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Installed trans cooler, now trans sounds horrible?

El Taco

NAXJA Forum User
Location
In the desert
Howdy, y'all. I installed a transmission cooler on my 96 XJ today, and the first drive down the road, I get a horrible sound from the transmission taking off in first. Sounds like metal to metal, more so than air.

At light throttle, nothing. As soon as I give it a bit to go, it raises hell. No issues up to this point.

I put the case in low, and of course it took no throttle to bring the noise.

It went away in second, but within a few miles, it became worse, through second and third. Also began grinding at idle in drive at a stop.

The cooler I cleaned a couple years ago, but couldn't get the line apart to hook it up, so I looped it to itself and left it in there. Pretty much, it came out of one, went into mine, then was sealed.

I have to run a thousand or more miles this coming week, is there anything I can do, or should I start unbolting the transmission from the parts Jeep?
 
Did you top off the tranny fluid to account for the extra capacity?
 
Is the sound caused by the trans cooler, or just coincidental to its installation ? You used the correct amount of Dexron-III/Mercon fluid to top off, right ?
 
Well, it was fine, I added the cooler. I was changing the radiator, so I had access to the lines down there. What was slightly overfilled came down to full. No foaming fluid, not a bubble on the stick. My best guess is that something came loose and went downstream from the cooler, got into the pump, and wreaked havoc.

Once, out in the sand dunes north of Monahans, I got in a tight spot, and had to run the dog out of it to get back to the street. I came out without first. After it cooled, first came back, and twenty thousand later, no problems.

It shifts fine, but the noise means I'm not going out of town with it. I've already decided to pull the extra transmission. I drove it in, so I know it's good. Range forks are out on the case, but I've already done chain and sprockets on mine, so I'll swap it over.

Perhaps I can swap the pump, torque converter bushing, or what have you, and bolt it into the project Jeep later. Call it giving up prematurely, but I have to get things done, and everything rides on the Jeep.
 
By the way, I pulled the electric fan, bypassed the external cooler, and put it back the way it was. Same noise, no change, and progressed noticeably within five miles.
 
I'm glad I've got enough sense to look again. I replaced the fan clutch and radiator, and the noise I was hearing was the clutch on the little strap that ties the supports together on that side. At first I thought it could be the fan shroud, which cracked pretty good during the procedure yesterday, so I just ripped the top off of it. That's when I noticed the clutch's proximity to the strap. With the brake set in four low, I could see the engine pulling forward just enough to contact the strap and make the noise.

In second, there wasn't enough pull to reach it. I figure the AC compressor kicked in at a red light, and the added load pulled it forward, giving me the idea my problem had become worse.

So now, other than tearing down far enough to replace the fan shroud, all I need to do is bend the strap towards the radiator just a bit.

Thank y'all for putting up with my short sitghtedness, this site has been instrumental in the changes that made my two wheeler into a mildly modified four wheel drive.
 
same thing happened to me after ZJ fan clutch install. I'd suggest new motor mounts before you run it too hard. The old mounts will continue to let things move farther each time until you eat the radiator.
 
New motor mounts AND transmission mounts.
Rubber.
Takes an hour for all 3 and not more than 80 bucks for nice mounts.
Do it before you have worse problems like broken motor mount brackets and sheared bolts in the block. I've been there.
My motor barely wiggles when floored now.
In a bind, when the motor rolls, you could chew up your rad and if a block bracket fails, your distributor will be supporting the pas. side of the motor on the inside of the frame rail.
It happened to me and wasn't cheap. Drove 80 miles home with my diz and oil pan holding the motor, on the axle and frame rail, the fan buried in a bypassed radiator. No cooling besides the electric A/C fan.
No ratchet straps on hand:anon:
 
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1200 miles and no trouble, but certainly ready for mounts. I did the drivers side engine mount a while back, but need to do all at once, just like brakes and bearings.

Thanks
 
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