AW-4 Primer? (aka Auto Tranny 101)

MY tranny decided tonight was the time it would die on me, and as it's currently 50 miles from me I need to know a few names, theories and nomenclature.

AW-4 Tranny.

I did a 40-mile highway run with it and pulled off at the exit near dinner. As I tried to inch up at the light the tranny felt like I was in Neutral. Popped the selector in 'N' and back to '3' because I was on surface streets and it "pulled" so I was able to head out. By the time I pulled it into the parking lot I had a trail of ATF behind me and the tranny was slipping like mad. Did I mention the rear hatch and window are 'wet'?

After eating my buddy and I went out to look at it, and the entire underside was dripping and red. It looks like the rearmost connector on the AW-4 (is that the pressure side?) is leaking, and I started it up so we could make sure. Running for ~10 seconds is all it took to confirm that the connector was the source of a healthy leak.

It's sitting in the parking lot and hopefully won't get towed... Here's my question. Which connector is the rear one on the AW-4? (Pressure or return?) Is that also the one that connects in at the top fitting on the radiator? That makes sense if so because that line has a bit of a fold in one of the bends...

How do you get the QD fittings apart? I fought one on my radiator two summers ago and it turned out to be easier to cut it off and use hose clamps to hold a rubber line over the hardline.

The "rear most" line would be your return line, seeing as it dumps the fluid back in the pan....

The fittings are the same type of fitting that is on your radiator. Flared at the ends....

I can't remember if there is actually an O-ring or not for the fitting (I don't remember one) but if you can find a line wrench big enough to fit on there to tighten it up, have at it.

I used an adjustable wrench to tighten those fittings, no specific torque on them....

All else fails, a trip to the local yard is in order for new hardlines......

It's not a wrenchable fitting, it's one of those POS "Quick Disconnect" types with the plastic ears. Since I already fought one of those to a draw awhile back I don't see this as a good battle to join. Dammit....

hmmm.....pics?

It's immobile 50 miles away or I'd be able to trace the lines and get all sortsa pics. Still trying to hatch a plan to get the hardline and QD and probably the QD tool, not to mention try to find a way to get back down there before the restaurant tows it...

You need a tool for a QD?

Kinda defeats the purpose eh?

I'm not quite sure I know what the QD you're talking about looks like. If you can manage to find pics, post em!

Yeah it defeats the purpose...I'm tempted to throw those on the "What I hate about Jeep" thread...

Thanks for the help though.
Jim

I know what you mean about the quick disconnects. Early this summer I did a radiator change and fought those things to a stand still. I finally ended up just cutting the lines and putting standard flare nuts on them. This is probably going to sound dumb, but can you JB Weld the rear fitting good enough to get it home where you can work on it? I wouldn’t bother trying to get hard lines out of a junkyard. More than likely the plastic quick disconnects will break on you trying to get them out, or worse yet trying to put them back in your Cherokee. The dealer is your best bet; the return line isn’t that expensive. The pressure line is almost twice the price.

Just a note on those quick disconnects.... you don't need the little plastic tool from the autoparts store to get them apart, just squeeze the two tabs together while pulling the fitting apart, it will pop right apart. I finally figured this out after struggling with the one on my brother's comanche for an hour. Re-seated the o-rings and made sure the clips were both pulled out when I put the connector back together, and it hasn't leaked since, but when it was it was doing exactly what you describe: spewing fluid all over the place.

...and the plastic fittings are available in the "Help" section of your favorite parts store.

Too bad you can't "download" parts, or I'd email you a spare.

Thanks y'all - I'll be down there to look at it this afternoon. I've tried the "squeeze and pull" as well, but I'll give it another shot before shoving a roadflare up the exhaust...

Can someone post the Help part number for these QD connectors?

Those QD clips should be called delayed quick disconnects (DQD's) where the delay is equal to the time it takes you to wrestle with them untill they give up and all of a sudden release on you easy as can be. :wierd:

The trick is don't pull on the plastic clip you are squeezing at the same time as you pull on the hose. The clip holds the hose on, and the flair on the end of the metal line is what keeps the clip on. Both clip and hose will not come off past the flair together. When you squeez the clip tabs it releases the hose only while making the clip hold tighter around the metal end, then after just the hose is off you can remove the clip from the metal. I used the two small screwdriver trick to expand the clip and push it off past the flair. only bother with that if you need to re-use the clip.

The part number that you are looking for is 800-016 and its a dorman product. This package has two or three different sizes. I hope this help you out. I used these to help me with my fuel line connection that goes to my fuel rail. I hope that this helps you out.

Randy

The plastic-tab QDs are a pain sometimes. Often you have to use vise grips (needle-nose works best) to squeeze them down. The new ones with the internal metal tabs require a (cheap) tool by design, but they are much easier to work with.

BTW, since the lines are usually a tight fit in the pan, it pays to make sure you're pulling straight out. Otherwise, you can bind up on the sides.

fizassist said:

The plastic-tab QDs are a pain sometimes. Often you have to use vise grips (needle-nose works best) to squeeze them down. The new ones with the internal metal tabs require a (cheap) tool by design, but they are much easier to work with.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I now have a combination of new and old QDs...and hate them all.

I'll get part numbers and pictures up in a day or so, but it turned out my leak wasn't caused by the QD o-rings or anything similarly simple. The flange of the hardline (return line) cracked, so it was pouring tranny fluid out even after I replaced the QD. The Parts guy at the dealer said they were using a complete replacement more frequently than the QD set itself. There are two 7/8"-hex fittings on the side of the AW-4, and the QD plugs into those. They sell the whole fitting assembly which makes install a breeze (if you can get the QD unplugged).

The biggest pisser of the whole event was having a dead Jeep 50 miles away and having to bum rides to go work on it. It's working now and only puked about 2 quarts overall so ultimately it turned out to be an easy fix...getting to fix it was the tough part. Thanks y'all for the advice...

Un-Frickin-believable...

On the way home today the pressure line popped!!! I still had the second QD body but hadn't had a chance to install it yet, but yet again that's not the problem. The flange cracked on this line, too


Now, when I pulled to the side of the highway and checked it out I thought maybe it was the o-rings, especially when I pulled the QD body out and an o-ring and fragments of the QD fell out. However...I noticed the crack again. Anybody have any reasonable explanation for why this would happen to BOTH of my tranny lines (pressure and return) within a month of each other?