• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the AW4

I got a question. So I have a 95 242 that was mated to a aw4 from same year. I'm trying to convert a 2000 2wd to 4wd. I bought the newer 99 trans because of electronics but now the tcase is the problem. The sensor on the 95 is different from the one on the 99. Can I just change the gear or pickup deal from the output shaft? As long as splines are good will this work or do I need to find a tcase from a 99-01


So you're putting a 99 AW4 auto and 95 242 xfer case into a 2000 XJ, right?



The 95 xfer case should bolt right up. The NP242J was basically unchanged for the entire run of the XJ. The spline count and length should match up between a 95 and 99 as well. If the output speed sensor is different, you should be able to swap that over.
 
Correct. I found the wire color crossovers so have that done. Now it's the one in the adapter left. It had a 3 wire plug but only 2 wires in it. Have the one from the 99 has a blue end on it. Can I just wire these together aswell. Haven't found color crossover for that one yet.
 
Correct. I found the wire color crossovers so have that done. Now it's the one in the adapter left. It had a 3 wire plug but only 2 wires in it. Have the one from the 99 has a blue end on it. Can I just wire these together aswell. Haven't found color crossover for that one yet.


You're talking about the tailcone of the xfer case? You should be able to unbolt the whole sensor and swap between the 95 and 99.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7lxHA7VCeI
 
What lawsoncl said.

Only thing I have to add is that the 95 tcase will have the older wet slip yoke design while your 00 would have the dry style. So you will need a rear driveshaft from a 91-95 with 4.0, aw4, 4wd, and the same rear diff as your Jeep. Or possibly swap a wet slip yoke onto a driveshaft from a 4.0, aw4, 4wd 96-01 with the same rear diff as yours, but I've not verified that that will be the right length.
 
Until it's full :gee:

I think it is around 12 quarts (or was it 12 pints?) but I'm not sure. I keep a gallon jug on hand and buy another anytime I'm gonna drop the pan on one, so it's never been an issue. The FSM probably contains this info if you want to verify my number... please do, I can't remember if it's correct.
 
I think a drain and fill is around a gallon.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
My otherwise completely stock, never off-road, 1999 4x4 XJ's transmission ID plate, which is BLUE in color, says:
Aisin AW
(model): 30-40E
(date code):03HR

Does that date code mean that it has an '03 transmission in it?

The XJ only has 98K miles on it, none of it off-road, but I suppose it is not IMPOSSIBLE that a previous owner could have received a defective (97K seems like premature failure) original transmission from the factory, and had to replace it sometime after 2003.

It has the throttle-control cable to control line pressure, and is coupled to a 231 transfer case.

It also has an apparently VERY rare malady: When shifting, with vehicle sitting still, from P/R/N into D/3/1-2, the engagement is EXTREMELY harsh, whereas when shifting into R engagement is NOT harsh, and otherwise the transmission shifts smoothly up and down through all gears.

I did noticed from studying the hydraulic flow diagrams that when the transmission is shifted, standing still, from P/R/N into D/3/1-2 (into 1st Gear), NO accumulators are used to cushion the harshness of the shift, whereas when shifted into R the C2 accumulator IS used, so perhaps the problem is occurring in R, also, but it just isn't noticeable because the C2 accumulator is absorbing the harshness of the shift into R.

The above problem exists even with the throttle line pressure control cable completely disconnected, and so far the transmission shop has replaced the complete valve body and torque converter, and a shift kit was installed and then removed (not sure why he did that), and the transmission was completely rebuilt. The transmission shop was so stymied by all of this not solving the problem that after having it in their shop for 9 weeks they didn't charge me anything because they said that they don't charge if they can't fix the problem! His only advice was to replace the transmission, because he had run out of things to try to fix the problem on this transmission. He said he was going to even try replacing the CASE of the transmission, but it is unclear that he actually tried that.
I had another shop look at the complete drivetrain (motor/tranny mounts, drive shafts, transfer case, differential, etc.) and they were also convinced that it HAS to be the transmission. So was another experienced dealer-trained Jeep mechanic that had been around XJ's a LOT, so should recognize whether it is the transmission or not that is the problem.

At this point my options seem to be:
1. Drive it like it is until the harsh engagement breaks something else in the transmission.
2. Figure out a way to temporarily reduce the line pressure JUST for those manual shifts at a standstill into D/3/1-2 (hard to do, since even completely disconnecting the throttle line pressure control cable doesn't help).
3. Replace the transmission.
 
It's perfectly fine, you won't hurt anything, just won't have lockup.

I suspect your problem is the sensor, but not sure. I suspect it could also be the NSS or TPS - what are the exact symptoms? No shifting at all? What gear does it seem to be in?

As luck would have it I just found the 87-97 tailhousing, sensor, 91-96 harness (not exactly sure on year) sitting in my stash of parts and I'm pretty sure I know where the 1pulse/rev magnet rotor is in my storage unit, if you end up needing it I can ship it to you for basically cost of shipping, it's not doing me any good. I'd really suggest building the electronics signal conversion box since it's easier (at least in my mind) and doesn't involve dropping the transfer case, just soldering stuff together.
.

Is building the conversion box the best way??? I tried to follow your schematic earlier but I totally got confused. Would you mind helping a newb??
 
I found this out the hard way too when I stuck a 99 AW4 into an 89 to replace the manual. I'm curious that you say it's not shifting at all though In my case, I found 99 tranny would trigger the 89 TCU just 4x too fast. It would shift about 1000 rpm and I was in 4th gear by the time I hit 20mph.

The circuit I stuck together way back in 2005 is still working great in the 89 MJ. Not bad since almost all the parts came out of my scrap parts bin and winging it. Holler if you want the pdf of the diagram. I think I still have it somewhere.


I would love the PDF of your signal converter !!! Putting a 98 aw4 into a 97 and I think it’s the easier way to go (as long as I can sort out the circuit build and schematic!!!
 
I would love the PDF of your signal converter !!! Putting a 98 aw4 into a 97 and I think it’s the easier way to go (as long as I can sort out the circuit build and schematic!!!




Looks like my original links from 2005 still work. Just proves that nothing you post on the interwebs every really goes away!

http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83..._Converter.pdf
(writing on left says input ranges from 0.1 volt to 30-volts)
http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83803/board.jpg
http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83803/box_mounted.jpg




I'm still amazed that the circuit I cobbled together from stuff out of my spare parts bin 13 years ago is still working.
 
Looks like my original links from 2005 still work. Just proves that nothing you post on the interwebs every really goes away!

http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83..._Converter.pdf
(writing on left says input ranges from 0.1 volt to 30-volts)
http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83803/board.jpg
http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83803/box_mounted.jpg




I'm still amazed that the circuit I cobbled together from stuff out of my spare parts bin 13 years ago is still working.


Yes it does!!! I’m just having a hard time deciphering and reading it. ... sorry. Is there any way you can help?? I’ve literally never made a circuit board before and don’t know where to even start...
 
The links were in the first post, I am not sure I would recommend the electrical circuit route if you've never built this kind of stuff before. It would probably be much easier for you to use a 97 or earlier AW4 or swap the magnet wheel on the output shaft than going this route. It only takes a couple hours to swap and earlier transmissions are far more common, at least around here.
 
The links were in the first post, I am not sure I would recommend the electrical circuit route if you've never built this kind of stuff before.


My thoughts as well. You're going to need some electronics skill to reproduce what I did. There have been a number eletronically inclined folks who copied and improved my original version, which was literally born out of "Hmm, what do I have in my parts bin that I can use? Lets see, I've got a cd4013 flip-flop that can be setup to divide by 4, quad op amp, some leftover oddball zeners, a pile of misc caps, a 10-volt linear regulator, a small box from a mac ethernet adapter, etc - I think I can make something out of that".
 
My thoughts as well. You're going to need some electronics skill to reproduce what I did. There have been a number eletronically inclined folks who copied and improved my original version, which was literally born out of "Hmm, what do I have in my parts bin that I can use? Lets see, I've got a cd4013 flip-flop that can be setup to divide by 4, quad op amp, some leftover oddball zeners, a pile of misc caps, a 10-volt linear regulator, a small box from a mac ethernet adapter, etc - I think I can make something out of that".

I’m sure that’s the route I’m going to go. But I’m still stuck on harness wiring. From what I can find they SHOULD BE wire for wire. Not the case.

The 97 trans harness uses two grey main connector that come up to the firewall, the 98 trans has a grey and a black.

The grey connector from the 98 trans plugs into the 97 xj harness on the firewall, but the Comoros don’t match up, the other black connector off of the 98 trans does not match up to the leftover Har was connector on the firewall (both are 8 pin I think)??

Any help is great!! Finishing someone else’s swap is always entertaining!!!

I’ll try to write out how the harness is connected (pin to pin and colour to colour). To add to the confusion!!!
 
The links were in the first post, I am not sure I would recommend the electrical circuit route if you've never built this kind of stuff before. It would probably be much easier for you to use a 97 or earlier AW4 or swap the magnet wheel on the output shaft than going this route. It only takes a couple hours to swap and earlier transmissions are far more common, at least around here.

I think I may have figured out my wiring and pinouts for the 98 AW4 to go into the 97XJ... Ill add it here and whether or not you want to add to the original post is up to you,, If there is any mistakes PLEASE let me know, as I would like to fix my mistakes prior to wrecking a bunch of wiring...LOL

SO, from what i was able to source out, the 97 XJ uses 2 GREY connectors to tie the transmission to the truck (If the trans is a 97)... An 8-pin and a 6-pin..

After searching for schematics ive found that the *-pin grey connector from the JEEP side plugs right into the AW4 Trans side, BUT the colors do not match up (the functions of said wires do, but the color coding does not)... here is what ive found as follows


TRUCK SIDE (97) Trans side (98) MEANING:
PIN: PIN:
1-Violet/White 1-Green/White TRS 1-2 sense
2-Violet 2-Blue/Black TRS 3 Sense
3-Blue/White 3-Tan/White Fused ignition SW out
4-Light Green/Black 4-White TRS 4 Sense (O/D)
5-EMPTY 5-EMPTY Nothing
6-Brown/Light Green 6-Red/Black TRS Reverse Sense
7-Black/White 7-Black white Park/Neutral pos. sw
8-Black 8-Black GROUND

****COLORS DO NOT MATCH BUT THE FUNCTION DOES*****

Now, the leftover 6-PIN grey connector on the truck side does not match up to the 8-PIN Black connector whatsoever (this is where my brain started to hurt), eventually I figured out through the schematics what each wire did, and what wire went to where... Here is what I found as follows...:


TRUCK SIDE GREY 6 PIN TRANS SIDE BLACK 8-PIN MEANING
CONNECTOR CONNECTOR
PIN# PIN#
1-Black TO 6-Black OSS GROUND
3-White TO 3-Violet/white SOL A
4-Green/White TO 7-White/Brown OSS SIGNAL
5-Blue/White TO 4-White/Black SOL C
6-Orange/White TO 2-Blue/White SOL B

Pin 2 on grey connector was empty...
Pin 1 on black connector for ISS signal (NOT NEEDED FOR 97 TCU)???
Pin 5 on black connector for ISS ground (NOT NEEDED FOR 97 TCU)??

I think this is how its supposed to be wired... PLEASE let me know if this is correct... IT only makes sense that the ISS sig and ground are rendered useless in the 98 AW4 due to the fact that the 97 TCU wont read off of them anyway...?

I hope Im not way out in Left field here..... LOL:rof:
 
So into my next issue (might not be one I’m not sure). But upon further bush vestigation ive found out that the tcase adapter housing (pre98) is slightly different than the 98-01. It looks like the sensor location hole is larger on the 98-01 case compared to the pre-98.. Will I have to swap adapter housing s well?


Pre 98 on the left, 98-01 on the right.

http://www.4x4extremesports.com/pro...g-Adapters-pre-1998-and-1998-through-2001.jpg
 
Looks like my original links from 2005 still work. Just proves that nothing you post on the interwebs every really goes away!

http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83..._Converter.pdf
(writing on left says input ranges from 0.1 volt to 30-volts)
http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83803/board.jpg
http://myplace.frontier.com/~chris83803/box_mounted.jpg




I'm still amazed that the circuit I cobbled together from stuff out of my spare parts bin 13 years ago is still working.
The links were in the first post, I am not sure I would recommend the electrical circuit route if you've never built this kind of stuff before. It would probably be much easier for you to use a 97 or earlier AW4 or swap the magnet wheel on the output shaft than going this route. It only takes a couple hours to swap and earlier transmissions are far more common, at least around here.

So into my next issue (might not be one I’m not sure). But upon further bush vestigation ive found out that the tcase adapter housing (pre98) is slightly different than the 98-01. It looks like the sensor location hole is larger on the 98-01 case compared to the pre-98.. Will I have to swap adapter housing s well?



Pre 98 on the left, 98-01 on the right.

http://www.4x4extremesports.com/pro...g-Adapters-pre-1998-and-1998-through-2001.jpg

Nvm. Just read again. That was stated in the original post hasta
 
Back
Top