Everything you ever wanted to know about the AW4

[kastein]

Correct. You can of course just leave the ISS where it is. You will (IIRC - if the 97 and 98 harness plugs for the solenoid/sensor hookups are the same shell and pinout and just have 2 more populated pins for the ISS, just plug it in) also need to splice the wiring for the solenoids or just pull the pan and swap the old harness onto the new trans when installing it.

 

[jeepnoobie]

what does it mean if it will not shift at all, but at 3k-3.5k it jerks either forward or backward? It does matter what gear it is in.

 

[tdkask]

Do you mean that when you are in gear it doesn't not move until you hit higher rpms, and then only barely?

Maybe valve body, worn bands (need adjusting) or torque converter?

Somebody will know more than me I'm sure.

 

[jeepnoobie]

Now it will only go backwards no matter which gearits in, but only after you find the sweet spot, and then only barely.

 

[Ecomike]

Make sure the fluid is not burned, that it is fresh and new and that it is full to the full mark on the dip stick. Then check the linkage under the jeep to see if it has come loose for starters.

 

[kastein]

I agree. Reverse cannot be commanded by the shift solenoids (they only control 1/2/3/OD) so you have some sort of a mechanical problem not electrical.

 

[Arflippy]

Trying to find out what type of transmission is in my 1998 Jeep Cherokee limited 4.0 liter with I 6. I've seen 44re and 4L60E. It will go into drive, but does not go into reverse. Trying to decide if it would be worth pulling it out and trying to rebuild it myself, or pulling one out of a junkyard. Can't afford the 2600 it cost to have it rebuilt. Trying be cost efficient. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[XJwonders]

Trying to find out what type of transmission is in my 1998 Jeep Cherokee limited 4.0 liter with I 6. I've seen 44re and 4L60E. It will go into drive, but does not go into reverse. Trying to decide if it would be worth pulling it out and trying to rebuild it myself, or pulling one out of a junkyard. Can't afford the 2600 it cost to have it rebuilt. Trying be cost efficient. Any help is much appreciated.

grand Cherokee or Cherokee?

 

[Arflippy]

It's the Cherokee limited. Not the grand cherokee

 

[Ecomike]

Could be a linkage problem, or valve body problem (they can be swapped pretty cheap while the AW4 is still installed). I have fixed two with that problem by just adding a pint of trans-X to the fluid. They did not like cold morning winter weather, had to warm up 5-10 minutes for reverse to work. Trans-X removes, dissolves varnish that hangs up the hydraulic valves in the valve body.

Is it a problem when cold or all time, hot or cold?

 

[kastein]

That's an AW4. Whoever said 44RE was talking about a grand cherokee and whoever said 4L60E was smoking crack or something because that's a chevy transmission from completely unrelated vehicles.

You can pull one from any 98-01 with a 4.0L and the same number of driven wheels (RWD or 4x4) as yours and it will drop right in. Or rebuild it yourself. I've never rebuilt an AW4, be warned that auto trannies usually do require at least a certain number of special tools for working on anything more involved than the valvebody.

 

[Arflippy]

It's an island beater on O'ahu, Hawaii, so it's not subject to a very wide temperature range. I'll give the trans-x a shot and see if that does anything to it. Thank you for your guys'help!

 

[90xj06]

did it just stop going into reverse one day or did it slowly get worse until it stopped working?

 

[Arflippy]

Reverse went out all at once.

 

[Ecomike]

Reverse went out all at once.

Is the tranny fluid low? discolored or smell burned?

The proper fluid is Dex III, and is only good for 25,000 miles in normal duty use.

You might also chuck the tires, put on the parking brake and let it idle in reverse for about 30 minutes with the trans-X additive in it, to help clean the reverse port valves in the valve body. Works great on Saturns that have what is called reverse slam.....No reverse till you run up the rpms then it slams into reverse.

 

[Arflippy]

I'll have to get back to you on that. I'm buying it off a friend of mine that's also a mechanic so as far as I know it was taken care of. But not sure on how long it went without a fluid change.

 

[Ecomike]

I'll have to get back to you on that. I'm buying it off a friend of mine that's also a mechanic so as far as I know it was taken care of. But not sure on how long it went without a fluid change.

Not all mechanics are equal, and not all Transmission fluids are equal, if they put the newer DEX or synthetic fluid in it, they caused the problem. Never use anything but DEX III on the AW4 jeep transmissions, never mind what Chrysler or their dealers or transmission shops say.

Let us know what you find out. The core guts of the AW4 nearly never ever fail.

 

[cj96f250]

I would like to say I appreciate all the info on this thread but I did not see anything that fitted my situation (somewhat the swaps from an ax15 but not completely) so I figured I would ask( honestly I read the first 9 pgs and figured I would ask) so here goes I appreciate any help

I have a 80 cj7 completely torn down , had a 258 stock but I am replacing it with a 92 4.0 from a yj Wich had an ax15 behind it

I read in some magazine that the aw4 was stand alone so I went to the jy and pulled an aw4 out of a 93 xj 4x4

I took everything from the crank back (flexplatr, TC, sheilds) as well as the TCU I did not get the shifter and I cut the little deal that goes to the throttle body

So my question is how do I wire the TCU to the trans if it is stand alone, I was going to use a b&m but I can go get the stock shifter if I need to

If this is in this thread somewhere just tell me and I will find it and I really appreciate it y'all thanks cj

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

[Ecomike]

The TCU gets data from the ECU including the TPS data no doubt with vehicle speed and load data of some sort. The cable you cut is fluid pressure control that runs off the throttle position, and has a spring loaded setting off the throttle body connection side of the cable.

You can shift 1-3-4 and R manually with out the TCU. That is all I know.....regarding your questions

I would like to say I appreciate all the info on this thread but I did not see anything that fitted my situation (somewhat the swaps from an ax15 but not completely) so I figured I would ask( honestly I read the first 9 pgs and figured I would ask) so here goes I appreciate any help

I have a 80 cj7 completely torn down , had a 258 stock but I am replacing it with a 92 4.0 from a yj Wich had an ax15 behind it

I read in some magazine that the aw4 was stand alone so I went to the jy and pulled an aw4 out of a 93 xj 4x4

I took everything from the crank back (flexplatr, TC, sheilds) as well as the TCU I did not get the shifter and I cut the little deal that goes to the throttle body

So my question is how do I wire the TCU to the trans if it is stand alone, I was going to use a b&m but I can go get the stock shifter if I need to

If this is in this thread somewhere just tell me and I will find it and I really appreciate it y'all thanks cj

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

[lawsoncl]

I took everything from the crank back (flexplatr, TC, sheilds) as well as the TCU I did not get the shifter and I cut the little deal that goes to the throttle body

The best bet would have been grabbing as much of the harness as possible. There is a harness between the TCU and the tranny for the shift solenoids and output shaft speed sensor. There is also half dozen wires going elsewhere. From my vague memory, they were +12v, ign switched 12-volts, ground, TPS sensor, and two data wires (which you can ignore if the engine computer is for a stickshift, but you'll want to hookup if the engine computer expects to see a TCU to avoid a check engine light)Check a wiring diagram to be sure.

That cable to the throttle body is critical. It either won't shift or shift really slowly without it.