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1994 AW4 - Transmission Binding After Motor Swap

I

Ima Doit

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Atlanta
Hope there is no rule against posting multiple threads here. This is a separate issue and felt it was best to start a different thread.

I swapped in a new motor to my 1994 xj 4.0L. I put a 1993 grand Cherokee long block in. I thought we re-used the flex plate from the 1994. Not sure about torque converter though.

It has been shifting terribly since motor swap. My buddy was driving the jeep when the original motor died. He said it was working fine (undeliverable now) when it died. It feels like it's binding. It lunges in every gear and pops sometimes. It is going slow through first two gears. Very rough. Drove it to end of street and back. Not doing that again.

I figured I made a mistake during reinstallation. Hoping I didn't kill it. Anyone know these things and see something I might have overlooked or didn't line up properly?

I know very little about transmissions or how to install. Had a friend helping and he did most of the install while I "supervised".

almost forgot, it feels like it's stuck in 4wd. On tight turns the front tires skip sometimes. Can't shift to neutral or 4lo at the transfer case. Hope that's useful information.
 
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If its in 4WD on pavement then it will do all the things you say. If you don't have the floor shifter setup yet, crawl under it and work the lever into 2WD. Jack up a front tire and you will be able to tell because the front will spin freely (also in Neutral but 2WD is at the end of the throw while N is in the middle).

Flexplate should not matter beyond timing and if the Jeep runs then timing is okay

ps--make as many threads as you want, just no dupes
 
Okay thanks. I'll try and check that today. Would this also cause the bucking I get when shifting into drive or reverse? It lurches hard. I'm going to recheck the fluid level to be sure I didn't under fill it. It's been a while since I checked, so, I might as well before I chase my tail too much. I can't drive, so, I hope that warming the motor is enough for an accurate reading.
 
xcm said:
Drop the tcase and pull it apart.
Click to expand...

Wondering why on earth someone would say that without first asking if the T-Case worked just fine before the trans swap ? I would first try with a bit more effort to shift the transfer case from underneath using the mode lever while the transmission is in NEUTRAL. If the Cherokee has been driving on pavement while in 4x4, it can be extremely difficult to shift it, due to drive-line binding.

If there is a transmission issue, the first step is to locate the AW-4 Service and Diagnostics Manual that is easily found using a Google search, or purchased from Pacific Coast Manuals. Perform the diagnostic testing and follow the trouble shooting charts.
 
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Tim_MN said:
Wondering why on earth someone would say that without first asking if the T-Case worked just fine before the trans swap ?
Click to expand...

So, how would a trans swap cause the T-case to fail ?


I always start troubleshooting with the obvious stuff, and the simple stuff, before I start ripping things apart.





.
 
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I never took the transfer case off the transmission when the motor swap was done. It worked prior to reinstall. If I have to pull it off, so be it. However, I'm going to trouble shoot it before I do that. I'll mess with shifting it manually one night this week. Spent all day installing a bumper and ran out of time.

Is it worth snatching off the inspection cover and making sure I can spin the torque converter?
 
If you somehow managed to use the torque converter from the Grand Cherokee that could definitely be causing issues. I think if you did that it would've meant you would have had to use the flexplate off the Grand Cherokee engine also though. I know the flexplates and converters are different in the Grands because they use the Chrysler trannys.
 
BIGSLVRXJ said:
If you somehow managed to use the torque converter from the Grand Cherokee that could definitely be causing issues. I think if you did that it would've meant you would have had to use the flexplate off the Grand Cherokee engine also though. I know the flexplates and converters are different in the Grands because they use the Chrysler trannys.
Click to expand...

God I hope I wasnt that stupid. I tried to take care not to do that. Any markings that would tell me I did that without dropping the tranny?
 
Ima Doit said:
God I hope I wasnt that stupid. I tried to take care not to do that. Any markings that would tell me I did that without dropping the tranny?
Click to expand...
Not that I can think of, but I'm really not even sure the Chrysler TC would have engaged in the AW4.
 
I'm really not even sure what to check here outside of pulling the transmission and seeing what happened. I'm going to play with the selector, but, if that doesn't work, it's coming out. From my back. Not looking forward to it....I hate working on my back. lol
 
Okay. Time to dig in. First thing is that I'm going to play with the shifter on the transfer case. I'll put the front end under jack stands so I can rotate front tires to diagnose. I'll put the transmission in neutral. What should the transfer case selector be in? I assume 2wd so when I confirm its correct, bolt it back up, they are both in 2wd?
 
Okay. So, it's stuck in 4wd. Won't shift to low or neutral because the bracket is bottoming out against the transfer case. I need to re-set it to 2wd. However, I can't figure out how to remove this linkage. More specifically, I can't figure out which point to break connection so I can re-set. Any input?

Sucks that I can't post attachments. I hate using a third part to paste pictures. It's PITA. Will this change with post count?

TVhVnLe.jpg


ZmJWEOa.jpg
 
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Ima Doit said:
Sucks that I can't post attachments. I hate using a third part to paste pictures. It's PITA. Will this change with post count?
Click to expand...

We're a membership financed club. There's too much cost in the bandwith required for everyone to upload attachments to our servers. Things like photobucket are free and have built in functionality to post to message boards.
 
Good enough answer for me on the photos. Makes sense. And is there a way to donate?

I'll take a look at link you posted. I got the linkage from the bracket going into the transfer case. B in the photo above. There is a good bit of resistance on the transfer case. Just pull it? I guess that makes sense.

Based on the first picture I posted above, which way should that selector be pointed for the transfer case to be in two wheel drive?
 
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Does anyone know if this is in 2wd or neutral? Front tire spins (jacked up one side). Right now, I've left the transmission in this position. I left it unhooked and lowered the jeep. I went to drive it and the tranny won't shift. I didn't mess with the P N D selector, just the transfer case.

Right now the shifter moved, but, has no resistance as the transfer case is hanging and not connected. I wanted to drive it to confirm the transfer case was in 2wd and see how it drove, but, the jeep won't move now. It's a 231 TC

C8UPTuw.jpg
 
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