Changing the 42RLE shift points?

psrivats said:
It's similar to how people hate the Electronic Start Stop (ESS) in modern cars and look for ways to disable it permanently though there is a switch in most vehicles.

The factory manual is not super clear about when the OD is engaged. Most cars you don't have to do anything, but the 42RLE OD comes in early enough in the TJ and the vehicle really wants to stay in OD which kind of gets annoying if you are not geared properly in the axle. Thus the recommendations you see peppered everywhere for 5.13s with 33s.
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I'm guessing since I'm used to being the one in control of my vehicles and driving them instead of letting them do what they want that it has never been an issue. I don't shift out of OD on the highway with the throttle. If I need it out of OD, I hit the switch, when it downshifts into drive, I hit it again and let it figure out when to shift back into OD when I let off the throttle. I'm in charge, not the vehicle.
 
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Chris said:
I too ultimately just got in the habit of turning the OD switch off anytime I start the vehicle.

At first it was annoying, but like anything else, if you do it enough, it becomes a habit. With the OD switch off, it's really not bad at all.

What I found is that I never turn the OD switch on after that unless I'm going highway speeds. Around town though, the OD stays off all the time.
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Yep, the OD is off until I get up over 65-70 mph. Never on around town.
 
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Chris said:
The answer to this is simply no.

Unless you want to swap in a manual transmission (i.e. AX-15), your choices are limited. The AW4 swap is a possibility, but it has many drawbacks as Blaine has pointed out before. You could swap in a 32RH from an earlier model TJ as well.

Unfortunately you can't install a transmission such as the GM 4L60E for instance. It's computer controlled just like the 42RLE, and the Jeep PCM has no way of talking to it and telling it when to shift, etc.

To be honest, I can live with the 42RLE, it's not the end of the world. Sure, the OD hunting gets annoying, but if you were mostly using it off-road or for trail use, then it would be a moot point.

It's only around town and on the highway that that OD thing really started to bother me.
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I think even a 32RH swap would be an issue. I think the newer computer wouldn't like it. But I don't know if a computer from a 32RH Jeep would work with the newer coil on plug ignition and whatever else on a newer Jeep. So yeah, not a lot be done at this point. And I agree. It's not the worst problem to have. My transmission is at 145k and going strong, so I'm content to live with it. Part of what I enjoy with my Jeep is the long road trips to and from the trail, so I'm just always looking to improve things. -T.
 
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-T. said:
I think even a 32RH swap would be an issue. I think the newer computer wouldn't like it. But I don't know if a computer from a 32RH Jeep would work with the newer coil on plug ignition and whatever else on a newer Jeep. So yeah, not a lot be done at this point. And I agree. It's not the worst problem to have. My transmission is at 145k and going strong, so I'm content to live with it. Part of what I enjoy with my Jeep is the long road trips to and from the trail, so I'm just always looking to improve things. -T.
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The 32 is in the TJ up through 2002. Coil on plug happened in 00. It wouldn't be that hard to swap in the 32 up through 04. 05-06 get a bit trickier due to the CPS being on the other side but still very doable. Even more so if our plan to adapt the CPS to an AW-4 bellhousing by hacking a hole in it at the right spot works.
 
I'm actually not a fan of OD on any vehicle in the driveway other than Highway use.
I run my wife's car in sport-mode and my truck in tow-mode, OD becomes a ghost.

Tuners have there place, like turning off the undesirable MDS and choosing specific preloaded programs for high Octane fuel, tow options but the final gear is the final gear.

Tuners have become very user friendly and economical....keep my Superchips in my console at all times.
 
mrblaine said:
The 32 is in the TJ up through 2002. Coil on plug happened in 00. It wouldn't be that hard to swap in the 32 up through 04. 05-06 get a bit trickier due to the CPS being on the other side but still very doable. Even more so if our plan to adapt the CPS to an AW-4 bellhousing by hacking a hole in it at the right spot works.
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Any write ups on this Blaine? 32 into an 03 that is.
I have an 03 with a trans that may be on the way out.
I wish an AW4 would pop in there.
 
Stockli said:
Any write ups on this Blaine? 32 into an 03 that is.
I have an 03 with a trans that may be on the way out.
I wish an AW4 would pop in there.
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I've never done the 32 into an 03 and I wouldn't. I don't know of any write-ups but I know it has been done. Use to wheel with a guy that had one in his Rubi.

I don't know that I would wish for an AW-4 in any TJ.
 
Thanks for all the info. I bought my Jeep brand new in '05 and did all the work myself, she only has 40k on the odometer, 80% of that has been off road. The recent highway driving I've done is driving me crazy. I suppose my only other option is to add a turbo to increase hp enough to maintain it's momentum. Guess I'll be heading to the turbo forums next.
 
2005RubiconTJ said:
Thanks for all the info. I bought my Jeep brand new in '05 and did all the work myself, she only has 40k on the odometer, 80% of that has been off road. The recent highway driving I've done is driving me crazy. I suppose my only other option is to add a turbo to increase hp enough to maintain it's momentum. Guess I'll be heading to the turbo forums next.
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There isn't a lot that I found on TTF. There doesn't seem to be any people that have run more than one turbo size so they have nothing to compare to. I would love to know what turbo is in the Banks kit. Wheel sizes would be a great help.
 
Has anyone besides me noticed that the torque converter locks up in 3rd sooner with the O/D off than with it on? That's annoying.
 
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glwood said:
Has anyone besides me noticed that the torque converter locks up in 3rd sooner with the O/D off than with it on? That's annoying.
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Haven't noticed that, but I've noticed that the 2-3 shift is different between OD-on and OD-off, and I don't know enough about the '04 TCM to figure out why...yet.
 
mrblaine said:
I've never done the 32 into an 03 and I wouldn't. I don't know of any write-ups but I know it has been done. Use to wheel with a guy that had one in his Rubi.

...
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From the little bit that we have discussed putting a 32rh into a manual 03, there is no signal from the PCM to trigger the TC lockup. I recall a possible work around being a manual on dash switch with an off trigger attached to the brake pedal.
 
glwood said:
Has anyone besides me noticed that the torque converter locks up in 3rd sooner with the O/D off than with it on? That's annoying.
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I have noticed that too. Probably from the EMCC operation? This is from the manual.

81435


81434


I have wondered if that duty cycling that's mentioned plays a role in the vibes.
 
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jjvw said:
From the little bit that we have discussed putting a 32rh into a manual 03, there is no signal from the PCM to trigger the TC lockup. I recall a possible work around being a manual on dash switch with an off trigger attached to the brake pedal.
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That is correct. You would need a dash switch to lock up the TC. Fred did his that way many moons ago. On his, it would have been just as easy to pop in an auto specific PCM since it was a 98.

It would probably be possible to pick up the brake sense output off the brake switch, use that on one side of a latching relay to unlock the TC when you hit the brakes. You'd have to remember to lock it back up when needed though.
 
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mrblaine said:
... You'd have to remember to lock it back up when needed though.
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Seems too fussy to me, at least for my usage. Operating a manual is one thing, but having to remember to operate an automatic to that degree would be enough to keep me away, as much as I like the idea of the 3 speed.
 
jjvw said:
Seems too fussy to me, at least for my usage. Operating a manual is one thing, but having to remember to operate an automatic to that degree would be enough to keep me away, as much as I like the idea of the 3 speed.
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Now you know why the desirable AW-4 is the 98-01 with front and rear speed sensors.
 
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