How long did your 42RLE automatic transmission last before it blew up?

[lfhoward]

Wow, 279k is awesome! Are you running any larger tire size or have you towed much?

 

[desertdriver]

My KJ has had a pretty easy life, lol. It's all stock. A/T tires but not oversized. Not much towing. I commuted long-distance on the freeway daily for 12 years so not much stress and strain except for driving in the extreme summer heat and dust here.

 

[Offroad Bob]

Mine made it 197,500 miles

 

[lfhoward]

Mine made it 197,500 miles

Oh so close to 200k!

Is it logged in the survey above?

 

[Offroad Bob]

Mine made it to 195,500 before it grenaded ! Not cheap to fix but as "R" says, they aren't worth much but it sure is fun driving one ! I've seen some people in traffic give me good look as it's pretty nimble and fairly quick in the 40 to 65 mph range (on flat ground)> All mine transmission did was go into limp mode, stuck in high gear. After 5-10 min cool off it would work for a couple of miles and repeat. Hard to start out in top gear. Sometimes it would shift manually and that is how I made it to the shop. Now it is smooth as any transmission I've ever owned. Usually can't feel it shift.

 

[OwensJ]

This poll is to find out how long a 42RLE automatic transmission typically lasts. This is the most common Liberty transmission, a 4 speed automatic, and is usually mated to the 3.7L V6.

Only vote in the poll if your 42RLE blew up and it needed to be rebuilt or replaced. Otherwise the results of the poll will be skewed. If you had this transmission fail in another vehicle (Charger, Ram, Nitro, etc.), that still counts and please do vote.

Anyone please feel free to comment below, even if your transmission hasn’t needed replacing yet.

My 42RLE transmission is still original at 190,000 miles but starting to have the shudders. Wondering how long it might go for until it is completely done. Thanks in advance!

2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 3.8 v6 202k on odometer, still running and no issues

 

[sota]

Well, as the lab manager ( generally the voice of reason) I’m forced to quote/paraphrase :

If you need to do statistics, you should have had a larger sample size.
AND
Good science doesn’t produce answers, just better questions.
AND
Cs get degrees- now get the $@“&( out of my office since you were to lazy to show up for lecture.

And now we know why I don’t teach….

This.
The question being asked is a good starting point, but the initial results can be horribly misleading.
EX: *many* people still seem to believe that, 80s and 90s chrysler FWD cars were horribly unreliable, especially their transmissions. there were many failures in the ~100k range, or less. The question most people don't ask is... why? When useful data was finally collected, it was determined that people (shops, predominantly independent ones, and individuals) were putting in the WRONG fluid. 80s/90s was the time frame when they switched to ATF+4. people weren't putting it in during servicing, because it was MUCH more expensive a fluid. and, not a lot of aftermarket sources for it at the time. so in would go dextron/mercon, and shortly there after the transmission would fail.


I've got 2 42RLE examples here right now. 136k (khaki) and 174k (silver).

khaki has been poorly maintained. oil changes appear to have been done regularly, but the rest has been neglected. diffs have OE fill, spark plugs were NEVER changed (which caused poor running, which killed a cat), transfer case has NEVER been serviced, and the transmission has NEVER been serviced. the result: I found a massive amount of sludge on the magnet, and the trans has a P0740 code now. I might attempt a solenoid pack replacement on it at some point. it was a 2 owner jeep (mother to daughter), but was a FL vehicle, owned by an older woman, who either didn't listen to her service advisor, or just didn't think she needed to take care of it.

silver has 174k on it. despite some "hard use" wear evident (it tagged a deer at some point, based on the white hood, black fender and grille, 'sport' bumper on a limited, evidence of a DUI interlock having been installed at some point), you can tell it's been taken care of mechanically. plugs were fresh. recent cat install. control arms and ball joints have been done. oil looks "right" for the number of miles claimed since they dumped a bunch of $ into it. transfer case shows signs of service. same with diffs and transmission. It was a 1 owner jeep as well. I can't tell you how well it shifts since its not road legal, but the scan tool reports no problems, with a days since last reset being over 100 before I changed that. that transmission *might* wind up in the khaki at some point.

 

[ikuo78]

It is necessary to add a mileage table that is running fine and compare it with the broken mileage,
That way, we can clarify the overall failure rate,
Your heart becomes calm.

 

[Muddy]

My 04 liberty lasted until it left me stranded on the side of the highway at 269,000. Third gear clutches were toast. Put a junkyard unit in with 120k on it and crossed my fingers a couple months ago.

 

[lfhoward]

My 04 liberty lasted until it left me stranded on the side of the highway at 269,000. Third gear clutches were toast. Put a junkyard unit in with 120k on it and crossed my fingers a couple months ago.

Nice! 219,000 on mine and still alive. Did you vote in the poll? This is great data. I see a couple of people got to 300k or more.

 

[Muddy]

Nice! 219,000 on mine and still alive. Did you vote in the poll? This is great data. I see a couple of people got to 300k or more.

I did vote.

I suspect in my case the failure was due to clutch material accumulating in the filter material and blocking fluid flow, leading to more slipping on the highway and more material to clog the filter. When it failed I found I could let it sit for several minutes and restart it, and it would drive for a short distance before starting to slip in all gears again, accompanied by a loud power steering like whining noise. After changing the filter and fluid in a last ditch effort to save it, first, second, and reverse came back fine but third and overdrive were impossible to get any engagement in.