Transmission issues

[themarmot]

Hey guys,

So I'm up a little late pondering what to do with my KJ and getting a little concerned (maybe too much). Long story short, we just sold our other car to put a down payment on a house and of-course like 3 days later I noticed some transmissions oddities. First thing I noticed was at low acceleration a slight jump from 2nd - 3rd. No knocking or anything, just an ever so slight not smooth shift. Didn't think much of it since the car was a little cool and hadn't been driven much lately. That did go away and I haven't noticed it too much, even less than before if anything.

So tonight I'm taking the lady out for a movie and I go to park. While shifting up through the gears in park I hit neutral and hear a fairly significant bang so I shift back through the gears and hear it again. We went in and after driving back home I go through the gears again and it's gone. Girlfriend mentions that she noticed that the other day, but didn't think anything of it. So at 12:30 at night I'm out checking the transmission fluid and sure enough it's got a sort of brownish shade to it and does smell a bit burnt. I'm betting the 12 hour trip to and from my brothers wedding recently didn't help the situation much.

So, I'm at a crossroads. On one hand we have to move here this coming thursday and that means driving over 2 major mountain passes about 4 hours away. I'm getting a little anxious thinking that if I do a fluid change that could send the transmission into auto-destruct mode, but if I don't do it I risk having something happen on the side of the road in the middle of bum-f'ing'-nowhere or worse, being stuck out at our new house in the woods with one broke ass car until I can save enough money to have it towed and fixed.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[wheeee32]

I don't think it would be wise to drive it any more going off the description you gave. If you drive it to the new house I think you are running a good risk of breaking down on the side of the road.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Good place to start is to explain what youre driving.

Ever had any routine maintenance done?

 

[themarmot]

Sorry, was too tired last night to mention that. 2005 KJ (3.7/4x4). My girlfriend just bought this car about 3 months ago. I've done the oil a couple of times, switched it out to synthetic - changed it every 2k miles to clear out the system and also did rotors/brakes. I did check the ****** fluid with-in the first couple of weeks and didn't notice anything off so left it alone.

 

[themarmot]

Update on this. So, I got super busy with work and had decided just to drain the fluid and change the filter out. But, I saw a deal in the paper for this at one of the local mechanics that is one of the better ones in town (or so i thought). Went in and everything looked good, they were going to drop the pan, change the filters and call it good. I get there to pick the car up and start looking at the paper work and they did a full flush + they filled it with BG ATF (compatible). ARRRGG, so I specifically asked them to fill with ATF+4 but the mechanic gave me the entire speal of 'I've been doing this for 50 years and BG is the best thing for your transmission, plus it comes with a warranty on the transmission'... I'm pretty upset at this whole deal since I could've just done this myself. Anyone want to chime on what I should do? It was late yesterday so I brought it home for the night until I can make a decision on this.

 

[dude1116]

Update on this. So, I got super busy with work and had decided just to drain the fluid and change the filter out. But, I saw a deal in the paper for this at one of the local mechanics that is one of the better ones in town (or so i thought). Went in and everything looked good, they were going to drop the pan, change the filters and call it good. I get there to pick the car up and start looking at the paper work and they did a full flush + they filled it with BG ATF (compatible). ARRRGG, so I specifically asked them to fill with ATF+4 but the mechanic gave me the entire speal of 'I've been doing this for 50 years and BG is the best thing for your transmission, plus it comes with a warranty on the transmission'... I'm pretty upset at this whole deal since I could've just done this myself. Anyone want to chime on what I should do? It was late yesterday so I brought it home for the night until I can make a decision on this.

Dealer flush and fill right away!!

 

[themarmot]

I actually just made an appt earlier for this exact thing. I already noticed a little slipping so I'm guessing the ****** is on it's way to the graveyard.

 

[JeepJeepster]

How many miles are on the jeep?

Mine bangs around and shifts horribly all the time. Done that since new.

I cant stand ol people that think they know best; They dont have a clue. Poor ol fellas, feel sorry for them.

 

[themarmot]

I'll openly admit I know very little about this KJ. I work for a company that engineers software for vehicles but that doesn't leave me with much experience other than conceptual knowledge. At any rate, it's just shy of 100k. My g/f bought it about 10k miles ago and immediately I changed all the fluids with the exception of the ****** fluids (was told that those were changed within the past 15k miles).

My gameplan is to buy a beater (looking at an old nissan truck and a 80's merc wagon amongst others) to give us a backup ride in the event the ****** does bite the dust. When/if it does I'll start looking for a new replacement transmission and just learn to do it myself. Dealership quoted me 3500 to replace and there's no way in hell I'm paying that on a KJ that is worth maybe double that cost. Speaking of, does anyone know of a guide on replacing that? I have both the Haynes and the 'real' shop manual but not sure if that talks about replacement at all.

It's just a tough situation because we live way out in the country, in a small town which means our lifeline to civilization would absolutely be cut off if something were to happen. Probably freaking out a little more about this than I should, but it's just hard to swallow KJ problems on an only ride.

 

[ridenby]

You are calling a Jeep a car,it resents that.

 

[themarmot]

Edited to appease the overloards of jeepkj forums.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I'll openly admit I know very little about this KJ. I work for a company that engineers software for vehicles but that doesn't leave me with much experience other than conceptual knowledge. At any rate, it's just shy of 100k. My g/f bought it about 10k miles ago and immediately I changed all the fluids with the exception of the ****** fluids (was told that those were changed within the past 15k miles).

My gameplan is to buy a beater (looking at an old nissan truck and a 80's merc wagon amongst others) to give us a backup ride in the event the ****** does bite the dust. When/if it does I'll start looking for a new replacement transmission and just learn to do it myself. Dealership quoted me 3500 to replace and there's no way in hell I'm paying that on a KJ that is worth maybe double that cost. Speaking of, does anyone know of a guide on replacing that? I have both the Haynes and the 'real' shop manual but not sure if that talks about replacement at all.

It's just a tough situation because we live way out in the country, in a small town which means our lifeline to civilization would absolutely be cut off if something were to happen. Probably freaking out a little more about this than I should, but it's just hard to swallow KJ problems on an only ride.

A transmission swap is not that terribly difficult. If you can get a link to the .pdf of the factory service manual it will detail the entire process. And LeeAnn here on JKJ just swapped her ****** out with a new/used one and it's running fine.

Yea, the guy who says ATF will be fine in your ******...Ugh :lazer:

Bob

 

[themarmot]

I found some replacements on car-part.com but I'm totally unsure of the reliability of that place and also unsure of the 3 wire or 4 wire bit. How do I till which one it is?

 

[Leeann]

Slide under the driver's side of the Jeep. Do you see 3 electrical connectors on the side of the ****** or do you see 4?

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Mine has 3 - input sensor, output sensor, position range sensor.

I bought mine on eBay from a parts recycler with a warehouse. It came from a 50,000 mile rear-ended Jeep and did have a (small) warranty. The ****** is great.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I found some replacements on car-part.com but I'm totally unsure of the reliability of that place and also unsure of the 3 wire or 4 wire bit. How do I till which one it is?

Car-Part.com has been used by many members here - including me. Found my engine through them; I searched in my region and found it at a yard within 25 miles of me.

LeeAnn has answered the 3 wire/4 wire question for you :happy107:

Bob