While wheelin’, I lost reverse and neutral. Now, more problems (32RH Automatic)

[OuttaAmmo]

1998 Jeep Wrangler Sport, 4.0L, Automatic, 33s;

While out wheeling on Labor Day on some pretty decent trails, rocks, and obstacles for 5 hours, Reverse and Neutral all of a sudden only had forward movement and I couldn’t get out of 4Low either.

I checked the Automatic Transmission Fluid level and it was completely empty according to the dipstick. (This is probably not be relevant, but I’ll also noticed that my Motor Oil Refill Cap was missing.) I had checked the ATF a week earlier and the level was good and the proper color.

We slowly made our way to the entrance of the park and there was a gentleman there with a quart of ATF , which he gave to us for free (great guy). I noticed at the time that the bottle said Dextron, but I didn’t think it made much of a difference. (Something’s better than nothing, right? I now know that this is bad.)

We made our 50 mile trip home. During which time, it felt like it would not shift form second to third gear and we had to drive 45mph all the way home. There wasn’t a lot of coming to a complete stop. But when I did, the take-off was super slow and rough.

By the time I got home, it would barely even climb my driveway to get into my garage (this is NOT a steep grade). It’s been in my garage all week. I haven’t had time to even look at it.

I know I screwed up. But how bad did I screw up?

Any pointers on where to start? Or bite the bullet and get it to a shop? I will be thankful for any and all comments.

 

[Chris]

If there was no fluid on the dipstick, the transmission was very low on fluid, the only real question is how much fluid was in there? Better yet, where did all the fluid go?

All those problems you were experiencing were a side effect of the lack of transmission fluid I'm sure.

You could take the transmission pan off yourself and see how much fluid is left in there, as well as if you find any chunks of metal, shavings, etc. One thing is for sure, do not drive it anymore until it's fixed!

Personally I would drop the transmission pan, check to see how much fluid comes out. If little to no fluid comes out, you've probably done some damage. If quite a bit of fluid comes out, I would put a new transmission filter and pan gasket on, button it up, and then put the right amount of the right fluid in. If you get it buttoned up and full of fluid and it's still having issues, it's time to take it to a capable transmission repair shop.

Make sure to flush that thing good so you get all the Dextron out of the system too!

I'll rebuild an engine myself and do almost everything on my own with the exception of ring and pinions and transmissions. That's something better left to the professionals.

A quart of Dexron won't cause any problems in your 32RH but in the future, avoid mixing ATF types. It is better to run a half-quart low until you can add the exact factory recommended ATF. There are a lot of ATFs that are incompatible with various transmissions so it pays to stick with ATF+4 for your 32RH auto. Checking with the various ATF manufacturers confirmed that a little Dexron III won't cause any problems in your 32RH like some ATFs can.

 

[OuttaAmmo]

My apologies, I should have mentioned:
That quart that was given to me got the ATF to the appropriate level.
I just checked the level again right now. After being in the garage for 6 days, there are no puddles underneath and the dipstick is showing the exact same level as it did when I filled at the trailhead. Therefor, it appears that there are zero leaks.

 

[Chris]

Ahhh, so if it was only a quart low that isn't likely enough to have done any damage. Still, drop the pan, flush the system, put the right amount of ATF+4 in, button it back up with a new gasket, and take it for a drive. See if your problems are gone after that.

If they persist, something is going on, if they are gone, then problem solved! That's where you ought to start at least!

 

[Xposure]

My apologies, I should have mentioned:
That quart that was given to me got the ATF to the appropriate level.
I just checked the level again right now. After being in the garage for 6 days, there are no puddles underneath and the dipstick is showing the exact same level as it did when I filled at the trailhead. Therefor, it appears that there are zero leaks.

The transmission has a fluid pump that is activated when you are in any gear except park (with the engine running). You could have a leak that is only leaking when the pump is running. Also just in case you don’t know....when you check the fluid you need to let it get up to operating temp, put it in neutral with the parking brake on so that the pump is working and that is when you check it.

 

[OuttaAmmo]

The transmission has a fluid pump that is activated when you are in any gear except park (with the engine running). You could have a leak that is only leaking when the pump is running. Also just in case you don’t know....when you check the fluid you need to let it get up to operating temp, put it in neutral with the parking brake on so that the pump is working and that is when you check it.

You are correct. I read that previously, but had forgotten about it not operating while in Park. Thanks for a reminder.
(It seems that if there was a leak, however, I would have lost some on my 45 mile commute home.)

I’m gonna start where Chris directed me and then test it at running temps in Neutral to see what’s what.
I’ve got some time this week to at least do a flush and a gasket.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

First, that Dexron was the wrong stuff to add. Next, the ONLY way you can accurately check the ATF level is with the engine running with the transmission shifted into Neutral. If the engine's not running and if it's not in Neutral, the dipstick will register more ATF than is really present. Start the engine, let it warm up, shift to Neutral, then check the ATF level.

WIth that Dexron having been added, I'd flush the transmission completely with fresh ATF+4, which is the only correct ATF it will run properly on. Simply draining it by dropping the pan will only get rid of less than half of the ATF, the rest of it is in the torque converter, cooler, and cooler lines. It needs to be flushed completely.