'88 XJ AW4 Shifting Problems - Ideas??

OK so my old '88 is shifting bad, it will suddenly drop from OD to 2nd gear at 45mph (which obviously isn't good for the motor), it also will sometimes get stuck in a higher gear (2nd or 3rd) after coming to a stop which causes poor acceleration and probably isn't good for the torque converter, and sometimes, during the same drive, shifts just fine. WTF???

The NSS has been pulled and cleaned, which helped temporarily, the fluid was checked, and the "Transmission" fuse was checked, but little else has been done.


Can someone please help?

Clean the connections at the trans. computer. It is the yellow box under the passenger side of the dash, mounted on the opposite side of the bottom piece.

If that doesn't fix it then i'd say clean the TPS because most AW4 shifting problems come from the TPS.

reelbigdundy87 said:

Clean the connections at the trans. computer. It is the yellow box under the passenger side of the dash, mounted on the opposite side of the bottom piece.

If that doesn't fix it then i'd say clean the TPS because most AW4 shifting problems come from the TPS.

Click to expand...

What he said and if you need a new TPS pick one up from the dealer 'cause the aftermarket ones are usually crap. Your experience may vary.

nothing to really clean on an 88 tps. it does need to be tested and if its out of spec it can be adjusted. if it has a dead spot than it needs to be swapped out and adjusted, with a voltmeter, to factory specs.