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96 GC Transmission noise

2K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  Rick96zj 
#1 ·
Hello and thanks in advance,

I have a 44re transmission that is making a whining noise in R,D,2,1.

Two weeks ago I was doing a normal check of all fluids and trans fluid was at the proper level.

Last week I noticed a slight hesitation while driving to work; just happened that one time for me. Yesterday I had been driving around for about 30 minutes with no slipping or hesitation. It sat for about 10 minutes before I had to leave again, put it into reverse to pull out of my drive and it acted as though it was in neutral, that's when I first heard the whining noise that increased with the RPMs.

First thing I did was check the fluid. Fluid is still pink and no burn smell, but it was overfull by alot.

Disconnected the tranny cooling line at radiator - nothing spit out
Disconnected the tranny cooling line at tranny - nothing spit out

Before I start tearing things apart I'd like to get some thoughts on what you guys think.

180,000 on jeep, not sure what work was done before I purchased it.
 
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#2 ·
It was checked with engine hot and running, parked on level ground, in Neutral?

Even if the fluid looks ok it can't hurt to drop the pan and change the filter and fluid, especially if it's at 180k and you don't know the service record. Filter is like $7 and ATF+4 is under $4/qt x approx 6 quarts for a pan drop.

Also, I'm no expert, but I would expect to have fluid come out when you disconnected the cooler lines. Something is clogged?

Good luck and welcome to Jeep Forum :)
 
#3 ·
(I only ask about how you checked it because you say first time the fluid level read OK but second time it read overfilled? Maybe if something did clog up the cooler lines there is now extra fluid in the tranny causing the high reading?) I'd drop the pan asap either way.
 
#4 ·
Yes, fluid was checked with engine hot and running on level ground in neutral.

Changing the filter was going to be my first step, just not looking forward to working out in the driveway with 3 feet of snow :eek:

Would a clogged filter prevent fluid from coming out of the lines at both the radiator and right at the tranny?
Would it also cause slippage?

Sorry if those seem like stupid questions but after 20+ years of driving this is actually my first vehicle with an auto transmission.

Thanks for the welcome to the Jeep Forum :)
 
#5 ·
I'm still learning the basics myself so I won't pretend to know the answer to that one. I can't pictue off the top of my head where the cooler line connects at the tranny itself but I would imagine you would get SOMETHING out of it, even with a severely clogged filter, at least a drip. So it sounds awful suspicious that there was nothing. I wouldn't know how to further diagnose it however.

I will say this, I just dropped my pan and put in a fresh filter + fluid and it made a world of difference. 110k miles and that was probably the first time it was ever done. It still slips and stumbles occasionally (grrr) so I know I'll have to shell out and get it rebuilt one day :(

I'm getting set to drop the pan again and refill it since you only get about 50% of the fluid out when you drop the pan. Also, if you are so inclined, I'd highly recommend installing a drain plug in the pan while you've got it off. Will make any future fluid changes much easier!
 
#6 ·
The heart of your transmission is a hydraulic pump that circulates the fluid at high pressure, and that pressure is used to hold the clutches inside the transmission.

If it's not pumping fluid (your line test) then the transmission won't function cause the clutches won't hold. Since it happened all at once, it's probably not the filter, that would be more of a creeping phenomenon.

Generally pump failure means it's time to rebuild or replace the tranny.

A lot of people advise replacing the filter in a situation like this. My experience is if a filter is bad enough that the transmission stops forward motion, the transmission is already fatally harmed and all you're wasting $30 worth of fluid & filter. You may get it moving again but are living on borrowed time. And the whole filter change exercise is just gonna piss you off more as you're paying the rebuild shop or junkyard.

Here's the thing to remember with an automatic tranny. It's not an engine. Engines get the oil polluted by the action of a combustion chamber putting debris into the oil. So an engine needs routine filter changes to remove those contaminants. An auto tranny doesn't have a combustion chamber, so it's fluid/filter doesn't see all the carbon & combustion junk. So what an auto trannys filter is filtering is the transmission itself. That debris is entirely from the clutches, bearings, and other surfaces in the tranny. So when a person unclogs a tranny filter, they're trying to save something with the wear surfaces worn off. Transmissions often put out huge amounts of metal in their final hours of operation, again making the clogged filter just a symptom, not a cause.

Transmission filters are 50K interval maintenance parts, they are not repair parts. Treat em as such and you won't add stress & cost to an already stressful and costly malfunction :)

I'm convinced there's 4 types of ZJ
Those that need a transmission
Those that need a rearend
Those that need a transfercase
Those that have had em all rebuilt

good luck with your transmission
 
#7 ·
The key to your post is the fluid level being overfull. Since you checked the fluid once and it was level and now its overfull, that tells me the pump is not pumping. The fluid level is probably at the same level it would be at if you checked it with the engine off (it always goes up because fluid is not being circulated)

The whining noise is probably the pump starving for fluid. I guess its possible the filter has come off the valve body, but I think it might still pump some fluid. If you did anything at all you might drop the pan and inspect the bottom of the pan and filter. If everything looks good, I would suspect a pump failure.
 
#8 ·
I located a used 44re at a local junk yard for $300. It seems like a decent price considering the prices I've found for rebuilt units. However, that one has 150,000 miles on it and he has no knowledge of any prior repairs.

I plan on keeping my jeep for as long as I can, so I'd like to buy the used one then take my time and rebuild the current tranny. This will be my first attempt at rebuilding an automatic. Would I be able to replace just the pump in the current one?

Thank you all for your advice. It seems as though I've found the right Jeep community to be a part of. :cool:
 
#9 ·
Hopefully you will have good luck with the used one. Then you will have the core and time to build another one. I would not suggest going into the bad trans and replacing one part. With the mileage on your trans there is no way to tell what kind of condition the rest of it is in. I would assume a complete rebuild of the trans. As far as trans rebuilding, these are one of the easier ones to do, but if you have no experience in doing them, you might check what a local trans shop may charge for a "bench rebuild".
 
#10 ·
Unless you like removing a transmission 5 times to get it right, don't try rebuilding your transmission at home. Auto trannies are the one thing most car guys don't do at home, and there's good reason. I've become versed in th350 and th400 because I'll be dealing with those for the rest of my life, but the rest of em, especially electric servo-controlled trannies like yours, no thanks.

When you're talking a one shot deal, it's just not worth the time and money to learn the transmission, and then build or buy the tools necessary to rebuild it. You'll have a thousand bucks wrapped up in it by the 5th time it's in, and finally working right. And an auto tranny requires a huge amount of clean space to spread everything out, plus a level of cleanliness you normally associate with paint work. The first two th350s I did were killed upon startup by lint. Yes, lint.

Most tranny shops will charge a premium for a bench rebuild on an electric servo tranny, because they can't hook up to the vehicle and make sure everything is OK.

good luck
 
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