Slipping Transmission?! HELP?!

First of all, thanks in advance for any help! I am glad I was told about this site. I have learned a wealth of knowledge already.

The skinny. I have a 92 XJ Sport completely stock with a 4.0HO engine & AW4 tranny(?), milage about 350k. On a recent trip to Houston from Dallas, just 10 miles from my destination I noticed some slipping in the transmission on the Interstate while doing 70-80mph. Then while doing 55mph on a state hwy, the tranny slipped completely out. I coasted to a stop to inspect. There were no leaks and when I checked the fluid, it smelled burned and seemed to be overfilled according to the dipstick. (I had put in transmission fluid when I filled up before the trip & could swear I had not overfilled it) I did not hear any grinding noises as well.
I tried placing it in gear and was able to get enough traction to drive the last few miles to my destination although with much slipping and a top speed of 10-20mph. (I know, I should have not done that).
A couple of days later, I started the XJ again and was able to drive it around the block with no slipping. To be safe, I towed it back to Dallas (after buying a WJ for the wife to replace the XJ & get back home) and have parked it in the garage. The fluid still smells burned yet if I drive it around the block it doesn't seem to slip although I have not driven it further.

The questions:
What could be wrong? Could it be the Torque Converter that burned out? Would it be cheaper to get a mid milage (50k-100k) tranny and swap it out myself or try to diagbose what is wrong with it & repairat a shop? If I go to a shop, can anyone reccommend one in the dallas/Richardson Tx. area?

I am trying to do this as inexpensively as possible since I now have a car payment after not having one for 10 years & this is now my biking and camping vehicle.

Thanks for any help again!

Well, I'd guess you're looking at a grand easy to take it to a shop to pull and re-build it. For cheap, if you have the tools and ability, swap it out yourself. These tranny's are pretty cheap. I've gotten 2 of them ('98 &'99) off Ebay in the last 4 months w/ 20k -30k miles for under $200 ea, shipping included.

They should come with their torque converter too. Worst case is you may have to swap over your harness and TPS cable if they've cut them.

--Dan

Thanks for the Ebay tip, I was worried that the transmission would not come with a torque converter and it seems that most of them do. I am planning to do it myself now. My neighbor has offered to help and has all the proper tools. Now to find one that's cheap enough.

Try draining the tranny of all the burned fluid and replacing it. You may have just overheated the tranny. If it works, it will save you from having to do all the work of replacing the tranny.

Neil

Yeah...drain the pan and refill a few times with some driving in between. Might fix the problem, although at 350k, you can't expect more than a couple more miles out of...anything. You might want to think about donating the XJ to a charity so you can write it off on your taxes....and get another one with around 200k on it for under $1000....

Well I wanted to thank all for your postings.

I was actually able to find a used AW-4 at a local salvage yard for $150 with converter. I decided at that price, it would be better than eaking out a few more miles by flushing the fluid. (Thanks though) After much swearing, sweat, tears and the loss of my helper on the first day (family emergency), I finally swapped it out.

Funny, the engine would crank but not start afterwards. Finally tracked the problem to a faulty CPS (which I probably destroyed when removing the transmssion; did not know to remove it). I replaced it and all works fine now.

If I get another 5 years out of my Jeep, I will be happy. I had the the original motor (260k) swapped out with a 95 4.0HO with 35k miles in 2000. I figure with the low miles engine and this AW-4 with 90k miles, as long as the body survives, I will drive it to the end.

Thanks all,
Mike

Just curious, which salvage yard did you get the transmission at? Last tranny I bought from a salvage yard in the D/FW area was $400, of course it had the transfer case attached to it.


Mike

Just go easy on the new engine and tranny. Anything with under 100k on it hasn't been broken in yet. :laugh3: You should get at least another 200k out of the new stuff if you take care of it.

Neil

Backdraft said:

Just curious, which salvage yard did you get the transmission at? Last tranny I bought from a salvage yard in the D/FW area was $400, of course it had the transfer case attached to it.
Mike

Click to expand...

Mike,
I found it at A-1 Auto Salvage on Lamar in Dallas. They consistantly have had lower prices IF they had the part. Although I had used them before, I forgot about them for this search until I found them in search results here:
http://www.car-part.com/

Neil said:

Just go easy on the new engine and tranny. Anything with under 100k on it hasn't been broken in yet. :laugh3: You should get at least another 200k out of the new stuff if you take care of it.

Neil

Click to expand...

Neil,
thanks. I plan to go easy on it. Pretty much it will only get road miles now going from bike trails & camping sites at paved state parks. The only question I have now is how often to change the transmission fluid in the AW-4 since it was probably the lack of changing it for several years that may have contributed to the fluid burning up in the first place?