Automatic transmission strange problem.

[Cody D]

Hey guys, this is my second post, I was told about this site by a friend in Lloyd that some of you probably know.

Well here's my problem.  I have a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I'm trying to get into running order so I can give it to my young brother-in-law, the Jeep has the 4.0L in-line 6 and an automatic transmission.  I think this means it's the 42RE but I'm not sure.  The engine runs fine, but for some reason it won't go into first gear, if I leave it in drive it will move, but it bogs until you get up to second gear speeds.  If I manually put it into first on the selector the engine just revs without the transmision engaging.

I'm fully willing to swap the transmission if I find one, but just fixing this one would be nice as well.  I searched and found some good info, but nothing that explains my issue.

[Immortal]

what is the condition of the tranny fluid? full? burnt?

[corsjeep]

First try giving the valve body a GOOD cleaning,a new filter,and a fluid flush.I had a 93 that was doing the same,it would start out in third,doing this fixed it.Good luck!

[esi]

The first clutch pack could be shot. It should do the same thing when you put it in reverse too. If you're mechanical enough, One of the co-workers has a dakota that he was going to rebuild the tranny, he found a rebuild kit for $200. I'm not sure what all the kit included but if you go buy a chiltons book and a rebuild kit and follow directions closely a tranny shouldn't be a hard build. Make sure everythings cleaned and stays clean though.

[S-FLY]

Is the check engine light on?  Does it have any other problems shifting, or shifting hard into other gears?  If so, it could be the throttle position sensor.

[Cody D]

what is the condition of the tranny fluid? full? burnt?

I checked it when I bought it and it looked good, but I'll double check it.

First try giving the valve body a GOOD cleaning,a new filter,and a fluid flush.I had a 93 that was doing the same,it would start out in third,doing this fixed it.Good luck!

Thanks, I'll try this.

The first clutch pack could be shot. It should do the same thing when you put it in reverse too. If you're mechanical enough, One of the co-workers has a dakota that he was going to rebuild the tranny, he found a rebuild kit for $200. I'm not sure what all the kit included but if you go buy a chiltons book and a rebuild kit and follow directions closely a tranny shouldn't be a hard build. Make sure everythings cleaned and stays clean though.

Reverse works fine, I forgot to mention that.  I have novice mechanical skills, swapping engines, transmissions, but automatic transmissions look complicated.  If I can't figure it out soon I'll probably have a go at rebuilding it.  Any suggestions on where to buy Chiltons manuals?

Is the check engine light on?  Does it have any other problems shifting, or shifting hard into other gears?  If so, it could be the throttle position sensor.

The check engine light isn't on.  The gears all shift fine except for the fact that it won't go into first.

Thanks for the help guys, when I'm off this shift I'll start trying this stuff.

[esi]

I think you can get chiltons book at cantire, or partsource & autovalue. might be able to borrow one from a library too, they might have them. but if reverse is fine then it could be a grime problem that a good flush and new atf might solve

[The Machinist]

Try going to www.autozone.com, pretty good web site, might have the info you need there.  If not part sources have all-data, you can got there and print off info on whatever you are working on.