Slipping in 3rd gear

[Cribbs74]

2002 Jeep Liberty Sport. Automatic and I assume it’s a 45RFE.

I have no history on this thing, bought it for $300

Everything works on this vehicle except the transmission slips in 3rd I have park, reverse, neutral, first and second.

When driving along and in drive it shifts fine from first to second and when it shifts to third the engine just revs up.

It stays in that condition(no downshift) until I manually shift to second.

I have read a ton of complaints of the same thing happening to other owners online and absolutely no fix actions. I even did a search here and came up with nothing similar or the same as my problem.

Has anyone experienced this? What was the fix? If you haven’t experienced this do you have any ideas? I only drive manual vehicles so my auto trans operational knowledge is lacking.

Thanks,

Ron

 

[LibertyTC]

When hot on level ground with engine running, are you at the full line on trans dipstick?
Does the fluid look clean & red, does it smell burnt?
You will need a shop with a good scanner to read the stored OBD2 Trans codes.
They should also be able to read the CVI (Clutch Volume Index) numbers.

 

[Cribbs74]

The codes are P0733/34 I am not getting P0700 which I think is strange.

The fluid level is fine as measured hot and in neutral. If it was low wouldn’t it affect every gear and not just 3/4?

The fluid color is a bright clean red. Although it could have been that the PO changed fluid when the trans started acting up.

 

[LibertyTC]

How many miles are on this transmission?

 

[tommudd]

Just go to a " good " transmission shop and have them check it out.
Buddy had some issues in his S10 a few years ago, was throwing money at it right and left, finally went to a good trans shop and it costs him like 90 bucks.

 

[Cribbs74]

How many miles are on this transmission?

Not entirely sure, if its the original transmission then 241K miles.

 

[Cribbs74]

Just go to a " good " transmission shop and have them check it out.
Buddy had some issues in his S10 a few years ago, was throwing money at it right and left, finally went to a good trans shop and it costs him like 90 bucks.

I’ve never taken a vehicle to a mechanic in the last 29 years. I am not about to start now. If it’s above my comprehension I just educate myself. Like I said I only drive manual trans vehicles, mainly for this reason.

I am going to pull the pan off and take a peek inside.

 

[LibertyTC]

That is a lot of miles, if original.
As Tom mentioned above it is best to have a very knowledgeable trans shop do a proper investigation.
This should include inspecting wiring, even knowing the CVI index, & also clearing the codes, and taking the Jeep for a drive and reading real-time information.
If the codes comes back, the problem could be solenoids, internal clutch plates etc in the transmission.
These transmissions do rely upon PCM receiving correct information from the TPS to shift properly as well.
Oh & ATF+4 fluid only to be used.

 

[tommudd]

I’ve never taken a vehicle to a mechanic in the last 29 years. I am not about to start now. If it’s above my comprehension I just educate myself. Like I said I only drive manual trans vehicles, mainly for this reason.

I am going to pull the pan off and take a peek inside.

Setting up gears and rebuilding/ working on transmissions is not something you " educate " yourself on over night
I never go to any place either, my 04 that I bought new has only been in my buddys shop for alignments but some things are best left for professionals . I worked in a dealership in the late 70s doing transmission work, but if mine were to start some BS I would go to a shop to be checked since I do not have the correct tools etc to check newer ones

Carry on, was just trying to help is all , sorry

 

[Cribbs74]

Setting up gears and rebuilding/ working on transmissions is not something you " educate " yourself on over night
I never go to any place either, my 04 that I bought new has only been in my buddys shop for alignments but some things are best left for professionals . I worked in a dealership in the late 70s doing transmission work, but if mine were to start some BS I would go to a shop to be checked since I do not have the correct tools etc to check newer ones

Carry on, was just trying to help is all , sorry

No worries, hope my post didn’t come off as snarky. I put a smiley face in there in hopes I wouldn’t be misunderstood.

I certainly appreciate the advice you guys are giving me. I do have a code reader, OBDII or some such nonsense. It reads codes and erases them.

I do get where you are coming from. You are correct in that I have no idea how to rebuild and auto trans apart from my knowledge on how to rebuild manual transmissions. Specialty tools for autos are also something I am lacking.

I was hoping it was something easy that folks may have come across before and would be able to provide an answer for a quick fix.

Anyway, I pulled the pan, as suspected clean fluid and new filters. There was some black/gray sludge on the bottom, but no particulate on the magnet. Everything else appears to be where it should be. I was hoping something obvious would stand out.

I guess I will take it in for a diagnosis and see if it’s worth repairing.

Ron

Edit: I have no idea what type of fluid was in it, if the wrong fluid was used would it show itself in the 3-4 shift only?

 

[jeeptorino68]

Too late now if you have the pan back,on,but how was the side plate on the valve body. They are prone to cracking and or breaking.

Sonnax has a heavy duty plate you can buy
Transgo has a shift kit with the heavy duty plate.

I find the 45rfe shifts very lazy. The shift kit was a big improvement as was the line pressure sensor resistor.
I also added an external cooler because I would experience similar with towing or long trips up the mountain.

 

[Cribbs74]

Too late now if you have the pan back,on,but how was the side plate on the valve body. They are prone to cracking and or breaking.

Sonnax has a heavy duty plate you can buy
Transgo has a shift kit with the heavy duty plate.

I find the 45rfe shifts very lazy. The shift kit was a big improvement as was the line pressure sensor resistor.
I also added an external cooler because I would experience similar with towing or long trips up the mountain.

It’s not too late, the pan is on, but only with 4 bolts I didn’t like the gasket, but wanted to keep dirt and dust out while I figure out what to do.

I assume you are referring to the accumulator plate? If so then I need to look again. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for, but I have since read up on the valve body and realized I did not inspect that cover.

Ron

 

[jeeptorino68]

Yes, the accumulator plate. Check,it close for cracks, mine was broken on the corners. The Transgo plate is thicker. The sonnax is thicker and has provisions for 1 additional bolt in a weak area.

 

[dude1116]

Just a note that proper fluid is ATF +4 (pink).

As for your ODBII scanner, it's not going to be able to read all information that the trans is giving. As noted earlier you can have the CVI numbers read and figure out if anything is out of spec, meaning a burnt out clutch pack, etc. Any decent trans shop will have a tool for that (costs $3k+). Mine read mine for free when I needed a rebuild. Obviously the rebuild came after.

 

[Cribbs74]

Well the accumulator plate looks perfect so that’s not the problem. I am going to pull the valve body and Ohm out the solenoids. If that checks good I guess it’s time to take it in.