JF advice please (problems with ZJ after deep water)

zjzach · 03-16-2009, 08:52 PM

after pulling this bonehead move my 97zjs been running a little wierd.
it doesn't want to shift from 1st to 2nd until 3 or 4,000 rpms, also often revs that high between 3rd and 4th? any ideas whats causing this? my transmission and diff fluids are good, its just driving sluggish. thanks.

gatorayde · 03-16-2009, 09:07 PM

Did you change the trans/diff fluid? At least change the diff fluid and that water is high up enough where I'd be worried about water in my trans. Also check for codes.

zjzach · 03-16-2009, 09:52 PM

what do you mean by check for codes?

HilltopperYJ · 03-16-2009, 09:54 PM

i have no idea but i would like to commend you on an excellent sink

xJoshxx · 03-16-2009, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zjzach

what do you mean by check for codes?

turn the key on off on off on off and CEL codes should appear in your Mile meter.

zjzach · 03-16-2009, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xJoshxx

turn the key on off on off on off and CEL codes should appear in your Mile meter.

k, then what. sorry ive never heard of this could you fill me in a little more. whats CEL mean and what kinda code will appear, then what do i do with that.

zjzach · 03-16-2009, 10:11 PM

sorry it dawned on me to search, and educate myself to find out what cel codes are and what it'll display, ignore my previous post.

as for the stuck, i attempted to fjord this slough before walking the banks to see how deep it was (had been through 2 shallower ones earlier and didnt think anything of it) once water was coming in my doors i stopped to reverse out, once i lost my momentum the front end sank in the silty sandy bottom.

melloyello · 03-16-2009, 10:13 PM

The first thing I would do is see if your tranny dipstick shows that it's way overfilled. If it does then you need to get the water out of your tranny.

zjzach · 03-16-2009, 10:17 PM

ive checked the tranny dipstick, its fine, not low or high or mis-colored

StellaTheZJ · 03-16-2009, 11:44 PM

That really doesn't look deep enough to cause a problem. Did you beat on it trying to get out?

I wonder if the cable going to your throttle has become maladjusted? Maybe it snagged on something that day? I've never played with mine, but I think it's called the TV cable and it controls shift points based on throttle.

eshew · 03-17-2009, 12:38 AM

Check codes... one of these should work

http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html

http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html

Aside from that. Learn from experience. Stay away fro water, it can cause problems. Normally a nice gently drive through you should be fine, sitting in it is worse. You should, after playing in deep water like that change a few fluids in your Jeep. OTherwise it could come back and bit you.

If anything I would drain and refill the trans fluid (drop the pan, drain, refill to proper level with proper fluid, hell change the filter while you're at it) Avoid trans flushing as it has killed transmissions. Personal experience from a perfectly working transmission 1 month after flush.

Check your front diff fluid, its probably fine(has nothing to do with your prob) but just takes a 3/8 wrench to take out the plug and a stinky finger from checking the fluid level/color. Clear golden brown is good, grey or black needs replacing.

As far as the weird shifting goes, well you either soaked an electrical connection/ sensor or the fluid needs to be replaced. I cant tell you which.

You may want to find a way to dry that sucker out, did you have any water or condensation get inside the jeep/under the dash? I would guess a sensor somewhere is fried, but just probably soaking wet. Drying it out for a while might solve the problem. Might even want to disconnect the battery and turn on your lights/ turn thekey into on/start position, then reconnect battery to see if the computer faulted and is keeping the trans in safe mode. Honestly though I dot know. But I would start with checking the codes.

Little FYI My little Bro ended up sinking my ZJ to where the water was above the butt cushions. It was stuck so bad we had 2 tow trucks pull it out. Insurance paid me 11k on the Jeep I paid 7.5k for. Bought it back for 5k, spent 1k for the dealer to dry it out(before I learned to wrk on Jeeps) and ended up netting $5k. So if you still have issues you could always do an insurance claim on it and buy it back if you still owe money on it and dont mind a rig with a salvaged title.

zjzach · 03-17-2009, 04:42 PM

yeah my carpet got wet too. im going to replace the trans fluid thursday. im also going to check and play around with the cel codes today. thanks for the feedback so far guys

zjzach · 03-20-2009, 11:23 AM

pulled the carpet, which for the record when wet isnt easy

taking the console out is also a little tricky

the carpet comes out in 2 pieces. the first and easiest is the cargo area to just under the back seats. the front, in my case the wetter section, sucked. i recommend 2 guys would be much easier.

so now im going to pressure wash them off and let dry in the sun, but in seattle im not sure when this'll be.
or put some kind of spray on or roll on bed liner down on my floor, which would make cleaning after future wheeling trips nice.

as for my transmission, hopefully dropping the pan and replacing the oil and filter fixes my shifting issues. im sure some water got in there during the sink. if not we narrowed it down to something electrical, but ill keep my fingers crossed.

**Wheelin98TJ** · 03-20-2009, 01:19 PM

You need to flush the tranny.

Unhook the return line from the cooler and run it to a bucket.

Start the Jeep, shift to neutral, and fluid will begin to flow from the cooler line.

Drain a few quarts, shut the Jeep off, and add a few more back through the dipstick.

This is the only way you are going to get all the contaminated fluid out of the tranny and torque converter. It only takes a very small amount of water to quickly ruin an automatic tranny, so hopefully its not too late.

zjzach · 03-20-2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wheelin98TJ

You need to flush the tranny.

Unhook the return line from the cooler and run it to a bucket.

Start the Jeep, shift to neutral, and fluid will begin to flow from the cooler line.

Drain a few quarts, shut the Jeep off, and add a few more back through the dipstick.

This is the only way you are going to get all the contaminated fluid out of the tranny and torque converter. It only takes a very small amount of water to quickly ruin an automatic tranny, so hopefully its not too late.

isnt all this what they normally do when replacing the trans oil? im heading out to the amsoil guys shop right after this. hopefully all goes well.