It finally quit raining long enough for me to crawl under the Jeep (in my driveway) and replace the S1 solenoid. I had already drained the fluid and dropped the pan, so just needed to get the solenoid IN, clean the pan/trans contact surface, reseal, and add fluid. Cleaning and resealing (they don't use a gasket, just RTV) was a PITA because the exhaust is in the way, and it won't drop clear without dropping the exhaust.

I managed to get it clean enough for the RTV to stick, put the pan bolts back in, rebolted the dipstick tube, and refilled with fluid. I started and let it run a bit to check for leaks and fluid level prior to taking a test drive. It didn't seem to be leaking, so I took a ride. With the selector in D it went into 1st, and shifted into 2nd just like it was supposed to. Keep in mind that I make no claims of being a mechanic. While out and about I took a short hop down the expressway and noticed that OD seemed to be working MUCH better with noticeable lockup. It downshifts perfectly and upshifts to 2nd are pretty solid. While it would shift 3-OD-3 previously, it wasn't working properly. Sometimes it would go into OD for a short time and then shift back into 3 for no apparent reason. Lockup didn't seem to be working, and I can't see where the S1 solenoid has anything to do with this, but it IS my observation that this has also been resolved. I'm pleased to have my XJ working as it should.

 

My hat's off to you for getting 'er done! So you replaced only S1 solenoid?
That one was the odd ball with "high reistance 6K-19K ohms that counts backwards"/ Seems logical to replace the S1 if it tested different than the others. Well done!

 

Great Job and congrats for doing things the way they should --process of elimination. Now alot of others can use what you have learned and YOU can be the teacher..

 

Yes, the S1 was the only one that was showing a weird reading. It showed up to 19K ohms, but would "bleed reistance" back to about 8K if you left the meter leads on it.

It wasn't much fun doing this on jackstands in my driveway. Working from my back makes me nauseous, and temporary vertigo, but I was determined to do it. The local Aamco quoted me $502 to drop the pan, clean or change the filter, change the fluid, and replace the solenoid. He went on to say that they never have had to replace solenoids in an AW4.

In that I dropped the pan myself, I proved that the solenoid was defective and that the wire to the solenoid was good.

Another local, independent trans guy said 1-1/2 hours labor at $70, plus fluid and solenoid. That didn't sound too bad, but then he said it would be extra if the pan bolts broke like they often do, and that the 2 piece dipsticks don't separate properly, and it could be more $$ and no guarantees....had worked on one before and ended up replacing it with a remanufactured unit for $3500!!!!

No thanks, my Jeep isn't worth $3500 to anyone but me.

 

Thanks! I'm just stubborn and suspicious.