I was looking under my jeep today and noticed a few of the trans pan bolt heads looked they were moistened with ATF. After searching around I found this bolt on the side of the case that seems to be the source of a slow leak. Looking at diagrams and FSM, nothing obvious jumped out at me as to what it was, but it appears to be the kickdown band adjusting screw. I could be completely wrong there. Any thoughts on it leaking? Need a new oring? New screw '"assembly"? I am assuming if I unscrew the bolt, ATF will fountain out of that hole, yes? I am real ignorant when it comes to transmissions. I haven't noticed any problems with it shifting and I just correctly checked the fluid level, right below max.
32RH Leak
- Thread starter redjin
- Start date
Oil doesn’t leak up, so your leak is definitely coming from the band adjustment screw. If you don’t know what that is you should take it to a transmission shop to take care of it. Really easy to screw up that adjustment and smoke the band.
I was able to snug up the coolant line about 1/8 of a turn before I got uncomfortable putting more torque on it. I cleaned off the area and will recheck in a couple of days. Reading more about the adjustment screw if it is indeed leaking - seems you would back off the locknut, back out the adjustment screw a couple of turns, while keeping track of how many, apply some thread sealent (green locktite or mopar rtv), and then re-tighten the screw the same number of turns. Hopefully it was just the coolant line but we'll see. thanks guys.
Once cleaned up, pay attention the the shift shaft directly to the right of the band adjuster. There is a seal that the shift shaft passes through that can leak. My leak showed pretty much just like yours.
As was explained to me when mine was replaced... When running, the fluid level will be below that point, when parked, the fluid will drain back into the trans and the level will be above that seal. The valve body needs to be dropped to access and replace the seal.
Mine leaked and was replaced back in 2013 and again last week.
As was explained to me when mine was replaced... When running, the fluid level will be below that point, when parked, the fluid will drain back into the trans and the level will be above that seal. The valve body needs to be dropped to access and replace the seal.
Mine leaked and was replaced back in 2013 and again last week.
Welp, I think I have my answer. I cleaned the adjustment screw yesterday, no traces of visible ATF were left. Without driving it, I looked at it this morning and found this nice weep of ATF back on the adjustment screw.
I am having the same issue. Was wondering if anyone knew if there is an o-ring in there and how many rotations to get it back if it is completely removed?
+1 on that seal being a sneaky little sucker, but you don't have to drop the valve body to replace the seal. I didn't even have to drain the trans to do it. To the OP: Just wipe down everything very very well, and put some paper towels in various places. Just because you see atf on the bolt heads doesn't mean the pan is leaking, that much I'm certain of.
The band adjustment is pretty straightforward, it's detailed in the FSM, but might be challenging to do correctly with the trans in the car. You have the torx screw in yours, I did not so I needed a Crowfoot to properly torque it. Bottom line, I wouldn't touch it if I didn't have to, but if you have to, just follow the FSM to the letter, you'll be ok.Adjustment procedure from FSM:
BAND ADJUSTMENT AND OIL PAN INSTALLATION
(1) Adjust front band as follows:
(a) Loosen locknut.
(b) Tighten adjusting screw to 72 in. lbs. torque.
(c) Back off front band adjusting screw as follows:
• On 30RH (2.5L), back adjusting screw off 2 1/2 turns
• On 32RH (4.0L), back adjusting screw off 2 1/4 turns
(d) Hold adjusting screw in position and tighten locknut to 34 Nm (25 ft. lbs.).
Replacing the selector shaft seal:
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/introducing-big-juicy.42177/post-926324
There is no seal or oring that I saw in 32rh diagrams. Ultimately, I took the locknut off the adjustment screw, covered the bottom of it in RTV, and replaced/tightened back down. 6 months later and it’s still dry. Doing deep decades old forum dives, I never found a satisfactory answer for the why it was weeping in the first place.
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