there must be some wiring issues with the jeep or something? Because even with the new tcu in drive it stays in 3rd.I know my RADESIGNS box that I ordered will eliminate the need to figure this out but i would still like to find out what is going on with it so that I could remove the box if I was to get rid of the jeep and not sell it with the jeep haha. All that dang work and it was a stupid lever. Live and learn I guess.
I know my RADESIGNS box that I ordered will eliminate the need to figure this out but i would still like to find out what is going on with it so that I could remove the box if I was to get rid of the jeep and not sell it with the jeep haha. All that dang work and it was a stupid lever. Live and learn I guess.
I have a problem getting into 1 and 2 and reverse grinds in my 93 Cherokee sport 5 speed 4.0 idk why it happens after my jeeps running for a while can someone help
I have a problem getting into 1 and 2 and reverse grinds in my 93 Cherokee sport 5 speed 4.0 idk why it happens after my jeeps running for a while can someone help
Does anyone know why it's causing an idle jump when the tcu is plugged in, but tcu is not actually controlling the trans at all? It acts like it's unplugged as far as the trans goes?
Transmission issues
