32RH automatic transmission wont shift past 1st gear

IsaacLeier

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Joined
Sep 2, 2022
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3
Location
Canada
Good Day!

I am a new to the Jeep community and off-roading as a whole. I took my 1997 4.0 Sport TJ mudding a few times this summer threw some deep holes with great success. However this last time I went the mud was super sticky almost like clay. Got stuck in the 1st hole of the day, mud was up to the bottom of the doors. So I tried rocking out, going from drive to reverse and back again. After a few rocks managed to reverse out of the hole. Right after getting out we went to head to the next hole, Put the jeep in drive and tried to get up to speed, but it stayed in what sounds like 1st gear and wont upshift at all. There feels to be almost no power in Drive. I have a 32RH 3 Speed Automatic Trans, so I have P,R,N,D,2,1. So my Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive engage just fine but when I put it into 1 or 2 it doesn't feel like the gears engage, the linkage moves for all of them but the jeep doesn't go anywhere and the rpm's still go up. In drive I can achieve a max speed of 30KPH/19MPH and my rpms are around 5000RPM. Before I usually could do 50KPH/31MPH just in 1st at 3000RPM.

The tranny doesn't smell or make noises.

This is what I have tried so far....
Vigorous wash to get mud out from underneath.
Transmission Fluid is above the minimum line. (checked running in Neutral)
Transmission Fluid is Clean with no visible shavings or particles.
I have checked the linkage and it is still connected and all 6 options move.
Disconnected the battery for 30mins and put it back on, in hopes to reset the computer.
(Battery has sense died completely and wont keep a charge)
Used a basic OBDII reader (not a transmission one) No codes.


The only thing wrong prior to this last trip was I started to have over heating issues and low oil pressure. I had thought I diagnosed those issues but after developing this shifting issue it overheated 3 times on the drive limping it home at 30KPH/19MPH.

Any advise or information on what I should do next, as I am wanting to hopefully do this myself that would be amazing!
Thanks!
 
Muddy water could have gotten into your 32RH automatic transmission via its vent hole on the front of the transmission. Water inside can dissolve the glues that hold its clutch friction surfaces in place if the water isn't flushed out quickly enough.
 
If it was water inside the trans would it not look like strawberry milkshake?
If not what would you suggest I proceed with next?

Thanks for the quick reply.
 
If you have drive but won't shift out of first, it's likely your kickdown band isn't applying or is unable to apply. If you have a little more courage, see if you can get it to shift into 3rd. 3rd releases the kickdown band and applies the front clutches, but reverse also uses the front clutches so it doesn't sound like those are the problem. But if you're saying it's taking more RPM to achieve less vehicle speed then you probably have some slipping going on with the rear clutches or possibly the overrun clutch, either of which very likely means an overhaul is in your future.

The good news is that it's an easy rebuild. But I would not rely on what I saw on the dipstick tube to draw a conclusion about the fluid quality. You need to drop that pan and see what's going on.


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Adjust kickdown cable,

I don't know that you can adjust it enough to make it hold 1st gear beyond 5k RPM. Even if the TV valve were all the way open (or is it closed?) it would force a shift out of 1st prior to that. Out of adjustment the other way would cause it to shift way early. My hunch is that it's trying to shift into 2nd but the kickdown band isn't grabbing the drum. But it's all wild speculation until we see the pan & fluid (and/or perform all the in-vehicle pressure diagnostics, but who actually does that??)
 
I don't know that you can adjust it enough to make it hold 1st gear beyond 5k RPM. Even if the TV valve were all the way open (or is it closed?) it would force a shift out of 1st prior to that. Out of adjustment the other way would cause it to shift way early. My hunch is that it's trying to shift into 2nd but the kickdown band isn't grabbing the drum. But it's all wild speculation until we see the pan & fluid (and/or perform all the in-vehicle pressure diagnostics, but who actually does that??)

So you are arguing before even trying?
 
If you have drive but won't shift out of first, it's likely your kickdown band isn't applying or is unable to apply. If you have a little more courage, see if you can get it to shift into 3rd. 3rd releases the kickdown band and applies the front clutches, but reverse also uses the front clutches so it doesn't sound like those are the problem. But if you're saying it's taking more RPM to achieve less vehicle speed then you probably have some slipping going on with the rear clutches or possibly the overrun clutch, either of which very likely means an overhaul is in your future.

The good news is that it's an easy rebuild. But I would not rely on what I saw on the dipstick tube to draw a conclusion about the fluid quality. You need to drop that pan and see what's going on.


View attachment 356765

Thank you for all of this information! I Have started my research on how to do a rebuild. I will drop the pan and take a look, I'll take some pictures so you guys can have a better idea on what I am working with. Again thank you!
 
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Thank you for all of this information! I Have started my research on how to do a rebuild. I will drop the pan and take a look, I'll take some pictures so you guys can have a better idea on what I am working with. Again thank you!

If you search here you'll find at least 2 threads on the topic. If you search youtube you'll find (at least) two playlists of videos describing the process, both done by people who had never done it before. And if you search for "904" you'll find a ton of stuff that is exactly the same as our transmission only there is no transfer case.

Far and away the hardest thing about the 32RH rebuild is dropping/reinstalling the trans.

Regardless, I would drop that pan and get a good look at the fluid before I did anything drastic.