32RH transmission issues

[P41n]

Hey all, new to Wranglers and picked one up this week. Drove it on the highway for about 70miles. Seems like everything might be functioning fine but then again, I have zero experience with 3speed autos.

Due to my limited experience with this car, it seems like there's not torque? I know this 4L isn't putting out much power but if I got full throttle, it still seems super slow (maybe thats how it's supposed to be). Anyway, I find it hard to tell if it's even shifting through all three gears as it feels like a CVT trans. wondering If I got a Jeep with a shot trans, I manually shifted the automatic transmission into first and it stood still as I hit the throttle.

I then shifted manually into second and the car moves, slowly with a lot of throttle but still moves as it should.

Lastly, if I drop it into reverse, it takes a few seconds for it to engage otherwise if I hit the throttle it just revs; sometimes during the rev it'll start to slowly creep backwards and then it gets fasters. OR to engage it faster, I have to shift it into R to P to R.

So to summarize the help I need:

1. how do I check if my transmission is shifting properly? it feels like a CVT. are there shifting points that I can reference? is it the throttle valve adjustment?
2. what's going on with my 1st gear? is this also an adjustment? or am I screwed and due for a trans rebuild?
3. similar to #2 is this normal or am I screwed for a trans rebuild.

2000 TJ 4L Sport 3-Speed

Thanks in advance for any guidance! Been searching for about an hour.

 

[JMT]

I don’t know much, but first thing I’d do is check my transmission fluid level. I’m not sure how to check the 32rh. You have to have the 42rle up to operating temperature and running, and so I encourage you to figure out the proper procedure for checking yours.

 

[JC123]

download the service manual, if you haven't already. here are a couple excerpts that may apply

 

[JC123]

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...ice-manuals-fsm-technical-documentation.4618/

 

[P41n]

Will check it running tomorrow. I checked it once when parked so that was wrong of me.

I checked the TV cable today , adjusted it, drove it, no changes.

I bought some lubegard red as well. Fingers crossed it’s just a fluid level thing and that I don’t need to buy a whole new transmission.

If fluid is at a good level, I should probably drop the pan and change out the fluid as well as adjusting the front and rear transmission bands.

Note: the person I bought it from said the jeep had been sitting for about a year or two. Barely driven if at all.

 

[tworley]

@hear

 

[hear]

First and foremost, testing in 2-HI is probably going to be the easiest way to test & communicate. 4-LO will definitely be a bunch slower wheel speed for a given RPM.

First gear has 2 modes of operation: drive & manual. In drive, it uses the rear & overrun clutches. In Manual-1 instead of the overrun clutch it uses the L/R band. But the since you have trouble in first gear regardless I would be looking at the common components, which is rear clutch pack. If it worked in drive but not in M1 I might start thinking about an L/R band adjustment, but for now I wouldn't touch that.

When you put it into Manual-2, it still starts in first (but doesn't use the L/R band), so it's not surprising that using 2nd doesn't give you a different result off the line. In Drive, those same rear clutches are used in every forward gear, so if you're getting high RPM but no actual power, you're probably actually seeing slipping inside the transmission. Those clutches never grab or only barely grab, so you get virtually no power.

That your reverse is also giving you a problem could be a lot of things when you factor in what we already know. Occam's razor might suggest that if you don't have any power in any gear, that it may just be the torque converter. But "in all my vast experience" (and we should emphasize the sarcasm there), TC's die way less frequently than clutches burn up. I don't have a good way to tell you how to test the torque converter, but there may be a test out there.

My money is on roasted front clutches that have sent the schmutz into your valve body and you have bad flow (Reverse takes 3x the pressure) and maybe moving the shifter is able to temporarily clear some passages to allow for "more" reverse. It's all just speculation though. I think my next move would be drain the fluid and remove the pan. We need to find out what you have in the bottom of the pan. If it's clean, then maybe it is the TC. If you find sludge, then it's less likely that the TC is the problem, more likely the clutch pack is trashed. So that's an easy first step.

Don't lose your mind if we determine you need a rebuild-- you're in the right place. It is much easier than you probably think.

 

[P41n]

First and foremost, testing in 2-HI is probably going to be the easiest way to test & communicate. 4-LO will definitely be a bunch slower wheel speed for a given RPM.

First gear has 2 modes of operation: drive & manual. In drive, it uses the rear & overrun clutches. In Manual-1 instead of the overrun clutch it uses the L/R band. But the since you have trouble in first gear regardless I would be looking at the common components, which is rear clutch pack. If it worked in drive but not in M1 I might start thinking about an L/R band adjustment, but for now I wouldn't touch that.

When you put it into Manual-2, it still starts in first (but doesn't use the L/R band), so it's not surprising that using 2nd doesn't give you a different result off the line. In Drive, those same rear clutches are used in every forward gear, so if you're getting high RPM but no actual power, you're probably actually seeing slipping inside the transmission. Those clutches never grab or only barely grab, so you get virtually no power.

That your reverse is also giving you a problem could be a lot of things when you factor in what we already know. Occam's razor might suggest that if you don't have any power in any gear, that it may just be the torque converter. But "in all my vast experience" (and we should emphasize the sarcasm there), TC's die way less frequently than clutches burn up. I don't have a good way to tell you how to test the torque converter, but there may be a test out there.

My money is on roasted front clutches that have sent the schmutz into your valve body and you have bad flow (Reverse takes 3x the pressure) and maybe moving the shifter is able to temporarily clear some passages to allow for "more" reverse. It's all just speculation though. I think my next move would be drain the fluid and remove the pan. We need to find out what you have in the bottom of the pan. If it's clean, then maybe it is the TC. If you find sludge, then it's less likely that the TC is the problem, more likely the clutch pack is trashed. So that's an easy first step.

Don't lose your mind if we determine you need a rebuild-- you're in the right place. It is much easier than you probably think.

Man you are awesome! Thanks for the details and encouragement! I think the jeep has been sitting for a year or two with very little movement. I drove the jeep around the block a few times to get it up to operating temp and pulled the dipstick to find the fluid fill and a little red (which means the fluid is good?).

Next thing I’ll do is as you said, drop the pan and change the fluid to valvoline atf4. Fingers crossed here!

Yea manual1 does nothing. Manual2 moves but moves slowly as it should. Reverse takes a me keeping it at low rev for about 3-5second before it starts to slowly engage and then move backwards.

Trying to get into 4Lo, it just keeps grinding when setting trans in neutral at a standstill. Was told to let the jeep roll a little and then slam it into 4Lo.

Then jeep has 216K miles.

 

[hear]

I would not worry about 4-lo just yet. One problem at a time. The fluid should be cherry red translucent, or dark red, trending toward plum/black over time.

If it does NOTHING in M1 but does slightly more in M2 then it feels like maybe the L/R band isn't doing it's job. M2 should feel exactly like 1st gear right off the line, so "slowly as it should" is a confusing description. Does reverse ever get to the point where it feels right? You should have plenty of power in reverse.

We can diagnose for days here, but I'm willing to bet you have a ton of sludge in your pan from shredded friction material & old age. That would actually be good news, because we would pretty much know you need a rebuild, and along with that a new TC (as standard practice).

If the pan is a mess, I don't think I would bother re-filling it with fluid. Unless you're hoping that a drain & refill will be enough to get you going again, but I think that would be a surprising outcome at this point. If you do try that, be sure you change your filter too.

 

[P41n]

I would not worry about 4-lo just yet. One problem at a time. The fluid should be cherry red translucent, or dark red, trending toward plum/black over time.

If it does NOTHING in M1 but does slightly more in M2 then it feels like maybe the L/R band isn't doing it's job. M2 should feel exactly like 1st gear right off the line, so "slowly as it should" is a confusing description. Does reverse ever get to the point where it feels right? You should have plenty of power in reverse.

We can diagnose for days here, but I'm willing to bet you have a ton of sludge in your pan from shredded friction material & old age. That would actually be good news, because we would pretty much know you need a rebuild, and along with that a new TC (as standard practice).

If the pan is a mess, I don't think I would bother re-filling it with fluid. Unless you're hoping that a drain & refill will be enough to get you going again, but I think that would be a surprising outcome at this point. If you do try that, be sure you change your filter too.

M2 feels exactly like Drive. Drive is stuck in second? I haven't driven it fast enough to see if it'll jump into third. I feel like I would be able to manipulate the throttle to get it into third which I haven't been able to.

I'll drain and drop the pan to document what I see. I'll adjust the bands, refill, and see what happens. worst case scenario, I can still drive it down to a local shop to have the trans rebuilt.

 

[hear]

worst case scenario, I can still drive it down to a local shop to have the trans rebuilt.

That's your call, Rockerfeller. If so inclined, you can absolutely do this yourself.