Easywolf32

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Ok, I think I figured out what's going on. I got the transmission over temp message coming home and pulled over about 15 minutes later, left the jeep started, tried every gear while parked all seemed well, opened the hood and checked out the tranny fluid. All normal level around the 2 small circle mark. Perhaps heating up very slowly, perhaps not. I realized right after I put the dipstick back how friggin hot it's in the engine compartment. This is what the dealer could not duplicate or if they even popped the hood open, they did not get to drive it that long...

It's freaking hot in there, I need to ASAP install or replace certain things. The water pump I put in 2 months ago could be the culprit, but perhaps not. All the hear seems to be coming out from the radiator or where that big fan is blowing.*

Does this say something to anyone? It's seriously hot in there, perhaps this also why people get this message in the summer only, (I think that's what I read somewhere).

I also think the belt may be going too, it seems to be kind of swerving about a millimeter or 2. What do you think?

Maybe I need to change the tensioner too? There is some serious heat guys..what would you install to let it as much cool air as possible without damaging anything or costing too much in labor.

Perhaps a 8 year old Jeep WK needs some fixing or part replacements at this age?

Should I keep it, I've changed every fluid that needs changing and drive it for 10,000 miles a year. Drives like a beast in the winter, but I never press the gas, great jeep!

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I really think the extreme heat is causing a sensor to feel it and go off. If not that than low voltage in the battery...

Could it be the quick fix low cost Cardone water pump I installed? Can a water pump cause or aid in causing heat? Is it the overused belt? Tensioner, radiator? Wtf*

dave1123

Okay, one other thing that could be the problem is the thermistor in the transmission that senses the fluid temp. It's mounted on the valve body and is immersed in the fluid all the time. This is set to not allow O/D (4th gear) to be engaged below 30*F or above 260*F. On the high end, it will downshift to 3rd gear and engage the torque converter clutch, and light the O/D disengaged light on the dash. This thermistor could be faulty. To check this, the open circuit rating is 1000 ohms.

Easywolf32

I will have that checked too.

Today I drove it a bit and stopped engine compartment was maybe 10-20% hot as compared to yesterday.

What is making so much heat under the hood? This heat is coming from the center front upper side. As if something is blowing it in. Could it be the cheap water pump?

Dying battery? Belt and tensioner dying?

Cmon guys how can I get more cold air under the hood?

dave1123

You never gave us your location so we don't know what your climate is like. The only way I know to get more air flow is to vent the engine compartment, as in wheelwell vents, hood louvers, or raising the rear edge of the hood on spacers. Normal underhood temps can get up to almost 200*, especially if the outside air temp is in the 90s or higher.

Easywolf32

Montreal canada very hot in the summer cold in the winter

dave1123

Okay, I'm in Syracuse, NY so I know what your talking about. I was thinking the southwest desert areas. When we used to drag race, we put spacers under the rear edge of the hood and that helped cool the engine a lot. It's not something you'd want in the winter, though.

Easywolf32

Where can I buy them do you have a link maybe thx

dave1123

No, we just made them out of whatever we had on hand. You'll need longer bolts as well. For my Camaro, I made them out of 3/4" aluminum plate, but I'm a toolmaker so it was easy for me.

Easywolf32

I think I've might of gotten more clues after reading this page OVERHEATING Jeep concerning the transmission over temp message.

A few questions:

1) I'd like to change the transmission cooler inside the radiator, is that possible, what would the part be called?
2) Where is the fan? What is the part called? The Radiator fan?

I am trying to do the following:

I will put a new B&M tranny cooler in front of my condenser on the passenger side of the radiator since this side has **** loads of air flow provided by the mechanical fan. (by the way, there is NO ELECTRIC FAN THAT CAN MATCH THE CFM AIRFLOW OF THE MECHANICAL FAN ON A XJ) If you are having an overheating problem like me, spend it on a quality tranny cooler and bypass the radiator instead of a $400 triple electric fan setup.

dave1123

WAIT! Don't eliminate the trans cooler in the radiator, flush it but don't bypass it. It actually WARMS the trans in the winter. My brother made that mistake on his Chevy Silverado and he had all kinds of trouble in the winter with it not shifting right until it warmed up, which took a long time. Make sure your hot fluid goes to the aux cooler first, that way the returning fluid won't heat the radiator any more that it has to.

I agree with you about a direct drive fan. Nothing moves more air than one of those. The only problem is they suck about 20 hp off the engine at high speeds.

Easywolf32

Hey thanks for all the info,

What do you mean don't eliminate that part?

This is the part in the engine that is boiling hot when I open the hood and investigate. Someone here also said: "Hello and welcome to JustAnswer, My name is XXXXX XXXXX I will be assisting you... If your Trans temp light is on and your Trans isnt overheating, then you need to replace the Trans Temp sensor... In order to do this you will need to remove the valvebody, and it is a part of the TRS...You will be looking at 300-400 with parts and labor... The way to test the Trans temp is with a scantool while montoring the Trans temp sensor.. But with your vehicle having the code, the sensor may be incorrect, with that I would use a IR Temp gun to see what Temp pan is.. The Trans temp and Engine Coolant temp should be about the same....If you Trans isnt overheating, I suggest running the test I'm supplying you.. If it is actually running hot, I suggest flushing your cooler, if the cooler flow rate is low, you have a bad Trans cooler theromostat or stopped up cooler".*http://www.justanswer.com/transmissi...-light-on.html

http://s24.postimg.org/3u7fixhyd/201...20_resized.jpg

http://s8.postimg.org/5ho49dex1/2014...53_resized.jpg

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dave1123

It SHOULD be boiling hot, about 210* F. Whatever your engine runs at. Maybe a little less because it's already run thru the radiator, but not much cooler.

Most of the heat in the transmission is generated by the torque converter and that's where the fluid comes from that goes to the cooler. The returning cooled fluid get dumped back into the pan. If the trans temp is over 260*F, the transmission will downshift to 3rd and the overtemp light will come on. If the trans isn't downshifting, I'd assume the thermister is bad.

Easywolf32

Thx! Did you mean thermostat? Is that the same as the transmission sensor? Easy repair?

dave1123

No it's the temp sensor inside the transmission. It's a temperature sensitive resistor, therefore called a thermistor. It's mounted on the throttle body and is submerged in the trans fluid all the time. You can test it by disconnecting it and measuring it's resistance. It should read 1000 ohms at room temp. They don't very often go bad, but **** happens.

Easywolf32

Cool thx! I'll add it to the list. I'm calling Chrysler tomorrow any questions you think I should ask them