Rebuilding my 32RH transmission (fully successfully)

I didn't have my buddy to help me finish the job tonight, so it took something like 4x the effort to do two simple tasks: (1) install the rear driveshaft and (2) bolt up the skid plate.

The driveshaft took forever because apparently I haven't done a good job greasing the slip joint. I could not get it to compress to fit, nor could I get it to expand to close the gap once I finally got it near where it needed to be. The skid always takes forever if it's a 1 man job, what with lining up the trans mount & then lifting the drivetrain, then the skid, no wait maybe drop the skid then raise the drivetrain again, aah, that's it. Aw crap, the trans mount studs aren't lined up anymore. And so on.

But I finally got it. Pushed it out of the garage (never got to Autozone to charge the battery) and got it close enough to my JKU to jump the TJ. Starting a vehicle for the first time after having the transmission out is a scary thing, but it fired up no problem. Ended up adding 2 more quarts of ATF to get it to start shifting gears. It's just shy of the full mark, but I know I'm gonna drain it again very soon so I decided to go with it. From a standstill, everything shifts fine. So let's road test it.

Spoiler alert: it drove pretty darn well. ​


More details: the shift points are a little whack, but we didn't re-adjust the TV cable. I feel like it wants to go to 3rd a little early, and maybe it even goes into 2nd early. The shifts are very smooth now and it was hard to tell. I think the kickdown band probably needs a tweak as well; I'm not convinced I wasn't starting in 2nd at times, which I think would be the case if the kickdown band was too tight. Bottom line, I'm confident I solved the problem I set out to solve, which was no 2nd gear.

Next up: help my XJ friend swap his transmission that blew up on the trails over the weekend. Then I have all next week off work so I plan to re-drop my trans and fix the pump area leak.

But let's not bury the lead — I rebuilt a mother f'ing automatic transmission. I feel like I deserve a badge or something.
 
  • Like
  • USA Proud
  • Haha
Reactions: H_E_H, freedom_in_4low, Farmergreg and 11 others
I've got a good drip from the bell housing. I put a bucket underneath it overnight, and there isn't just a ton in there, but it will need to be addressed. I have all next week off work so I figure I'll tackle the leak then. I already have a new gasket, seal, and pump o-ring coming. But the first order of business is to do what external adjustments I can to tweak the shifting.

My HOPE is that when I do pull it down it will be evident where the leak is. I'm hoping the torque converter spinning hasn't caused it to spray everywhere.

I really need to get one of those steel tables with a lip and a drain to minimize the mess on the floor. No matter how much you drain these things there is always another two quarts ready to pour out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: H_E_H
hear said:
I've got a good drip from the bell housing. I put a bucket underneath it overnight, and there isn't just a ton in there, but it will need to be addressed. I have all next week off work so I figure I'll tackle the leak then. I already have a new gasket, seal, and pump o-ring coming. But the first order of business is to do what external adjustments I can to tweak the shifting.

My HOPE is that when I do pull it down it will be evident where the leak is. I'm hoping the torque converter spinning hasn't caused it to spray everywhere.

I really need to get one of those steel tables with a lip and a drain to minimize the mess on the floor. No matter how much you drain these things there is always another two quarts ready to pour out.
Click to expand...

Damn... That sux man. By the end of all this you will be a transmission expert!! You can start advertising 1 day transmission turnarounds. Lol
Definitely adjust the front band again after driving. And make sure you are constantly using the gear selector while driving to get the fluid to move through all the valves. My transmission was also starting in 2nd gear at frist until I got it on the freeway for about 3 miles, then everything was working mint. Best of luck man!
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: H_E_H, Blondie70 and hear
U8MYDZT said:
Damn... That sux man. By the end of all this you will be a transmission expert!! You can start advertising 1 day transmission turnarounds. Lol
Definitely adjust the front band again after driving. And make sure you are constantly using the gear selector while driving to get the fluid to move through all the valves. My transmission was also starting in 2nd gear at frist until I got it on the freeway for about 3 miles, then everything was working mint. Best of luck man!
Click to expand...

This is a good point. My first tranny rebuild was a th350. Once it was rebuilt and back in the vehicle, the recommendation was to put it up on jack stands and run it thru all the gears a few times with the wheels off the ground to get the fluid everywhere it needed to be. If you do this, make sure you apply the brakes and stop the wheels from spinning before going from forward to reverse, or especially from any gear into park due to the park pawl.

I forgot about this, its been years since I went thru a transmission, but this seems like a good idea and i'll be doing this should I go thru mine.
 
hardtailpan said:
This is a good point. My first tranny rebuild was a th350. Once it was rebuilt and back in the vehicle, the recommendation was to put it up on jack stands and run it thru all the gears a few times with the wheels off the ground to get the fluid everywhere it needed to be. If you do this, make sure you apply the brakes and stop the wheels from spinning before going from forward to reverse, or especially from any gear into park due to the park pawl.

I forgot about this, its been years since I went thru a transmission, but this seems like a good idea and i'll be doing this should I go thru mine.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thinking about how it all goes together (without having much clue about how it actually works), the input shaft components (the front drums, kickdown band, and clutches) are isolated from the output components (planetary sets, sun & ring gears, and output shaft) which means that as long as the clutches aren't in use the rear half of the rotating assembly doesn't move until it's actually in gear with the wheels rolling. I guess you could have the t-case in neutral with the transmission in gear, that should still turn the output shaft.

Hmm, so if you have the t-case in N with the trans in D, will it shift gears as you increase the RPMs? Everything I know about the shifting is controlled from the throttle valve (cable) and the governor on the output shaft, so I don't see why it wouldn't shift in that situation. I hate having the jeep completely up on jack stands, much less with it running & spinning the tires while it's in the air. I guess I'm a scaredy cat.
 
  • Like
Reactions: H_E_H
Just took it out for a more spirited test drive. First time was at midnight and I really didn't want to have to call my wife to come tow me home. In D it is definitely shifting too soon. My guess is that's a TV cable adjustment. If I use manual-1, manual-2, D it shifts great...by which I mean it shifts into those gears on demand, no surging, no delays, etc. When I come to a stop, it doesn't seem to be downshifting into 1; seems like it actually stays in 3rd? It does kick down into 2nd if I stomp the gas, although the kick down point doesn't feel like it's in the same spot although I can't really say with any certainty.

I still have 3 areas of adjustment I haven't touched yet: kickdown band, TV cable, and ATF level (I'm probably a touch low right now, and I still have a constant drip from the bell housing; dipstick area is bone dry thanks to a whole bunch of RTV).

But on the whole it seems to run smooth, no noises, temp is right where I've come to expect it to be. I'm calling the overhaul a qualified success, and will remove the qualification once I get it shifting perfectly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Farmergreg, Allstar424 and Mike_H
hear said:
Just took it out for a more spirited test drive. First time was at midnight and I really didn't want to have to call my wife to come tow me home. In D it is definitely shifting too soon. My guess is that's a TV cable adjustment. If I use manual-1, manual-2, D it shifts great...by which I mean it shifts into those gears on demand, no surging, no delays, etc. When I come to a stop, it doesn't seem to be downshifting into 1; seems like it actually stays in 3rd? It does kick down into 2nd if I stomp the gas, although the kick down point doesn't feel like it's in the same spot although I can't really say with any certainty.

I still have 3 areas of adjustment I haven't touched yet: kickdown band, TV cable, and ATF level (I'm probably a touch low right now, and I still have a constant drip from the bell housing; dipstick area is bone dry thanks to a whole bunch of RTV).

But on the whole it seems to run smooth, no noises, temp is right where I've come to expect it to be. I'm calling the overhaul a qualified success, and will remove the qualification once I get it shifting perfectly.
Click to expand...

You have a sticking valve thats causing your transmission to take off in second gear (not drop to first at a stop). Try running it through the gear while driving to try and free up the stuck valve. I had the exact same thing happen to me and I had to get mine on the freeway at 70mph for a few miles before the valve freed up. This was also the same symptom my transmission had after I sucked mud into it. Starting in 2nd is absolutely a stuck valve.

The TV cable is easy to adjust. With the throttle at rest release the TV adjustment clip and remove the cable from the throttle plate. Adjust the cable in and out until the TV cables socket just lines up with the little post it slides onto (when installed there should be 0 tension on the cable) and lock the adjustment clip down. Done! There is a noticeable difference in shifting performance with just one little click forward or back on the TV. 1 click back with make the Jeep shift later, 1 click forward with make it shift sooner.
 
This is from the ATSG manual describing what components are in use. I looked high and low for this before I undertook this adventure. Turns out it was in the FSM all along, I was too blind to see it.



1656689736693.png


(edit: corrected the Reverse line)

Naturally I'm going to be concerned that anything other than completely normal operation will be as a result of something I did wrong, like clutch clearances or thrust washers giving out of spec endplay. Working through the list this is my assessment (with the above mentioned sticky valve notwithstanding):

  • Since I have Manual 1, we can surmise that the rear clutches & low/reverse band is working.

  • In Manual 2 it starts off in 1st but shifts into 2nd way too early....but the RPM's don't drop like I would expect. I can feel the shift but it doesn't feel right. The best way I can describe it is that it's in both gears simultaneously? It definitely has first off the jump, but the shift to 2nd is weird, so we have some suspicion around the kickdown band & overrun clutch. I have no idea how the overrun clutch works, aside from the fact that the rear drum can only spin one direction as a result of it existing. There is no "apply" mechanism as such; the drum spins one way freely and will not spin the other way. Am I to assume that when it says the overrun clutch is applied this means that it is simply preventing the drum from rotating counter-clockwise?

  • In Drive, it does the same thing as in Manual 2, and shifts into 3rd too soon. But it does go into 3rd, so we can say that the front clutches are working as well.

  • Going from Manual 1 to Manual 2 results in a good shift, so we can say that the overrun clutch is "disengaging" (whatever that means) and the kickdown band is engaging. Going from Manual 2 do Drive also results in a good shift, so we can say that the kickdown is releasing and the front clutches are engaging.

The only differences from 3rd to 1st are that the front cluches are used in 3rd and the overrun clutch is used in 1st. If it's not downshifting, my money is on the front clutches not disengaging, which is a valve problem. You could say it is a clutch clearance problem, except that the upshifts work fine so there are times when they are definitely disengaged, ergo it's a valve problem not allowing them to disengage. There just isn't enough "action" in the overrun clutch for me to suspect it is the problem.


Shifting too soon is almost certainly a TV adjustment although interestingly the FSM's troubleshooting guide does not have a section for "shifts too soon," only "delayed/erratic shifts." I'll definitely take it back out today & get it up to speed for a little bit and see if the valves free up. I cleaned the whole valve body & pre-lubed everything before I put it back together but the valves are a snug fit and there's no substitute for heat & pressure when it comes to getting fluid where you need it to be.


Troubleshooting can be fun, and it forces you to learn how the systems work as you zero in on root causes. If you read this far, thanks for being a witness to my thought process.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: kincaid.0678, hardtailpan, U8MYDZT and 1 other person
Drove it a bunch yesterday, ran it through the gears manually and letting it do the shifting. I think it downshifted into 1st a couple times when I came to a stop, but definitely not every time yet. Seems like it goes into 1st if I put it in Manual-1 or Manual-2, but not always if I come to a stop while in D. Also since it likes to shift too early (why have I not adjusted the TV yet??) it ends up lugging....

...which may be related to the fact that it ran hotter than I've really ever seen it run outside of a hard trail in 4-low. Just driving around town, with some heavy throttle at times, it got up to almost 220F. I have a trans cooler I'm going to plumb in this week anyway, but I never thought I needed it on the street before. I'm hoping it's because of the lugging factor and possibly that I'm ~1 quart low.

As soon as the work call I'm currently on ends, I'm going to add a quart and adjust the cable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Allstar424
Did a TV cable adjust (finally) and I think it may just be time to replace the cable. I found one little bit starting to fray, the sheath is kinda messed up on the transmission side, and a couple times I actually had a hard time getting the gas pedal to actually go down while driving (that's a new symptom). Once I sort of cleared that sticking point--this was not the kickdown detent btw--it seems to be shifting A-OK. Went WOT and it shifted around 4k RPM, went smooth into 2nd & 3rd.

New problem is that it does not want to do the 3-2 kickdown or the 2-1 kickdown (I need to read if that's even a thing). Maybe that's related to other cable problems? It seems to downshift on it's own ok, like when coming to a stop, so it seems like we're getting closer and closer to normal operation.

Any recommendations on TV/kickdown cable brands? Rock Auto has the Mopar for $111 but I would love to spend a little less if there is a viable option. So far I'm not finding much.
 
  • USA Proud
Reactions: U8MYDZT
Had to replace mine. Used this one Chrysler, THROTTLE Valve CABLE,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NMNMX0/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Glad things are starting to work out. You can try pulling the TV cable out a couple clicks and see if that helps. It should downshift under high throttle, to a point. Mine wont kick down to second at anything over 45 no matter what the throttle position is.
 
My 97 doesn’t have the same click mechanism that other have. I have to remove a white clip then I can slide the cable through the bracket and replace the clip.
 
U8MYDZT said:
Had to replace mine. Used this one Chrysler, THROTTLE Valve CABLE,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NMNMX0/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Glad things are starting to work out. You can try pulling the TV cable out a couple clicks and see if that helps. It should downshift under high throttle, to a point. Mine wont kick down to second at anything over 45 no matter what the throttle position is.
Click to expand...

That cable doesn’t look like mine, and Amazon says it doesn’t fit my 97. (And it’s still $105!!!!!)
 
I have a 97, this is the one I used. And when I say clicks I mean there are several little teath that the white clip engages into, slide it back a tooth or two to make it downshift sooner and upshift later under throttle. I have the exact same setup as you.

20220702_115019.jpg
 
BTW Amazon has no clue what really fits a 97, no one does... lol Take a good look at the picture, the clip is upside-down so its hard to make out, but it's there
 
I use the little nose cone as a reference for adjustment. You can mark it or just take note on how much it sticks out so you know how much you're adjusting

20220702_115019.jpg
 
Top Bottom
Back