My opinion.

It's a complete and total waste of time and resources.

Let's take one of the BEST automatic transmissions ever built, with nearly fail-proof electronics, that last for HUNDREDS of thousands of miles with simple drain and fills of cheap fluid...and screw with it.

 

i would not bother with it. I have 255,000 miles on mine and it had not even been rebuilt. And I don't take it easy on it either. I think the fluid has been changed once in that time when it did it last year. I thought i killed it last year buy pulling a trailer and burned the trans fluid up. But it keeps on going. This trans is better than all of the other hydromatic non computerized transmissions that i had in other cars and trucks. its better than the one that i had in my 98 TJ, and that one I could not kill either. So I would not mess with a good thing. Just keep the trans cool and you wont have any problems with it.

 

Thanks for all the info....as mentioned im gonna rebuild my aw4. The transmission currently works....but shifts are weak....and it basically skips 3rd gear under medium to hard acceleration. It has 187,000 miles on it. I was wanting to finally hit the trails this spring for first time ever...problem is trails are almost two hours away. I dont wanna go that far and have my transmission fail on me. . Looks like the popular answer is just dont mess with the electronics. Im just worried ill go through the hassle of the rebuild to end up with a faulty silinoid or a computer failure. Which would be even more cash. Which is why i was hoping to save the cash on buying new shift silinoids when i rebuild. But if you all recommend just leaving the electronics be.....then thats what ill do. Thanks for all the info and opinions.

 

Dude. Before you laser in on doing a rebuild, you should probably make sure your maintenance is up to date. Fluid changes. Perhaps some basic troubleshooting if you have issues after that. The AW4 is a long life transmission that should rarely fail if maintained.

OR

You can just go spend your money on a rebuild.

The advice here is free. The rebuild will cost significantly more.....

 

I can see the Dr. has never had a vacume modulator go bad and suck all the trans fluid out. Or have a govenor go bad and get faulty (or no) shift points.

I can understand some mods such as gear lock out/in, manual bodies and such.

 

Honestly....since i bought my xj almost a year ago...ive done zero maintenance to the transmission. Previous owner seems like she tried to care for the jeep but had a mechanic that was scamming her. Ive found his crap work while doing other maintenance. I dont know if the tranny fluid has ever been changed....i check its levels...fluid level is fine and not too burnt looking or smelling. I have always been told if a tranny has a lot of miles and has never had fluid changed then dont....its more often than not a kiss of death. Seen this exact thing happen to a turbo 400 and c-6 tranny. So i was afraid to change my jeeps fluid.

 

For your own benefit, search this site for fluid change maintenance and other issues related to the AW4. There are several very knowledgeable members who have posted countless times on how to care for this transmission and even troubleshoot what can be simple common repairs that don't involve the rebuild.

Always try the simple and inexpensive solutions first. Don't assume your issues require a rebuild.

 

if it is having week shifts before you rebuild it you should adjust the TV cable on the throttle body and see if that changes anything. Just do a search on TV cable and you will get the info on how to adjust it.

 

Okay so i'm not taking credit for this i just think its in the best interest for everyone who owns an XJ to know this. I have always disliked the way my XJ shifts from 2-3-4. It felts sloppy and had trouble down shifting on steep inclines. Well here is the solution that worked for me! It costs all of $0 and about 5 minutes including the test drive.

Here are the instruction

-Open hood while vehicle is off in park.
-Find TB
-Press and hold cable release button.
-While holding cable release button push conduit into ratcheting cable release button.
-Hold conduit in.
-Release the cable release button.
-Open TB to wide open and the button will automatically ratchet and lock into the correct place.
-Test drive!!!

I found this on one of b16a90teg's posts on NAXJA.

I know its a "write up" but i think it would have more use to people on the tech section
Attached Images

found this on the quick fix thread.

 

Try this. Also Just some drian and refills with DexIII/Mercon should do it fine

 

So then....im guessing 187,000 miles isn't alot for an aw4. Thats how many miles are on my xj. Im just worried ill make the two hour trip to the trails....and my tranny will fail on me. Im new to jeeps but that just seems like a lot of miles. Also....why everyone is reading my thread ill ask another question....what would be causing my transmission to basically skip third gear under medium to hard acceleration? It shifts into third then immediately shifts to fourth. If i manually shift or lightly accelerate.....it shifts perfectly normal....hits all four gears....i also dont think my torque converter is locking up...are these problems caused by my bad nss? The problem with my nss is that i have no continuity in neutral. It wont start or crank in neutral. Starts in park no problem. It is adjusted properly and my reverse lights work.

 

Dirty fluid causing a solenoid to malfunction once in a while.

Change the fluid.

"Lather/ Rinse/ Repeat"

You're applying info on crappy trannies to one of the best trannies ever!!.

 

I had some of those same issues with mine. I cleaned the NSS and they all went away. It will only take 1-2 hours and a few bucks for the cleaner and grease.

try this too before you rebuild.
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoNSSrebuild.htm

 

That's another possibility...

 

Yeah....found the info on rebuilding my nss. Just read the horror stories on here about how much of a pain they are to remove. Was worried id break it trying to remove it. So outside of adjusting it...i havent messed with it. I know their pricey to replace....but cheeper than a tranny rebuild. Ill trust you guys....ill change fluid and attempt to rebuild the nss this weekend and see how it acts. Cant thank you all enough for the info.