89 xj auto transmission problems?

hello everyone, i am the proud owner of a highly modified 89 xj. among other things 7in of lift, 33s, and numerous add ons. OK, now for my problem, recently myxj will not "stay in reverse. all forward gears shift smoothly, but i put it in reverse, goes fine forlke 10 feet, and then it slams stopped like it is being thrown in park. you can rev all day while in reverse, nothing, acts like neutral. put it back in drive, goes fine, back in reverse, another 10 ft, then boom same thing, what im wondering, could this be transfer case? or tranny? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like the same thing my Super Duty did at 200,000 miles. The bearings on the reverse gearset just kind of fell apart. I say replace the tranny and be on your way.

It doesn't sound good, whatever it is. If it were me, I'd drop the pan and check to see if you have metal shavings in there. If you do, then I'd swap in a used tranny.

(Remember that the older AW4's had 21 spline outputs!)

Hope you find a simple solution...

actually im leaning towards rear end, once it hits the stopping spot in reverse, even in neutral it will not move backwards. bad spider gears, or ring and pinion lost a tooth? anyone think thta is plausible

It really couldn't be something as simple as adjusting the shift linkage, or could it?

I'm thinking it will only stop dead in reverse, not in forward, then it's probably the tranny. Mind you, stranger things have happened...