Rebuilding my 32RH transmission (fully successfully)

plumbed in the Hayden cooler, which I have mounted in front of the radiator & condenser. I have the return from the radiator going into the new cooler, and then the output of the cooler barbed into the return line to the trans. Two coolers really should keep thing thing on ice I hope. Also added a quart. Drove around for around 45 minutes, mostly at 60ish mph, and it never got over 165. Granted it was nighttime and only 85 degrees. But even through the neighborhood at the end of the drive the temp held, whereas it had been shooting up. Should be around 100F the rest of the week, so I'll be sure to get a decent length test drive in the real heat to see what the trans temp does under more intense conditions.

The only thing I can figure on why it runs hotter now after the overhaul than before is that the new clutches are thicker and are generating heat as they pass over each other due to less clearance. I checked the clearances and they were within spec though. I still don't have the TV cable adjusted perfectly, shifts to 2nd a smidge too soon...I guess it's possible the line pressure is too low and is allowing some extra heat to build up? I'm just spitballing at this point.

If the temp holds at 180 in the heat with the cooler in place, I'll call it good. It never ran at 200 before so if I get north of 180 with the cooler then we'll have to get back to troubleshooting.
 
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plumbed in the Hayden cooler, which I have mounted in front of the radiator & condenser. I have the return from the radiator going into the new cooler, and then the output of the cooler barbed into the return line to the trans. Two coolers really should keep thing thing on ice I hope. Also added a quart. Drove around for around 45 minutes, mostly at 60ish mph, and it never got over 165. Granted it was nighttime and only 85 degrees. But even through the neighborhood at the end of the drive the temp held, whereas it had been shooting up. Should be around 100F the rest of the week, so I'll be sure to get a decent length test drive in the real heat to see what the trans temp does under more intense conditions.

The only thing I can figure on why it runs hotter now after the overhaul than before is that the new clutches are thicker and are generating heat as they pass over each other due to less clearance. I checked the clearances and they were within spec though. I still don't have the TV cable adjusted perfectly, shifts to 2nd a smidge too soon...I guess it's possible the line pressure is too low and is allowing some extra heat to build up? I'm just spitballing at this point.

If the temp holds at 180 in the heat with the cooler in place, I'll call it good. It never ran at 200 before so if I get north of 180 with the cooler then we'll have to get back to troubleshooting.

How do you have the temp probe plumbed?
 
How do you have the temp probe plumbed?

Bung welded in the pan.

Took it out this morning, 93F outside. Got to ~165F again, never over. Supposed to be around 100F later today, will try to take it out that same run I've been doing and see where we end up. It's been late afternoon each time, and that Texas sun beating right down on the front of the Jeep might have been a factor in it being able to bleed off heat.

I hope some day soon we see you post you have opened your own shop.

If I thought it would pay, I would consider it. I would love to have a side hustle where I did bench rebuilds, but how much would you pay ME to work on your transmission knowing you don't really get a warranty? Parts cost is roughly $500 including a new torque converter, how much labor could I charge to make it worth your while to not go to a trans shop or buy a reman unit for $2k+? And still make it worth my while? For the 32Rh there could be a small market. For the AW4, you can get a used unit for $200 all day long, and XJ owners are more the type to just throw an unknown unit in there/send it so the market there is even smaller.

Now if I got into rebuilding the JK transmissions.....
 
I've said it before, but this time I mean it. Probably done with this thread unless somebody has questions.

Haven't seen the temp gauge get over 168F even in 100F outside temps, although I haven't taken it on a long ride in the heat. It rained tonight and drove it on my usual stretch between my house and the XJ buddy house.....didn't even get up to 140F in 77F air temps. Clearly air temp & trans temp have a correlation, and while it was running way too hot post rebuild but prior to adding the cooler, it's also not been this hot in the entire time I've owned the jeep. Maybe it's all just a confluence of tiny factors. But it seems to run cool now.

I may still tweak on the TV cable some more, but if I struggle with getting it right I'll start a new thread.

Lastly, I can't remember if I offered any closure on the AW4 rebuild, but it is also a success story. We did have trouble with the pump seal, but we were able to slide the trans back out and re-replace the seal while it was still mostly hooked up. Since then, not a drop of fluid. So 14 pages and two successful transmission rebuilds. We have another AW4 in the garage I may overhaul just to see what a rebuilt unit will fetch on FB marketplace.......
 
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This is great! My only request is that you update this thread after your wheeling trip to let us all know how it performed and if there were any issues.
Thanks again for a well-documented rebuild including mistakes and FSM corrections.
This thread is sure to be a help for years to come!
 
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The aftermath. Some of this fluid even actually stayed in the transmission.

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