Hey im the new guy!

[4x4Tank]

hello all. i just bought my first fsj and i am so glad that there is a web page that is dedicated to it. i bought my friends 87 grand wagoneer which has been sitting for about a year and i have some questions and im sure i'll have more later. this is a tranny question. i'll put it in drive and i have to give it quite a bit of gas for it to even roll. i took the plate on the front floorboard off as i was told that i could make "adjustments" to the tranny from there. well i found you can't but what i could do is watch the tranny when i try to put it in reverse. again heavy on the gas but instead of just barely rolling like in drive it dosen't move at all and the whole tranny starts shaking. if this sounds like time for a rebuild would it be cheaper to buy a used tranny or rebuild this one? where can i get a rebuild kit and who makes a good kit? im sorry if someone has posted a question like this before but i am the new guy and there are alot of posts.
thanks for the help.

[Lindel]

Up until you mentioned "started shaking", I was going to put it off as old age, and suggest that you put a container of STP oil treatment (yeah, I know, but that's what our local FSJ tranny expert says, and it works on the TF727 tranny), but in this case, I'd say take it in, and have it looked at.

BTW, pleased to meet you and welcome to the group.

There are also a couple of mailing lists, if you don't mind 50 to 100 emails a day ;)

[bruno89]

I pretty new also but did they have the parking brake on while it was sitting? if so it may have "frozen ". Other that that chech the tranny fluid level. You will find this site is VERY addicting. I love this place :D :D

[Lindel]

One more thing, it might be worth your while to look at the tranny mount, and motor mounts to see if they're in good shape.

[Bob Barry]

If the tranny-fluid level is fine, I'd check the operation of the transfer-case.

First off, do you have a front driveshaft installed?

Is the lever down to the right of the steering colum in 2wd or 4wd?

Is the low-range lever to the right under the driver's seat all the way down?

You may be hung up with the transfer-case in neutral, or your viscous coupler in the transfer-case may be bad, or you may be in 4wd with a missing front driveshaft or destroyed front pinion gears.

It may be simple, or it may be ugly. One thing is for sure, though; you'll know your Jeep a WHOLE lot better by the time you get this fixed... smile.gif

[4x4Tank]

wow!! get replies quick around here! yes the parking brake was on while it was sitting. i thought that might be it also so i released the brake, put it in neutral and i was able to rock it back a little, didn't feel like the brake was stuck. as far as i know the front drive shaft is installed. my friend was driving it before he parked it. the switch was in 2wd and the low-range lever was down all the way. ill check the motor mounts but it sounds like a tow to the shop is in order:-( thanks for the suggestions. also the green tube running from the 4wd switch was about cut in half. i removed it completly and am having a hard time finding another one.

[denaliak02]

don't take it to the shop right away...

just an idea, but this has worked for me in an old crown vic and, more recently in my 79 Chero. go get a trans filter,($8, incl gasket), and few qts of trans fluid. Not exactly sure how much it takes, maybe 3-4qts for pan only.(help)

replace filter and top off fluid, be sure to carefully put new gasket back on, follow directions, and torque bolts correctly. see if this fixes it.

If your friend drove it, and it sat for a year, and there's been no work done to it recently, trans should be fine. aside from visual inspection this is a cheap place to start...

if it doesn't fix it, tell the shop you take it to not to charge you for a new filter when you take it in for repair!

HTH :D
Justin

[newbie]

Wait, I thought I was the "newbie" :D
Welcome to the family 4x4 Tank!

[4x4Tank]

my friend had the filter and fluid changed before he parked it. he said that the tranny kept slipping.

[Kimbrough]

Yo 4x4Tank!
Check it out: I bought my '88 GW last March and it had the same problem. When you'd put it in Drive, sometimes you could drive it @ 20 minutes before it wouldn't go. Like it was slipping outta gear. Had to give it a lotta gas though. Sometimes when I'd put it in Park, it would make a grinding noise and roll back like it was in Neutral...
Found out it was a bad transfer case. I swapped one (NP 229) from a parts-Wag and it runs great!!! smile.gif
First, fix that broken vac line. See if that helps. If not, maybe its time to look for another t-case (junkyards). If you do swap a t-case - check the oil seal at the output shaft of the tranny. Replace it if its bad (easy).
Good luck!

[4x4Tank]

Yo Kimbrough! thanks for the idea. smile.gif i'll check into it! gosh i love this web page!! smile.gif this might sound dumb but like it says im the new guy. where is the transfer case and how can i fiqure out it's bad?

[ October 23, 2001: Message edited by: 4x4Tank ]

[ October 23, 2001: Message edited by: 4x4Tank ]

[J20fan]

Welcome to the online FSJ bible! I purchased an 83 wag not long ago with similar issues. Following the advise I was given here has it running great and no longer a parts rig. It took a tranny flush, new filter, linkage adjustment, new vacuum hoses and fluid for the t-case and many hours of noggin scatchin but its now my daily driver. Don't give up on doing it yourself if you can, it will be worth it in the end.

[Millerluck]

Welacome to the greatest FSJ sight.

I had a 79 Plymouth Volary that if it sat for a long time would slip real bad. But once it was driven a few miles it was fine. As long as I didn't let it sit for months it was fine,and wouldn't slip at all.

I'd change the filter any how as stated above. There's a little O-ring in there too. Maybe it was left off. You say he had it changed before he parked it. Hmmm

Later

Larry Miller

[Chiefly77]

Welcome to the club 4X4Tank. To answer your question, look underneath your jeep towards the front. The t-case has the driveshafts comming off of it. One to the front, one to the back. Its a big square-like metal thing, next to the tranny. You can't miss it. I'm not really sure of the easiest way to check if its bad, you can jsut kinda tell from the symtoms. One thing would be to see if its turning the front driveshaft in 4 wheel drive. Hope this helps.

P.S. check the fluid in the t-case also.

[Stangerize]

Hey, another Kentuckian here. Welcome to the wonderful world of Full Size Jeepin'.

[2man]

Welcome to our nightmare. HE HE HE :D

[jeepnsn]

Check this out I'm a newbie :eek: http://www.pirate4x4.com/ubb/smilies/laughing.gif So this is what it's like

Oh well didn't work. SeeI am a newbie.

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: jeepnsn ]

[Dive 30]

Welcome to the board Tank!

I would definetly look at your Transfer Case first. It sounds like it's in between four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive. Mine did the same thing to me. I sat in my parking lot for two hours fiddling with things, checking linkage, etc. only to find out that when my dog had hopped in he had partially flipped the 4x4 switch and it was hanging in between positions. Exact same symptoms.

Your T-Case has two plugs on it one up high, one down low (big hex bolt looking things on the rear of the case). Drain the fluid into a pan and see what it looks like (look for metal shavings, bad ju-ju). Remember to refill it with ATF fluid NOT gear oil. Also, you can manually actuate the vacuum motor that is the four by/two by switch (black diaghragm thing with a rod going through it). Just pull the rod back and forth, see if you can get it to one or the other.

Also, the adjustments for the tranny: There is a linkage adjustment for the actual shifter and there is what is traditionally the 'kick down' lever. The shifter linkage is adjusted in between the tranny and the frame/brake master cylinder from underneath right where the tranny and motor come together. The other linkage is actually a valve lever that is very critical to the proper operation of your TF 727 transmission. You will see a lever attached to the bottom of the throttle linkage on the carbuerator. Note this lever by the fact that it pivots from behind the intake manifold and is attached to the back of the motor (versus on the intake manifold itself like the throttle and cruise control cables) and has two return springs. If you get a hold of the TSM or a Haynes manual, they tell you how these should be adjusted.

Hope that helps.

Phil

[bill tomlinson]

welcome friend!

yeh, you hooked now, Boy! say good-bye to
clean fingernails forever!
sorry about the transmission. I'm new at
FSJ's too, but I'd say time to seek professional help. Skip AAMCO, too many $$$.
Skip Powers: i had bad luck with them.
If you get it to drive, come to Richmond and see Brockmans 4x4. I hear they do good work.
I've contacted them about putting a re-build
360 in my '89 gw.
lets get together sometime for a steak and
jeep talk... let the wives shake their heads and trade "...he spent WHAT on that thing??" stories.

bill tomlinson