Issues and fixes (shifting and TPS)

First and foremost. I did a lot of searching before writing this, but if there's a thread out there just point me to it and I'll go there.

Anyway. The jeep (2000 with an auto) did fine on the road trip I took last week. I went to FL and back without much of a problem. I did get stuck in the mud though, and thought I hydro'd the engine, but I cleaned out the water from the intake mani and it ran fine for the return trip. the problem is that the tranny doesn't like to stay in gear and sometimes the motor surges. Idle is ok sometimes, but it isn't a consistent problem, so I have a hard time tracking it down. I went to auto zone, they said it was a EVAC problem, which is usually a vacuum leak. I tried to find any leaks and all the hoses look to be in good condition and connected securely.
Took it to the dealer because it wouldn't come out of second, no matter how I revved the engine and they said it was first the TPS, but maybe a shift solenoid in the tranny. I don't trust dealers, so I picked it up and changed out the TPS today.
Odd...part. The TPS on my jeep is not adjustable, which I thought it would be. My father has an 87 and it has the TPS on the front of the TB, and it looks totally different than mine. So I swapped it, no adjustment could happen, no changes in the performance.
I'm gonna see if I can find the voltages for the shift solenoids and see if they're messed up, and help with diagnosing that problem would be great if anyone has those numbers.
Also!
There's a funky high pitched (like tea kettle) noise coming from somewhere on the center of the back of the engine, but a little on the driver's side. I CANNOT find it. The noise only happens when there's no throttle applied, whether rolling in gear or parked.
Thanks for the help guys, hopefully someone can help me out without having to get my wallet raped at the dealer again for basically doing nothing at all.party1:

You have a vacuum leak somewhere.....

kf_chris said:

...
Also!
There's a funky high pitched (like tea kettle) noise coming from somewhere on the center of the back of the engine, but a little on the driver's side. I CANNOT find it. The noise only happens when there's no throttle applied, whether rolling in gear or parked.
Thanks for the help guys, hopefully someone can help me out without having to get my wallet raped at the dealer again for basically doing nothing at all.party1:

Click to expand...

2nd on vacuum leak. Find that tea-kettle noise. If you can't seem to find it directly, another way is to (gently) move stuff around and press on things until something you do causes the noise to change.

Start on the driverside, back of the big metal area on top of the engine with all the wires and hoses coming off (manifold). The last hose fitting (closest to the driver) is a vacuum line. Examine it real close, gently moving the hose and fitting around. It sounds like yours is either not mounted securely or the fitting is cracked. If not there, follow the hose back and across the engine bay, looking for the leak.

The TPS's on the 2 are different. The Reix era ones are adjustable and need to be adjusted properly to ensure proper shifting. Your 2000 is not.

For the whistle, check your MAP sensor. There's a vacuum hose on it.

Did you try "manually" shifting into 3rd?

You should be getting some codes. Have you tried scanning to see if any have been stored?

fwiw, when I dunked my XJ... I had to replaced both the TPS and the IAC since they both got quite wet. You'll want to disconnect the battery to clear the "adaptive memory" in the computer, too. Otherwise it can still run rough since it thinks it has to. I was having issues with the stupid thing shifting from OD down into 3rd, 3rd without torque lock, and or even 2nd at 70mph. yeah... that's annoying.

The whistle is most likely a vacuum leak like mentioned above. But, if you've got a "open" intake (cone filter), then that could be the issue, too. Mine can sound like a turbo whine at different throttle positions.