88' cherokee tranny

well heres the thing, i just bought a 88' cherokee, and well im not very knowledgable about jeeps, but anyway the tranny has a very hard time getting into second gear, you have to rev it really high to get to eventually go into second gear and so on, and some times when im trying to get it into second it will totally disengage itself and then catch again, now before i spend the money and change it, is this a common problem with jeeps, and/or are there sensors or other things that will make it do that. Please help.....

thanks

It is hard to tell from your post but I think you are refering to the automatic transmission..

Check the oil level and do the smell test on the oil on the dipstick. if it smells burnt, the clutch seals and plates may be toast... but pull the pan and drain the oil - change the filter and refill with new and see if that helps.

JD

ya the jeep is an automatic, a friend of mine had the same jeep, and his did the exact same so i dont know, but ill change the filter and fluid, is there anything else that could be doin that?

oh and also when i checked the fluid it was quite a bit higher than the full mark, im not sure if that could be a problem.

yup, it's a Jeep thing. I also have an '88 Cherokee and that same tranny problem is why I bought it. The quote was for $1500+ to rebuild it and the owner just wanted to dump it off.

So I went down and bought a Throttle Position Sensor for $60, popped it into the throttle body housing and drive off the parking lot of the parts store a happy, quick-shifting Jeeper. Took all of 10 minutes and has worked great ever since. Change the TPS and you'll be a happy, shifting Jeeper too, and always carry a spare!

So now when you go down to the wrecking yard you'll know why you'll get so excited when you find a TPS still in the Jeep :-) woohoo, got one!!!

oh and also when i checked the fluid it was quite a bit higher than the full mark, im not sure if that could be a problem.

How far above the full mark is it??

If you are checking the trany fluid level with the engine running, trany in park and fluid hot like you should be, then you need to drain some oil. That might contribute to the problem as well - not sure.

JD

yup, it's a Jeep thing. I also have an '88 Cherokee and that same tranny problem is why I bought it. The quote was for $1500+ to rebuild it and the owner just wanted to dump it off.

So I went down and bought a Throttle Position Sensor for $60, popped it into the throttle body housing and drive off the parking lot of the parts store a happy, quick-shifting Jeeper. Took all of 10 minutes and has worked great ever since. Change the TPS and you'll be a happy, shifting Jeeper too, and always carry a spare!

So now when you go down to the wrecking yard you'll know why you'll get so excited when you find a TPS still in the Jeep :-) woohoo, got one!!!

Yes there is a computer and shift solenoids and sensors that make the shift happen too but you need to check the basics and simple stuff first.

StvDiego's experience proves that. The shop wanted to rebuild and a $60 part fixed it. Now whether the shops intensions were honorable or not is another discussion........

It may well be that the tps is a problem but if you just replace the parts before you check the basics and test the part you think you need to replace, your either very lucky and it's fixed or "broker" than you need to be.

JD