Hello , Im new to the board and I may have a big problem.....

My daughter was driving her 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0l Auto 4wd
yesterday and called me that she has broke down....so she tries to describe the problem something like this, "the jeep just revs while in drive and will not hardly go anywhere, so I stopped and waited a couple of minutes restarted it and then it would take off like normal for about a mile then just start revving again like it is in neutral.

So she got a ride to work and now Im faced with trying to figure this problem out.

I go to retrieve the jeep last evening and I figure she has let it get low on transmission fluid so I start it up and check it kinda it was getting dark and I could barley see so I just added two quarts. I hop in it and put it into drive, hardley any movement so of course I gun it a couple of times and it seems like the fluid warms up and it takes off, I get about a mile down the road and it looses all transmission power, the engine is running a okay....

I stop on the side of the road turn it off for a minute or two then restart it and away I go for about a mile, and it looses transmission power again..
I find a safe place to park it, latter on this evening I will go pull it home.........


what your best guess???


Thanks in advance
Craig

 

I'm sure there are others who may give better advice or another avenue to look at. Since you said the fluid looked really dark, I would think the fluid is burnt and has lost most of its ability to do it job. Possible the transmission pan has a lot of metal dust (filings) mixed in the fluid and is plugging the filter and causing the transmission to act like it is low in fluid. I would start with the simplest cheapest solution of changing the transmission gasket and fluid in the pan.
If the jeep starts and runs without shifting in neutral, then I would have a transmission fluid exchange done. This will remove all the burnt fluid and replace it with fresh fluid. If the filter change does not work, then It may need towed to a transmission shop to have the bands checked to looseness and adjustment. Good luck..

 

I have it checked for trouble codes too

It could be a selonoid.

 

Last night after Drill, I was able to meet the tow truck so I could have it towed home, while I was waiting I started it up just messing ...It still has hardly any forward thrust, but it goes into reverse just like normal???

The oil is very clear, (it was night time = Dark) just to clear up some confusion

 

You have to throw it on a scanner, to see if anything comes up

Does it drive better when it warmed up
Do any gears seem to work proberly

Could be a selnoid or sensor, scanner should pick that up.
Do this before you bring it anywhere, dont want to get robbed.

 

what kind of scanner do I want to buy??

 

OBD II scanner is what everyone is refering to. About 100-150 bucks at most auto parts stores. The more expensive ones give a readout that interprets the code while the cheaper ones give just the number and letter code and you need to look it up.
If you can get it to an auto parts store they will scan it for free.

I am tending toward it not being the AW4 but the TPS though. That is a simple fix and much easier that rebuilding the transmission. The TPS controls when the torque converter locks and unlocks. An unlocked torque converter is similar to a stick when you are trying to move the vehicle with the clutch pedal halfway to the floor. Might move a little when you gas it but will slip a whole lot.

 

The same thing happened to my jeep cherokee last weekend. A whole lot of slipping and lots of rev but no go. let me know if any of these suggestions helped out. Thanks much.

 

When the TPS loses power or quits working the Transmission goes into a "Limp Mode" of sorts. It basically goes fully manual. The transmission will be in whatever gear is selected by the shifter. So, when you put it in OD and try to go, it feels likeit's slipping and not wanting to move because you are in effect trying to take off from a dead stop in 4th, OD or HIGH gear. Try this, start out in 1-2 and then manually go trough your gears. I bet it will drive just fine if you haven't fried something from trying to get it to move from a stop in high gear so many times....or if you haven't overfilled it by dumping in those 2 quarts of tranny fluid without first checking the level.

 

These trannies last forever if you don't abuse them by letting them get dirty or dry. I have one under my workbench that has been through 3 engines and has well over 600,000 miles on it and I saved it when the Cherokee's body was about to come apart from rust. The tranny was operating flawlessly.