anonymous2u

I bought a 94 XJ country about a month ago. It has a several second (havent clocked it) delay when selecting reverse gear before the trans engages with a significant "drop". The fluid is red and seems fine but have not changed it or the filter yet. Other threads and forums talk about a similar delay that also occurs selecting first gear but I do not have that issue. Hot or cold engine temp has no noticeable effect on the issue. All forward gears are there and no issues with shifting other than the delay into reverse.
I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this before I start to tackle this problem.

lawsoncl

Service manual says P->R engagement should be under 1.5 seconds. Check the throttle body to trans cable for proper adjustment.

awg

mine takes 15 secs on 1st cold start, thence 1.7 secs, has 220k miles

I think it could be wear on the 2nd issue...I have found reverse is often the 1st thing to go out on an old auto trans

On the 1st issue, I believe there is a one way valve in the torque convertor that fails, causing that issue

have adjusted cables, changed fluid etc

cruiser54

Drain and refill trans with Dex/Merc fluid. 4 quarts are needed. No need to change the screen.
Adjust your throttle valve cable.

anonymous2u

I adjusted the throttle cable as some of you have suggested. No effect on delay (which is not a consistent length of time and more than the 1.5 second standard delay). I had it out on a trail for about 5 hrs earlier this week and the transmission now has a "low pulsating whine" (the best I know how to describe it) even when idling with the trans in park. This weekend and next week I'll be really digging into the rig as I'll be tackling ball joints and plan to exchange trans fluid at the same time.

Why dex and not atf4?

Also should mention, jeep has 162k miles on it.

awg

What I would do next is take some pressure readings, there is a port on the side of the AW4...I have made my own gauge/hose/fitting for about $20 (for another vehicle)

As I want to keep my XJ, I obtained another trans, also from a '96, wrecking for about $250...I will fit that when my current ones expires

I forsee a replacement trans in your near future