SnakeEyes814

It's been several thousand miles. And the trans is just fine, especially after I adjusted the kick down cable. The requirement for dex/merc is over a decade old. Atf+4 wasnt even out. You can go by what a 12 year old manual says. I can do my own research and come to my own conclusions. You know they have flat tv's now right? And 3-d movies that don't suck. Technology is great. Oh and if youre going by what's specified now, it's atf+4.

Sent from my DROIDX using Cherokee Forum

SnakeEyes814

what they told me at CryCo tranny school: when the first TSB came out, testing had not been done on the AW4 using ATF+4, so it was not recommended.

After testing was complete, including the A604 in the minivans, they came out with the new TSB that included the AW4 and the A604.

Although, teach said if it had a fresh reman, that both trannys should be broken in with dextron then switched to +4 if desired. This was for the TCC clutch material, not the internal trans parts.

That was copied from another forum. Thing is you need to make up your own mind, if you want to go by what a 12 year old manual says that's fine, I'm not, and that's fine too. I've heard the horror stories, I'm more inclined to think that any problems people have had already existed and, switching the fluid OR flushing for the same fluid would have had the same results. Chrysler tested atf+4 in the aw4's. I've had it in for 2 oil changes. No problems. Would everyone else have my results? No. But if they did have a problem, you can't just blame the fluid.

Sent from my DROIDX using Cherokee Forum

crystalion

Just considering the fact the the trannys were made to run the dex/merc III or so I would be just as inclined to keep it that way. I fully understand that the new fluid +4 will probably in most cases do fine unless there is previous damage. I see alot of threads stating that OMG my trans don't werk and it has 2 gajillion miles on it and i bought it last week.

I would just prefer to keep changing the original fluid or the slight upgrade of it . Most of the trannny posts are ones about not shifting or they have NO IDEA when the fluid was last changed.

SnakeEyes814

I think that's the problem. Lack of maintenance. If a it's all gunked up then flushing fluid regardless of what type might loosen that gunk and cause problems. Everyone cites the owners manual for the transmission fluid. A manual printed by chrysler. Now theres a tsb out saying that atf+4 is fine for aw4's. A tsb printed by chrysler. So I dont see the argument there. I'm just glad it's working great for me.

Sent from my DROIDX using Cherokee Forum

crystalion

I'll assume were on the same page Snake. Most of the posts are due to lack of maintenance or not knowing at all what the previous owner did BUT that is still not an excuse to go out and pull a dipstick now an then. Seems most only post when their trans is giving PROBLEMS but when u ask how the fluid looks they respond with " let me check ". Friggin sad for the soul of ur jeep if u consider the motor the heart.

SnakeEyes814

X2 same page

Sent from my DROIDX using Cherokee Forum

northline76

Dealership puts ATF4 in when they do service, so clearly they have found no issues with using it in place of dex.

SnakeEyes814

Some peoples response to that would be "why would the dealership care about an out of warranty vehicle?" I agree with you though. Even if it were out of warranty, if enough people had direct issues to atf+4 you'd think you could build a case based on that...

Sent from my DROIDX using Cherokee Forum

chrisonline1991

I thought 97 cherokees had the ax-15 trans, i guess not though? Did you remove the tranny from the junk yard yourself? I'm assuming the $250 included the torque converter? I'm looking to replace my tranny in my 97 as well.

SnakeEyes814

AX-15 is manual, AW4 is auto

Sent from my DROIDX using Cherokee Forum

DualSportDad

i work at a Chrysler dealer so the junk yard just delivered it to me. there is a local u-pull but the place is a **** hole and at $250 i don't think i was going to find a much better price.

yes it included the converter.

things i found out is that the 97 tranny is different from all other years. if the junk yard tells you it has a warranty and you tell them you want a different year trans for your 97 they won't warranty it. they offered a 90 day warranty and i said i just wanted a guarantee that it would atleast make it around the block once with no problems. they refused. so i called the place i got mine from and told them it was for a 92. the difference between buying a 97 and a different year was rediculous.... like $500 compared to as low as $150 for any other year.

all i had to do to mine was switch the shift solenoids and the wiring harness. i probably could have just pushed all the pins out of the main connector and swapped the conector over but someone had smashed the connector and cut up some wires on the 92 harness. switching it over took about 10 min.

trans is still going strong with the atf+4 in it.

chrisonline1991

thanks for clearing that up.

chrisonline1991

Ah, lucky you. i've seen the ax-15's on craigslist for ~$500, but i was hoping to get it cheaper.

I just read the same thing about the 97 trans being different. Maybe i'll get a 92 or similar so it'll be cheaper. How did you know to switch the shift solenoids?

DualSportDad

because of how the wire harness connector ends are. i really only switched one.... the very rear one and i just pulled the covers off the connector ends for the front two (if you had it infront of you you'd know what i was talking about), really it's stupid easy switching everything over and knowing what it takes to make a 96 down trans work in a 97.

i guess 98 up have different rear sensors or something and is still very doable as long as the tail shaft on your trans is ok. i guess you can swap the sensor pick ups, tailshaft housings and wiring harness' and it'll work. i also have the schematics to build a signal converter (involves soldering together a circuit board).

jpartier

I'm in the same boat. My tranny needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Called the dealership to find out it's obsolete. Was gonna install one with a couple friends. Anyone have suggestions on where I could get a tranny for a 1999 Jeep cherokee sport. Got a couple quotes ranging from 1350-3000. Stand off of getting one from a junkyard since you don't know if it will work. Any 411 I would appreciate.