I have a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but its got the same engine and transmission as your trucks. I posted on the Jeep froums like 4 days ago but got not a single response.. Tend to always have to go to you guys for transmission and engine advice


Anyway, when i first got this thing almost 2 years ago i noticed that it would sometimes have some kind of surge between 2nd and 3rd gear. It would do this only once every 2 weeks or so.. It was very random, and adjusting my TV cable which was pulled too far foward stopped the issue..

Now it seems like its back except now it does it every day sometimes and it started only recently. . Basicly when im driving from a stop itll shift to 2nd, then when it shifts to 3rd it surges or bucks really quickly, and then shifts back to 3rd a couple seconds later.. So im not sure whats going on.. is this thing slipping? It feals like its shifting to 3rd then dropping back to 2nd really quick i dunno i've never felt a slipping transmission before

Im so poor right now i cant even afford gas hardly.. so if this thing is crapping out on me i dunno what i can do.. I hope its not slipping.. What do you guys think ? Oh and the fluid and filter was changed when i bought it, so the fluid has only about 13k miles on it atm. Well half of it does anyway, last time the PO changed it was at 60k miles and i bought it with 118k

 

Slipping usually shows itself with engine RPM going up, but, vehicle speed staying the same..... maybe slowly accelerating. (or, in REALLY bad cases, slowing down...) I don't think that's the case for you. I would more suspect a governor pressure solenoid/sensor issue. Drop the pan, see what things look like. (fluid ain't exactly cheap either though....)

 

Its funny you mentioned the jeep forum...I seen you there..(GF has a TJ wrangler I take care of).. they were trying to convince me that the jeep drivetrain is not the same as the ones dodge use ... as far as I know the starter is mounted on the other side and the exhaust is modified because of that ..otherwise they are pretty much the same as the magnum setup in the dodges..
of course they are also using 24# ford injectors in all year models and claiming it runs better and gets better gas mileage than stock 22lbs ones ... (I dont see how spraying more fuel uses less?)

You problem is an odd one....I would start by dropping the pan and removing and cleaning the screen in the governor pressure soleniod...also check the pan for chunks of metal and heavy filings on the magnet.... hows the fluid smell? it should have a strong sweet smell if it doesnt its not ATF+4 and if the correct additive wasnt added the wrong atf fluid will tear up the clutch surfaces as our transmisions apparently use proprietary clutch material that required special fluid or the additive.

(Although Given the track record of these transmissions the special Chrysler clutches and fluid Certainly dont make the tranny perform any better or longer than what all the other oems used at the time. So besides forcing others to buy their specially licensed fluids for monetary gain at higher costs and at an inconvenience to us I see no other purpose for their handwork here...) Thanks Chrysler!

 

damn it I type too slow and rambled too much

 

Yea its hard to explain whats happening.. When it happens it happens within like a split second time frame.. Itll go from a start to 2nd gear, then when you would expect 3rd gear to shift it bucks or surges whatever you want to call it, and it feals like im losing power then itll shift into 3rd gear like 1-2 seconds after that happens.. It did with my brother in the car one day and he was like wtf was that.. and i had no idea.. all i know is its been doing it since i got it, but seems to be doing it everyday now at least once.

Basicly when it happens it feals like someone is tugging on my rear end then pushing me foward in a split second time frame. Not hard but gently because it does this smoothly not jerking or anything... And im not looking at the RPM gauge because it happens so randomly i pay attention to the road instead of the guage 24/7.. I dunno if i would notice a RPM changce anyway as 2-3 gears only drops the rpm's like 200-300 tops

It usually does this when im giving it around 30-40 % throttle. WOT it seems to shift into 2nd and 3rd just fine.. Light throttle it never happens either.. I also noticed it never did this in the winter when it was doing it once every week or so when i mentioned i adjusted the TV cable) but it did it during the warmer months.. Almost like it could be a heat issue ?? But I've checked the lines to see if the check ball if its even still there is plugged and it isnt.. It squirts fluid out like a **** when i disconnect the line in the front.

Also my cooling system bypasses the main radiator and goes directly to a standard 3 loop cooler i think its a 22,000 GVW hayden cooler the PO installed. It looks like this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hayden-22-00...90681868446306

The fluid level is perfect when the tranny is hot and in neutral, I do have a small amount of bubbles on the dipstick tho.. not a froth, but maybe 2-3 bubbles.. The fluid is pink/red whatever you want to call it.. ATF+4 always looks pink to me, and it smells sweet. Like i said it only has 13k on it since i changed it. When i did change it the pan had a few small metal peices on the bottom.. small like less than 1mm in size.. and the magnet had goop on it but that was it.

 

" it shifts to 3rd it surges or bucks really quickly, and then shifts back to 3rd a couple seconds later.. "

Are you sure it is between 2nd and 3rd or could it be between 3rd and 4th? (TCC engage/disengage).

I would get one of these - better than OEM.

I concur with the previous mentions reagarding the governor pressure sensor and solenoid.

Is it safe to assume that you checked fluid level in Neutral?

 

yes i checked the fluid level right.. Yes it isnt from 3-OD. Its between 2nd and 3rd.

Which solenoid should I get ? arent there 2 of them ?

 

maybe you moved the tv cable too much usally no one moves the cable they dont know about it

 

Well Im like an expert at moving the cable now, when I asked on here how to do it before i checked mine i market the cable with a black sharpie. After i adjusted the cable it showed the cable was pulled too far foward by A LOT, which explained why my Jeep was shifting from 1-2-3 so quickly like quick within 2 seconds.. This was like almost 2 years ago

Adjusting the cable is easy, pop it off the ****, take the white clip off, go down make sure the lever is closed all the way. Grab the black end pull it until the slack is out but not to where you pull the cable itself.. Then push the black sheethed cable in the back foward until the center line on the black plastic end is lined up with the ****.

 

Well today i decided to go on the parkway to see how it reacted at WOT.. I went wot from a stop, and from various speeds around 40-50-60 mph.. and the transmission shifted fine.. I had OD off and it shifted into 2nd and 3rd at 4800-4500 rpm. If i was going say 40mph and floored it, it would downshift to 2nd and then reach 4500 rpm and shift into 3rd. If i was going say 60mph and floored it it held 3rd gear and the rpm's just climbed slowely. I did this for like 20-30 minutes..


However on my way home driving normall it did its wierd thing again between 2nd and 3rd gear.. It did it twice, once after i took off from a stop light and once while making a left hand turn from a stop.. I dont get it.. I cant tell if the rpm's are changing or not because its so random and im not looking at the rpm guage 24/7.. it doesnt feal like the rpm's change much if at all when it happens.. I heared if a tranny is slipping itll feal like its in neutral and the rpms will shoot up mine deff doesnt do that.. Its just a foward backword motion like its hunting for a gear and goes back and forth.. I dont know if its slipping or not... It the thing were going bad wouldnt it be slipping at WOT ***** to the wall ? Or wouldnt it lose 3rd gear randomly while OD is off ? It only does it when its trying to shift into 3rd.. Its almost like it wants to go to 3rd but then changes its mind. I dunno im not a transmission expert.

I tried tighting the TV cable more and more and it doesnt do anything, Im going to losen it some and see what happens then.