[Intrepid_Eric]

Posting this for a friend, He has a problem with his transmission in 1st gear that I was hoping to find a fix for. He is an alley mechanic so he can fix or try most things.

This is a 1995 Jeep Cherokee Country, 4.0L High Output, 151k miles, VIN 1J4FJ78S7SL541xxx.

This is only when the shifter is in "3" or "(D)":
First gear feels weak when pulling off, the Jeep has no umph, not really like slipping though untill it shifts to 2nd, then it's fine.

When the shifter is in "1-2" the transmission is strong and pulls off fine. It doesn't go into 2nd though, you have to put it in "3" or "(D)" and it will continue to shift to 2nd,3rd,OD just fine.

The transmission filter was changed along with whatever fluid poured out of the pan. Old fluid was brown.

Gas mileage is poor.

 

[CJ7-Tim]

Use correct fluid, Dexron-III/Mercon. Keep changing fluid until it comes out looking like new fluid. Test the solenoids.

 

[Intrepid_Eric]

Found Problem

Your suggestion to check the solenoids led me to find that the plug off TCU that is located Rt side dash under glove box was disconnected. They all checked out fine and the problem went away when the plug was re-connected.

Thanks.

In case someone is interested, I found how to check the solenoids from this post:
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/how-do-you-change-your-shift-solenoid-16465/