Thumper's('02 Jeep WJ, 4.0l, 42re, nv242) transmission decided to take a dump last week. My daily driver and only vehicle. I don't have a press(no space for one either), so a DIY rebuild isn't an option, and the budget isn't there for a shop to rebuilt it. In regards to a press, I'll be looking into buying one in the future, but I have no space. The only local place I could buy a press is Harbor Freight, and they seem to have discontinued their benchtop press(one would be nice as a press brake).
I've had feelers out for 6 months for a transmission with no luck, and no luck now either. I'm borrowing a car for the time being, but occasionally I can't use that car, as it needs to be elsewhere(sisters extra car my father drives to babysit sisters kid and get him to school, he's been taking our parent only vehicle, but sometimes, my mother needs to take that while he takes the car in opposite directions at the same time I need to go to work in a 3rd direction.)
As all other options have failed, I'm at the point of going with my last ditch, hope and a prayer option, and pulling the trans from the
/4 milion mile parts Jeep I bought 6yrs ago, and can't recall pulling a single usable part from. If this fails, I'll be at a decision point of taking out a 401k loan and either buying another vehicle or taking thumper to the shop for a trans rebuild. Having pulled the trans apart, I didn't find the smoking gun gear damage I expected. I did find a broken OD snapring, and assumed said bit was getting stuck in a gear, resulting in the final symptom of a split second driveline lockup at slightly over 40mph. Other than some pasty grease like substance in the rear drum in the trans, I have found nothing but the snapring piece in the pan, and the same snapring bit missing in the OD unit.
As of yet, I've verified the shifter moves, the TV cable moves freely, park pawl does lock the output shaft, the ATF4 looks blood red, but maybe a little dark. I plan on dropping the pan(mainly in search of metal in thje pan and snapring bits) and a new filter. Considering dropping the pan into a new oil pan, and recycling as much fluid back into the trans when I install it, to alleviate the transmission fluid change results in failure common on old transmissions(due to worn friction material suspended in the fluid helping well worn frictions to survive.) On the parts WJ's last drive to it's final resting place, it experienced some sort of bang noticeable from the following vehicle(bought from my brother, his GF was following for as ride home.) I've never found a cause for the bang, but as the issue Thumper experienced seemed similar, slightly worried I'm installing a transmission with the same issue. If I do find OD ring parts in the pan, I plan on installing the OD unit from a 3rd trans(original to when I bought thumper, figured out it still was good(especially after finding out the following spring that the previous owner, who'd only had it for less than a year had swapped the transmission(One logic I had for Thumpers "thump" being from the trans was receipts I found that had slipped inside the dash, from prior to previous owner, showing the vehicle lived in a mountainous area(northern Adirondacks)), but only after it spent a winter in a snowbank, getting water inside, OD unit shows no sign of water, and if Thumper's issues had been a typical OD snapring failure, I'd have just swapped OD units.) After 2 years, I figured out Thumpers "thump" to be a rust ring on the TV cable unpredictably jamming it up from fully relaxing.
Honestly, my options if this doesn't work out will be to take out a 401k loan for as much as I can to buy another vehicle, and to also fix Thumper. That may allow me to build Thumper into the light overlanding rig I've always wanted, but the loan payments and other expenses may mean I can't afford to do so. Thumper, at 21yrs old, could use a good amount of TLC, from underbody rust repair, to an engine refresh, i.e. lifters, oil pan, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, ect. This summers plans were to replace the oil pan/oil pan gasket, and the valve cover gasket. If I had the time, I'd also pull the heads and address the "death rattle" Thumper's had for years from the lifters.
My original primary goal(6yrs ago) for Thumper, was to be a daily driver capable of getting me to work and to trailheads in the northern Adirondacks. An overlanding mentality would be my mentality, but few campsites in the northern Adirondacks are vehicle accessible, and most of those are handicap only, so a support vehicle for backpacking, hiking, bushcraft on the weekends, and a tool carrier for an equipment operator in an industrial setting(recycling plant) during the week.
I've had feelers out for 6 months for a transmission with no luck, and no luck now either. I'm borrowing a car for the time being, but occasionally I can't use that car, as it needs to be elsewhere(sisters extra car my father drives to babysit sisters kid and get him to school, he's been taking our parent only vehicle, but sometimes, my mother needs to take that while he takes the car in opposite directions at the same time I need to go to work in a 3rd direction.)
As all other options have failed, I'm at the point of going with my last ditch, hope and a prayer option, and pulling the trans from the
/4 milion mile parts Jeep I bought 6yrs ago, and can't recall pulling a single usable part from. If this fails, I'll be at a decision point of taking out a 401k loan and either buying another vehicle or taking thumper to the shop for a trans rebuild. Having pulled the trans apart, I didn't find the smoking gun gear damage I expected. I did find a broken OD snapring, and assumed said bit was getting stuck in a gear, resulting in the final symptom of a split second driveline lockup at slightly over 40mph. Other than some pasty grease like substance in the rear drum in the trans, I have found nothing but the snapring piece in the pan, and the same snapring bit missing in the OD unit.
As of yet, I've verified the shifter moves, the TV cable moves freely, park pawl does lock the output shaft, the ATF4 looks blood red, but maybe a little dark. I plan on dropping the pan(mainly in search of metal in thje pan and snapring bits) and a new filter. Considering dropping the pan into a new oil pan, and recycling as much fluid back into the trans when I install it, to alleviate the transmission fluid change results in failure common on old transmissions(due to worn friction material suspended in the fluid helping well worn frictions to survive.) On the parts WJ's last drive to it's final resting place, it experienced some sort of bang noticeable from the following vehicle(bought from my brother, his GF was following for as ride home.) I've never found a cause for the bang, but as the issue Thumper experienced seemed similar, slightly worried I'm installing a transmission with the same issue. If I do find OD ring parts in the pan, I plan on installing the OD unit from a 3rd trans(original to when I bought thumper, figured out it still was good(especially after finding out the following spring that the previous owner, who'd only had it for less than a year had swapped the transmission(One logic I had for Thumpers "thump" being from the trans was receipts I found that had slipped inside the dash, from prior to previous owner, showing the vehicle lived in a mountainous area(northern Adirondacks)), but only after it spent a winter in a snowbank, getting water inside, OD unit shows no sign of water, and if Thumper's issues had been a typical OD snapring failure, I'd have just swapped OD units.) After 2 years, I figured out Thumpers "thump" to be a rust ring on the TV cable unpredictably jamming it up from fully relaxing.
Honestly, my options if this doesn't work out will be to take out a 401k loan for as much as I can to buy another vehicle, and to also fix Thumper. That may allow me to build Thumper into the light overlanding rig I've always wanted, but the loan payments and other expenses may mean I can't afford to do so. Thumper, at 21yrs old, could use a good amount of TLC, from underbody rust repair, to an engine refresh, i.e. lifters, oil pan, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, ect. This summers plans were to replace the oil pan/oil pan gasket, and the valve cover gasket. If I had the time, I'd also pull the heads and address the "death rattle" Thumper's had for years from the lifters.
My original primary goal(6yrs ago) for Thumper, was to be a daily driver capable of getting me to work and to trailheads in the northern Adirondacks. An overlanding mentality would be my mentality, but few campsites in the northern Adirondacks are vehicle accessible, and most of those are handicap only, so a support vehicle for backpacking, hiking, bushcraft on the weekends, and a tool carrier for an equipment operator in an industrial setting(recycling plant) during the week.
