Hey guys. I went to look at a Cherokee this morning and I’m really interested in picking it up. The only major concern I had with it was that when I checked the tranny fluid after taking it for a drive, there was no fluid touching the stick. There was plenty of fluid when cold. Are there any simple checks I can do to see why the fluid would be so low when it was hot? This thing is a 96 that only has 91k miles on it and I’d hate to burn up a transmission with so few miles on it. Thanks.

 

Don't go by the cold reading, drive it around until it reaches normal operating temp, then put it in park, let it idle, check and add if necessary.

DEXIII/Mercon ONLY

 

I did check it when it was hot after I drove it. I put it in park and left it running. That’s when I noticed it was low. Maybe I should have put it in neutral. I even ran my fingers over it and they were dry. It was weird.

 

No, leave it in park and idling.

I'll ask this, when you checked it cold, did it seem black/brownish, or smell burnt? Or did it look pinkish red?

Nothing on the stick may not be weird after it heated up, heat probably made it clean as a whistle with no fluid touching it. May just need a top off.

IF you end up buying it, I would do a drain and fill anyways, just for peace of mind, and then any leaks will show up as fresh(ish) pink fluid on the driveway.

 

Do what Ron said. Add fluid as necessary.

 

The fluid was nice and pink with no burnt smell.

It does have a leak, but I couldn’t tell while I was there if it was the valve cover gasket, RMS or the tranny. It may be a combo of all of it.

 

Start from the top and work your way down. The 4.0L sits nose up so any leaks will eventually find its way to the RMS.

 

When it comes to engine oil leaks, always look up.

Start at the VC gasket, move to the OFA, then down to the RMS. Most of the time it's the former, not the latter.

These engines sit on an incline, so any leaks drip down right to where the RMS is.

 

LOL, same post, same time, good man

 

This post made me realize, I wonder how many people think my name is Ron? LOL

 

BTW, this is a good sign, if it's nice and pinkish...someone probably didn't know how to check and add fluid. NOT a for sure, but a good sign.

 

I know of at least one.

 

Lol, every knows it's Fako!

Tranny fluid doesn't sound like a problem as long as it's not burnt. Do as I do and allow any tranny leaks to keep a fresh dose of ATF flowing.

 

Thanks guys. I’ll have to let you know what I find out if I end up getting this one. The seller is now unsure if he wants to sell the Jeep. Oh well, we shall see.

 

Now this is funny!