please help!

[little red cheroke]

i have an '01 XJ, 4wd, 3" lift, 31" tires, and 56k miles on it. im afraid my transmission is about to go out.

symptoms: grinding/vibration at idle and at 1900 rpm. if im stopped at a light and it starts to grind i can throw in in neutral and it will go away (its an auto tranny, i wanna say the AW4?)

56K and i dont think the tranny fluid has ever been changed, i bought it from a car lot with about 48k. the grinding/vibes are getting worse almost by the day. please help!! any advice will be greatly apreicated! (let me know if you need more info)

[JohnX]

My advice...

Take it to a transmission shop in your area. Tell them you want the fluid AND the filter changed. When they are doing it, have them look at the insides and see if anything is visibly wrong. Should be under $100 for the service.

DO NOT go to someone who just wants to change the fluid only.

[little red cheroke]

My advice...

Take it to a transmission shop in your area. Tell them you want the fluid AND the filter changed. When they are doing it, have them look at the insides and see if anything is visibly wrong. Should be under $100 for the service.

DO NOT go to someone who just wants to change the fluid only.


i talked to a friend of mine whose a mechanic he said i might want to pull the dust shield and see if the torque converter is loose. could that be the problem? also is "Cottman Transmission" a reputable transmission shop? or is there anywhere better?

thanks

[Yucca-Man]

Definitely pull the dust shield, there are four bolts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate and you can access two of them at a time that way.

If it's an automatic behind the 4.0L it's an AW-4; that's all they put behind the I-6 and it's a great tranny. Along those lines however, I'd recommend draining the tranny and making sure it's loaded with Dexron fluid and not the Chrysler stuff most dealerships will put in there.

[little red cheroke]

how many bolts are there holding on the dust cover? i couldnt tell where the dust cover stopped, and the bell housing started

[Yucca-Man]

IIRC it's maybe four? It's pretty much everything below 3 and 9 o'clock on the block.

Here's a pic of most of the bellhousing. The torque converter happens to be at 3 and 9 anyway so you can get an idea where most of the bolts go:
http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/pics/aw4_1.jpg