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Transmission Blew!!! HELP!

JeepCherokeeGuy99

JeepCherokeeGuy99

NAXJA Forum User
Location
New Bern, NC
Aliright, so i have a 97 xj auto trans, 4wd with 150,000 miles on her. I was driving on the freeway about 65mph when i started to loose power. My overdrive was gone, rpms were about 4500 in fourth. then i started to go slower and slower till i pulled over. I got out and looked under my jeep.Trans fluid was EVERYWHERE! I towed it to my house. This morning I have a buddy poor some fluid in it so i could inspect it and see where exactly the leak was coming from. it was coming from a hole in my dipstick. I was able to fill the tranny to the proper level again by pooring very slowly. i started my jeep and let it ran till it got warm. (no leakage) I put it in drive and......nothing. reverse....nothing....ran it through all gears and nothing! Im very mechanically inclined so im going to rebuild the trans. however i want to know if anyone else has had this problem so i know exactly what parts i should buy. I dont think its the torque converter, or catalytic converter being plugged. im leaning towards valve body. any suggestions????
 
take it from me i did my transmission last week after it blew its way easier to just replace man. its too time consuming to rebuild when you can pick one at a junkyard for about 150 bucks with the torque converter...
 
ya maybe your right. i just have an obsession with diagnosing problems so i know this will bug me if i dont pin point what it was exactly lol. however, knowing the auto trans, and the fact that all the fluid drained out, its prob a number of things that are bad now. ill prob buy one from the junk yard.
 
Most likely when it ran out of fluid the heat buildup killed it.

Are you sure it leaked from the dipstick tube, thats odd?

Heat is about the only thing that will kill a AW4.
 
From another poll on this forum, it seems like these trannies go fo 300,000 miles. You could pick up a junkyard one for driving sooner, then rebuild your old one for jollies. Probably get one for about $150. It's kind of bizarre that you could refill it and not have any leaks.
 
its more likely that the leak you noticed was coming from the overflow port, its located just above where the starter bolts to the bellhousing, and could seem like its coming from the dipstick tube. that would also explain why its no longer leaking after refilling. the overflow port is there to relieve pressure and heat before catastrophic failure of the transmission, usually identified by climbing hills in overdrive, and the trans puking fluid out of this hole and hitting the catalytic coverter, causing one hell of an "oh crap the jeep is on fire" smoke show :D

im willing to bet you burned the clutches inside the transmission, and in turn cause some sort of damage to the valve body. if you refilled the trans and have no movement in any gear, it seems that you are getting no fluid pressure, which would mean the front pump has failed or the valve body has failed.

good luck, but as stated above i would source a junkyard transmission, save yourself hours of hassle :D
 
X whatever on getting another tranny preferably a reman one. If you're really up to it throw a used one in and rebuild yours.
 
thanks for all your guys's posts. i appreciate it. Ya they are all legitimate answers. clutches prob fried and valve body is shot. i think my problem started when i put my 3.5"lift on it. i pretty much pre runnerd it while i was waiting for my leaf packs in the mail. i had a leak in the tranny from a crimped cooling line, i wasnt sure how much had leaked out and i couldnt check the level until i installed the 3.5" in the rear. most likely i was runnin on a little over a quart and it just heated it and fried. my mistake for wanting to put the coils on before the leafs came lol. big price to pay unfortunately. well thanks again for the reply's! looks like im off to the junkyard and have a new side project for the garage! :p
 
This may help
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=962764

For what its worth, my hose clamps gave out when I installed my tranny cooler one night on the way home from work, I was 5 mins from home and had to be somewhere that night, I made it home but as you can imagine the fluid was really puking out of the supply line to the cooler, looked like a murder under there. I made it home just coasting into the driveway! I must have emptied the torque converter and everything cause I used about 3, 1gallon jugs to fill it back up! I was too ignorant at the time to worry but there was no damage to the tranny! I fixed the clamp, filled it up and no ill effects, that was 2 yrs ago and this is my dd so. Anyways good luck, keep us posted.
 
Last edited:
tkjeeper said:
This may help
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=962764

For what its worth, my hose clamps gave out when I installed my tranny cooler one night on the way home from work, I was 5 mins from home and had to be somewhere that night, I made it home but as you can imagine the fluid was really puking out of the supply line to the cooler, looked like a murder under there. I made it home just coasting into the driveway! I must have emptied the torque converter and everything cause I used about 3, 1gallon jugs to fill it back up! I was too ignorant at the time to worry but there was no damage to the tranny! I fixed the clamp, filled it up and no ill effects, that was 2 yrs ago and this is my dd so. Anyways good luck, keep us posted.
Click to expand...
i had the same problem as you, but my culprit was a poorly tied down line. the zip tie broke and the supply line went into the fan. i just made it home and you're right it looked just like bloody murder :gee: same here though, i fixed the line, filled it back up, and havent had a problem since. it slips a little bit, but after 235k that is to be expected ;)
 
you couldnt have described the murder scene any better! lol but wait! you put in 3 gallons of tranny oil in? i wasnt aware it can hold the much. i just put 4 quarts in. so maybe if i put more in it wont slip. i cant check the level thanks to the 3.5" lift in front and stock rear. so should i just keep adding it till it grabs? lol. maybe if i stick a jack under the rear and jack it up so its level, tht might work! but ya, get back to me about the 3 gallons of tranny oil, thats seems a little much.
 
Yep, an empty trans and torque convertor will take about 12 quarts IIRC. Surprised me when i swapped in a trans and torque convertor years ago.

Start it, and check the fluid level on the dipstick.
 
ya i will in the morning. like i said im gonna have to jack it up on the rear to make the jeep level. man im so stoked! i know thats the problem! cuz when i got it towed home, i started it and ran it through all gears. nothing changed, not even the idle. i put three quarts in and the idle would change when shifting into neutral. so now if i out 8 more quarts in, maybe itll grab! lol. thanks man. i appreciate all posts. ill keep you posted on whether or not it fixes it.
 
Alright so i got the jeep level this morning. checked the fluid and it was wayyyyyyy over. almost to where the metel on the dipstick does an "S" shape. so here's my ? to you...could it be, that my pump gave out due to know fluid to keep it cool? so the fluid im putting in isn't going through all the necessary parts, for example, the torque converter????
 
no i didnt add the fluid this morning. its been sittin for two days. and yes i wiped the stick off and checked it a bout ten times. cold and warm.
 
I just reread your posts. I'm not clear on whether or not you started the Jeep and let it warm after installing the 4qts of ATF.

You need to start it, let it get to temp and recheck the level. It needs to be running in order for the pump to refill the torque convertor. You also check the fluid while running and in Park.

Another scenario could be you didnt loose anywhere near as much fluid initially as you thought you did and the 4qts was too much. In that case i'd suspect your trans did go prior to adding the fluid.

I apologize if you knew this stuff, but you being a new poster here i thought i'd hit all bases.

EDIT: i reread better this time..LOL. Your did state warming it up and being mech inclined. Looks like you need a trans pal.
 
ya i let it run for about 20 mins after putting the 4 quarts in. ill start it up and let it run for another 15 mins. couldnt hurt right? and its not like ill be using the gas anytime soon lol. well, the good news is, i can get a tranny for this thing for $200 and install it in my shop. The tranny is from a 94, like you read in my other thread. hope it works! thanks for all the posts guys
 
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