Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Transmission service ?'s

1K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  unabashedpraise 
#1 ·
Issue: Never had the transmission serviced since I bought it 50k Mikes and 4 years ago. At highway speeds while coasting it will sometimes drop rpms (from 2k to 1k)and when I tap the gas they will shoot back up.

Bought a filter and gasket from rockauto to do my own fluid change. Now I'm thinking I should get a flush and have a professional do the band adjusting. I have only looked at the inside of a transmission twice and don't know what to look for other than obvious broken pieces sitting in the pan. How much should this run me? When i called the two local places they rather emphatically said they would not use my filter. I completely understand why they won't, however I didn't appreciate their rudeness and I don't want to waste this filter. Not sure what to do at this point.
 
#3 ·
What Polka said. Plus, maybe I'm lucky, but I take my ZJ to a shop occassionally for work I'm uncomfortable tackling myself (or when I have something I want/need done and I don't have the time) - and they have no problem using parts I already have. I don't see any reason you can't find a shop that will use the filter you have (not that a filter is that much $$$).
 
#4 ·
Found a shop, Cottman's, that said my filter was great, but would not use the gasket because it was crap. Go figure.

I went in with these symptoms:
-rpms drop while coasting at highway speeds (intermittently), tap on the throttle and they jump back up.
-doesn't shift from 1st to 2nd at full throttle.

Findings:
-They said it was 2 quarts over filled...? I checked it while warm and in neutral on level ground. Idk...
-They couldn't duplicate any symptoms.
- Pulled pan and said it looked "beautiful", no issues observed. Only thing to do is take it apart, but he said he didn't feel right doing it because there was no evidence to show that it needs it.
-engine and trans mounts broken, need replaced.

I went ahead and had them replace the mounts as I was not going to have the time before we leave.
First thing I noticed when I left the shop was that I really felt it when I shifted into reverse. Not hard or anything, but I never felt it before. Also noticed more vibrations than before and it feels like it is shifting a little harder. Not much, but just enough that I notice it. I've been paying a lot of attention to it the past couple weeks so I feel like I'm not any more sensitive to it now than before. I'm sure the mints have a break in period, but wasn't sure if they adjusted things too much.

Also, while I haven't had time to do any highway cruising for the rpm drop, the not shifting from 1st to 2nd symptom was replicated with no problem...it wasn't fixed. Here is a bad video that shows the rpm needle hitting relive and not shifting.

At this point I'm not even sure this is a trans issue at all, but I did just spend $600 and want to know if it should have been covered. Thoughts?
 
#5 ·
HS batman. Did you try to adjust your cables? You did make sure they put in atf+4 correct? Some places use a universal fluid that ruins jeeps transmissions. Always ask. Always use ATF+4 for Chrysler vehicles. Or Mopar. Lucas might help. Some one disagree. But Ive always used it in cars with high miles. never add it to a ford. Or a t5 or t15. 42re-46 are good. I believe the hard shifting etc may be the band adjustment. But the shifting rpms are not good. check out the cable adjustments. If this was a newer dodge I would tell you to check the input output sensors. I never bring my car to other people you just cant trust them. You never know they could have over torqued it.... I figure if I make a mistake I will atleast know about it and be able to figure it out with out ripping everything apart. But some mechanics have skills. But finding a good one is hard. Most of the time there always that person trying to rush through and ends up messing something up. Or has some one else do the job because they don't want to. Torque converter worst case. I doubt it though.
 
#6 ·
I didn't do any adjustments. I don't know what fluid they used. The owner does have a 95 zj, 5.2 that he says has 360k. So I would hope he knew what it needed....?

I was hoping for some ideas/info to bring to the guy so I'm not just another customer without a clue.
 
#8 ·
Well..... the sleeve on the balancer maybe most likely not. How are the engine mounts? Did you replace the engine mounts with a different brand. In my mustang I had polys and I switched. It was like riding on a washing machine. Other than that I would say make sure your not miss firing etc.. Warped crank maybe hope not and I haven't seen it in jeeps. But I have seen it in other cars. Hows the oil pressure? I would look up the write up for adjusting the cables. Before going any further with the transmission. My engine shakes a little. Oddly enough my 5.2 shakes more than my 5.9. Check the trans mount too.
 
#10 ·
They didn't adjust your bands at the shop ?

Adjust your throttle/shift cable on the pass side of the TB . Would have been nice if they did the bands . Only other issues I know to cause this is bad sticking cable or governor pressure switch
 
#11 ·
They adjusted bands and tinkered with the kick down cable, but any adjustment was bad. Gov switch is next suspect but service manager stated it was a bit expensive. Only other recourse was a rebuild.

Just got back from a 2200 mile road/wheeling trip, transmission did just fine, no issues. I just have to careful if I'm punching it while in first.
 
#14 ·
And I agree . You may as well drive it for 6 months-2 yrs before dropping the pan again . So you also know , you can install a drain plug (B&M) on the stock pan . Makes oil changes and maintenance a lot easier to get past the work of dropping the pan . I have them on everything I own after the pan drops first time .
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top