After last weekends Mudfest,my trans in my "01"Wrangler wont shift from 2nd to 3rd unless I manipulate the throttle a lot. It also wont shift out of third at stop signs,and kills the motor(unless I hit neutral then 1st on the shifter)Fluid is good and it wasnt hot,What would you try TPS,Governor pressure sensor ,or the shift solenoid, I assume speed sensor is ok I have mph reading, and no codes.Any ideas? Eddie My only other concern was I was in water about 5 min. before getting pulled out,water was up to the doors so im sure trans. pan was submerged ,Could I have warped the valve body?

First: Change the transmission fluid...

did you ever relocate the breather for the trans? If you were in water up to you doors there is a good chance you have a decent amount of water just hanging out in there.

No, but I ended up changing that trans. to a 70,000 mile used one.Im still convinced it isnt contaminated with water ,as the fluid is perfect color and smells like it should. I added lucas trans conditioner and it is a little better(I can drive it now).Still hanges up in high and will kill the motor if I dont manually shift it.The 2nd to 3rdshifts are better though.I will flush what I can this weekend ,but if this clears up with a flush,I will probably not offroad this Jeep anymore if it is that sensitive to water.Anyone else have these problems after being in a little water??? Eddie P.S. The Lucas stuff was very thick,should I try the thinner Trans-X after the flush??

First things I would check are TV cable adjustment and TPS output

I flushed the trans. and found what I believe is a pile of clay mud,with some sand grains.I dont think there was really any water(fluid is perfect color- not cloudy)but how else would it get in there?.It still takes finessing to make it shift to 3rd and will not downshift out of 3rd and will kill the motor.Would it be beneficial to remove the valve body and clean the valves?I didnt believe it was contamination but I have been wrong before.So much for wheeling this Jeep, 2nd contaminated trans. and water not even half way up on the rocker guards. Thanks for all the tips.

Clay mud with sand grains? Sounds like clutch.

Im pretty sure it is clay ,It is tan color and had enough consistancy I could of made a small mudball out of it.It was slick feeling with just a few sand like grains.Wouldnt the clutch material in this trans be black or at least darker than tan?

Clay mud with sand grains? Sounds like clutch.

Yep, could be. Are you sure you didn't overheat it?...

Im pretty sure it is clay ,It is tan color and had enough consistancy I could of made a small mudball out of it.It was slick feeling with just a few sand like grains.Wouldnt the clutch material in this trans be black or at least darker than tan?


Not if it didn't get very hot. When you installed the new trans did you properly adjust the TV cable?

Trans was shifting fine until this weekend,I have ran this trans. since last summer. If the TV cable wasnt adjusted correctly it probably wouldnt have been shifting properly for the last year. Also if it were clutch material would it have the slick consistancy I mentioned? 75 degree day and motor never over 210,I cant think the trans. would be any hotter than (normal). Also if you are still thinking clutch material,wouldnt I see burned fluid,or feel some slippage?Im not arguing with anyone ,but would like to nail this down as to, is trans burned up or just contaminated. Any other toughts?

OK,Serious tech question,I have the valve body out right now. Are all the shift valves in there? Would it be beneficial to clean and lube the plungers with vaseline?Do you think that would clear up the not wanting to shift from 2nd to 3rd ,and the not downshifting problem.All gears seem to be fine,it is just the shifting part. Thanks Eddie

OK,Serious tech question,I have the valve body out right now. Are all the shift valves in there? Would it be beneficial to clean and lube the plungers with vaseline?Do you think that would clear up the not wanting to shift from 2nd to 3rd ,and the not downshifting problem.All gears seem to be fine,it is just the shifting part. Thanks Eddie

Unless you have a atsg manual or some other shop manual I wouldn't start taking apart the valve body. If you do, you'll need a rebuild kit for it to replace the gaskets and seals.

I am looking at it right now, and looks like everything is a machined surface.It doesnt appear to have gaskets sticking out anywhere. I was just thinking one part at a time,as to not get anything out of order.I wont attemt this if nobody thinks this will help the shifting problem though. Eddie

Took a shot and cleaned the valve body,I found 2 valves that were sticky(werent as smooth as the others).I didnt completely tear it apart,but if it looked like a valve or slide I took it out and cleaned it.I will adjust the bands and check the tv cable after oldest daughter gets home from school ,I did this at the kitchen table while watching a 3yr.old. I will let everyone know the outcome good or bad later tonight. Eddie

Well the 2nd to 3rd shifts are good and it downshifts without killing it.When it warms up it is still hesitant to go into 3rd,but I think I can drive it and see if it gets better. My Haines manual gives some other directions on adjusting the tv cable.Does anyone know the correct procedure for a 2001? Thanks Eddie

One last note,I figured out the clip on the TV cable, and at wide open throttle the TV lever needed to travel 1/4" more.I bent the bracket to let TV lever go wide open,with wide open throttle. I will test tomorrow.

Last installment,Trans. functioning somewhat normally,the only glitch is coming to a stop,the trans comes out of third and goes to second(still not wanting to start in first,unless I tell it to). I think that will get better as I drive it though. 1st-2nd-3rd shifts are great ,I hope this thread helps anyone that runs into this problem.The only thing I didnt do was put a new TPS on it,I probably wont do that unless someone thinks that will solve the last problem. Eddie

Trans. is now functioning as it should,even drops to 1st at stops.Flushed it a couple more times and added Lucas trans.conditioner(thicker than Trans-X).Will definitely keep out of the water now. Eddie