Is the 32RH a good transmission?

HDRider said:
Yep. Seemed to be the going rate.
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It does not matter what you pay for anything....When you post it on a forum somebody else’s always gets it done cheaper.

“ Hey guys I just bought a LJ Rubicon with 24,000 miles for two dollars-

“Well over here in my neck of the woods you can get them all day for a buck 50”
 
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hear said:
I would guess either a short in a wire somewhere that caused the PCM to want to turn on the TCC but something in the circuit prevented the solenoid from firing, or maybe the solenoid itself. I suppose it's possible that the issue was actually in the torque converter, did you actually see the RPMs tick up when the CEL came on?

In my head you were driving with the TC locked up, then something happened and you got the TCC related CEL. Either the RPMs changed or they didn't...if they did, then something killed the power to the solenoid (or the clutch slipped or something). If the RPMs didn't change.....well I would have to think about that harder than I want to this morning. But this is all on a trans you already had rebuilt and now is working ok?

Also $2k seems to be on the low side for a rebuild job these days, $2500-$3k is what I found. $2k will get you a rebuilt unit with a minimal warranty from some place on the internet that has warehouses of these things, not sure if I would trust them. $1500 will get you a used unit with 100k+ miles on it and virtually no warranty. For $350 and a couple days of your time you can rebuild it yourself, without any prior expertise and nothing in the way of specialty tools.
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Lot to unpack there

The RPMs did not change.

The CEL was pre-rebuild

The trans was rebuilt by the #1 trans guy in town. He said those trans are a breeze to rebuild. The 4 speeds were almost a grand more than the 3 speed. He has a full service shop. He rebuilds trans and his son does every thing else with about 7 or 8 employees. They have been in business for over 10 years.

It was a 12 month everything covered (labor and parts) warranty. 36 months on parts. So far, so good

I think I addressed everything you said.
 
AndyG said:
It does not matter what you pay for anything....When you post it on a forum somebody else’s always gets it done cheaper.

“ Hey guys I just bought a LJ Rubicon with 24,000 miles for two dollars-

“Well over here in my neck of the woods you can get them all day for a buck 50”
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I like to say what I pay to act as a reference for other Jeepers

I consider repartee on the internet as fun
 
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HDRider said:
I like to say what I pay to act as a reference for other Jeepers

I consider repartee on the internet as fun
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It is - im just poking fun at how that goes man.

It does help to see numbers.
 
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HDRider said:
Lot to unpack there

The RPMs did not change.

The CEL was pre-rebuild

The trans was rebuilt by the #1 trans guy in town. He said those trans are a breeze to rebuild. The 4 speeds were almost a grand more than the 3 speed. He has a full service shop. He rebuilds trans and his son does every thing else with about 7 or 8 employees. They have been in business for over 10 years.

It was a 12 month everything covered (labor and parts) warranty. 36 months on parts. So far, so good

I think I addressed everything you said.
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If the CEL came on w/o the RPMs changing, I don't off the top of my head know the cause. But if a rebuild solved it then it was one of just a few things, because we can eliminate the PCM as part of the problem.
* new solenoid, if they replaced it
* valve body cleanup may have resolved an intermittent issue
* new torque converter resolved an internal clutch issue on the old TC

All those things are easy to do yourself, but the TC involves dropping the transmission which is beyond what a lot of people are willing to do. The solenoid & valve body are also extremely easy even with the trans still in the Jeep, but they fall into that "black magic" category of automatic transmissions that many people are unwilling to dive into. I only know they're easy to do because in my old age I've become way too cheap to pay for someone else to do something to my Jeep. IMHO, the rebuild is not even close to worth $2k. But I guess I value my money more than my time.

it is definitely a breeze to rebuild, even for the truly incompetent, lol. If I could find cores for sale I would rebuild them on the side and pocket some nice side hustle money. But 32RH are like hens teeth. They're the first thing to go on wrecked jeeps and still fetch $2k price tags. What I really ought to do is figure out what old Mopars used this transmission, and then figure out what changes need to be made to up-fit them into a TJ.

I had a C4 trans rebuilt about 15 years ago by a reputable shop, and I swear it was a lifetime warranty, provided I came back in for routine checkups. I never did that, but in hindsight I'm pretty sure those routine checkups were going to involve fluid flush, new filter, etc and would end up costing me a ton of money in the long run. Also in hindsight I think I got railroaded into an unnecessary rebuild. It was only $1200 iirc. I'm still kinda irritated about it.
 
hear said:
If the CEL came on w/o the RPMs changing, I don't off the top of my head know the cause. But if a rebuild solved it then it was one of just a few things, because we can eliminate the PCM as part of the problem.
* new solenoid, if they replaced it
* valve body cleanup may have resolved an intermittent issue
* new torque converter resolved an internal clutch issue on the old TC

All those things are easy to do yourself, but the TC involves dropping the transmission which is beyond what a lot of people are willing to do. The solenoid & valve body are also extremely easy even with the trans still in the Jeep, but they fall into that "black magic" category of automatic transmissions that many people are unwilling to dive into. I only know they're easy to do because in my old age I've become way too cheap to pay for someone else to do something to my Jeep. IMHO, the rebuild is not even close to worth $2k. But I guess I value my money more than my time.

it is definitely a breeze to rebuild, even for the truly incompetent, lol. If I could find cores for sale I would rebuild them on the side and pocket some nice side hustle money. But 32RH are like hens teeth. They're the first thing to go on wrecked jeeps and still fetch $2k price tags. What I really ought to do is figure out what old Mopars used this transmission, and then figure out what changes need to be made to up-fit them into a TJ.

I had a C4 trans rebuilt about 15 years ago by a reputable shop, and I swear it was a lifetime warranty, provided I came back in for routine checkups. I never did that, but in hindsight I'm pretty sure those routine checkups were going to involve fluid flush, new filter, etc and would end up costing me a ton of money in the long run. Also in hindsight I think I got railroaded into an unnecessary rebuild. It was only $1200 iirc. I'm still kinda irritated about it.
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My 99 has the 32RH in it and is getting bad morning sickness. It started out slipping in reverse when cold and now is just starting to do the same after shifting back to drive. I have never rebuilt an auto before and would like to find a good tutorial on the 32RH. I have been wrenching for most of my life and want to add auto transmissions to my "No big deal list" AKA Knowledge. The 99 has 210K on it, I have gone through, rebuilt most of it short of the engine and trans not sure if the trans has ever been touched short of filter and fluid service that I have done. Recommendations as to who makes the best kit, what extra parts to add to the kit, after market upgrades needed vs nice, torque converter stock or?
 
Are you absolutely certain your 32RH ATF level is full? The engine MUST be running and the transmission MUST be in Neutral while checking its ATF level or the dipstick will erroneously show it's more full than it actually is. 'tis far better for an automatic transmission to be slightly overfilled than underfilled any at all. And if it's low add nothing but ATF+4. If the big letters on the front of the ATF bottle don't say ATF+4 it's the wrong stuff.
 
TH99TJ said:
My 99 has the 32RH in it and is getting bad morning sickness. It started out slipping in reverse when cold and now is just starting to do the same after shifting back to drive. I have never rebuilt an auto before and would like to find a good tutorial on the 32RH. I have been wrenching for most of my life and want to add auto transmissions to my "No big deal list" AKA Knowledge. The 99 has 210K on it, I have gone through, rebuilt most of it short of the engine and trans not sure if the trans has ever been touched short of filter and fluid service that I have done. Recommendations as to who makes the best kit, what extra parts to add to the kit, after market upgrades needed vs nice, torque converter stock or?
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Agree with Jerry, I would absolutely make sure your fluid level is good, and drop the pan to inspect before I undertook the job. When you say "slipping" do you really mean slow to engage? Or legit slipping, input RPMs don't match the output speed?

The good news is that a rebuild is absolutely a job you can do in your garage if you have a decent attention to detail. I had never opened up a transmission before but successfully rebuilt mine last summer. The FSM & the ATSG are pretty much invaluable resources. There's a long thread here detailing my misadventures during that process. I also video'd a lot (but not all) of it. I too wanted to add this to my list of things that aren't a big deal, mission accomplished.

 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Are you absolutely certain your 32RH ATF level is full? The engine MUST be running and the transmission MUST be in Neutral while checking its ATF level or the dipstick will erroneously show it's more full than it actually is. 'tis far better for an automatic transmission to be slightly overfilled than underfilled any at all. And if it's low add nothing but ATF+4. If the big letters on the front of the ATF bottle don't say ATF+4 it's the wrong stuff.
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Am I absolutely sure? NOPE LOL. Especially since the selector shaft seal has recently started leaking. It probably IS low right now but I have notice the reverse slow to engage for a while.
Question: other than a parking pall what is the difference between P & N? Why does P cause a higher level reading? Also, Yes ATF+4 is what I have in the shop for it.
I have a selector seal tool for a TH350, do you happen to know if the seals between those two are similar enough to use that puller/installer?
 
You get a higher ATF level reading in the transmission pan when the transmission is in Park because the ATF pump is not pumping ATF through the transmission in Park which lets most of the the ATF stay in the pan. The dipstick only reads what's in the pan.

The pump pumps ATF from the pan up into the transmission in Neutral so there will be less ATF in the pan and more ATF up inside the transmission. That is why the level needs to be checked in Neutral when the pan has the same amount of ATF in it as when it's in Drive, Reverse, Low, or 2.

I don't know if your TH350 seal puller is the same for the 32RH.
 
hear said:
Agree with Jerry, I would absolutely make sure your fluid level is good, and drop the pan to inspect before I undertook the job. When you say "slipping" do you really mean slow to engage? Or legit slipping, input RPMs don't match the output speed?

The good news is that a rebuild is absolutely a job you can do in your garage if you have a decent attention to detail. I had never opened up a transmission before but successfully rebuilt mine last summer. The FSM & the ATSG are pretty much invaluable resources. There's a long thread here detailing my misadventures during that process. I also video'd a lot (but not all) of it. I too wanted to add this to my list of things that aren't a big deal, mission accomplished.

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I will definitely read your thread and watch your videos. Thank You
I have lived my life thinking that setting up gears, installing lockers etc was a mystical magical process that only the amazing were capable of. At the same time, to me, rebuilding a steering box was an easy task and that apparently scares 98% of mechanics! Well not any more, diffs have been demystified and added to my no big deal book.
Now on to the trans LOL
32RH then probably a 4L60 after that.
Even if (very likely low fluid) is the case, how long is a 32RH realistically going to last milage wise??? I REALLY have no desire to be in the middle of no where and have it go "poof, I give up" then I would get that question "How many miles were on it? You dumb azh, you know better!
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You get a higher ATF level reading in the transmission pan when the transmission is in Park because the ATF pump is not pumping ATF through the transmission in Park which lets most of the the ATF stay in the pan. The dipstick only reads what's in the pan.

The pump pumps ATF from the pan up into the transmission in Neutral so there will be less ATF in the pan and more ATF up inside the transmission. That is why the level needs to be checked in Neutral when the pan has the same amount of ATF in it as when it's in Drive, Reverse, Low, or 2.

I don't know if your TH350 seal puller is the same for the 32RH.
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Excellent explanation, Thank You. I was obviously unaware neutral was pumping fluid up into the transmission. I am assuming that's a valving thing since the pump is pumping if the motor is running.
 
TH99TJ said:
Excellent explanation, Thank You. I was obviously unaware neutral was pumping fluid up into the transmission. I am assuming that's a valving thing since the pump is pumping if the motor is running.
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The transmission ATF pump does not pump ATF up into the transmission in Park in the 32RH.
 
TH99TJ said:
I have a selector seal tool for a TH350, do you happen to know if the seals between those two are similar enough to use that puller/installer?
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I did mine without any special tools. A screwdriver and a socket will get ‘r done. Especially if you have the trans out of the jeep and all emptied out.
 
hear said:
I did mine without any special tools. A screwdriver and a socket will get ‘r done. Especially if you have the trans out of the jeep and all emptied out.
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Well that's good news! When the time comes I guess I will have one less worry, specialty tools are a concern. Pulling the trans is a non-issue, I would like to find a steel table top with a drain to add to my stuff tho. Yes that is a luxury but hey, luxury is kinda nice.
 
TH99TJ said:
Interesting for sure, I very much enjoy learning new things disproving what you/I was told or heard. I wonder if it just cycles the fluid through the torque converter and the pan.
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I dunno but all this is why the Owner's Manual says the transmission must be in Neutral (and engine running) when checking 2002 and older TJ automatics for the ATF level. :)
 
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TH99TJ said:
Well that's good news! When the time comes I guess I will have one less worry, specialty tools are a concern. Pulling the trans is a non-issue, I would like to find a steel table top with a drain to add to my stuff tho. Yes that is a luxury but hey, luxury is kinda nice.
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Those tables are way more expensive than you’d think. There are a few tools you’ll need. Snap ring pliers & lock ring pliers are a must. Inch pound torque wrench, feeler gauge too. If you have to replace the brass bushings, you may find that a press is handy but not required. And then there’s a piston compressor you need to get down into the drums to change out some seals. You can buy one for like $50, but a lot of guys make their own.

I also needed an 8mm crowfoot for the kickdown band adjustment, and ratcheting wrenches make the low reverse band adjustment easier too. But none of that is required.
 
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