aw4 shifting problems

Hello, i have read many write ups on the AW4 but havent found anything that quite fits my bill. I have an 88 xj laredo, 4.0 AW4 obviously. What is happening is i can drive 18-20 miles when the tranny suddenly feels like it is in neutral, and if i shift to 3 it tries to go down to second. if i pull over and put it back into reverse and back to drive ti goes away. I have changed the filter and fluid and the tps, but i have to admit i have to properly adjust the tps tomorrow, but i am looking for ideas if it persists after that, thank you for all assitance.

Disconnect the TCU. It's on the back of the knee panel on the passenger side. This will give you manual shifting, and will start in 2nd gear. If your problem goes away then there is an issue with the electrical control.

JJacobs said:

Disconnect the TCU. It's on the back of the knee panel on the passenger side. This will give you manual shifting, and will start in 2nd gear. If your problem goes away then there is an issue with the electrical control.

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no, disconnecting the TCU will start you in 1st gear (in the 1-2 position) and will not shift to second until something like 4500rpm. Basically, with the TCU unplugged you loose 2nd gear.

Hmm, mine have never worked that way.