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Should I just buy new Transmission Fluid for my '98 Jeep Cherokee?
- Thread starter br549
- Start date
I recently bought a Jeep Cherokee off some 'ole country folk who probably don't know much about cars. They said it wouldn't go into drive or any other gear than reverse. I purchased it and took it home for further repair.
I began to assume the transmission was bad... Following this diagnosis I began unplugging wires and when I removed the driveshaft, I noticed not a drop of transmission fluid came out. I decided to check if there was even any fluid at all in the Jeep. Seeing some nasty type of chemical I decided to drain the pan to further inspect this nonsense.
This nasty oil-ish and pitch-black fluid drained out of the transmission pan. I figure there was some transmission fluid but it was later mixed with engine oil. The Jeep itself has a little over 100k miles on it.
Should I bother putting the pan and filter back on and flushing the system with actual transmission fluid? It's around a $20.00 investment versus $200.00, but I'm pretty broke. What do you think?
I'm thinking the past owners put the fluid in the transmission... It really has NO reddish/pinkish hue to the liquid. Plus, the filter looks pretty clotted.
I'm just not sure if I should bother replacing the fluid with clean fluid.
To Br549:
"Up there with them"? Wouldn't it be down?
And how would a tranny be burned up with less than 100k miles? This liquid certainly is not transmission fluid.
I began to assume the transmission was bad... Following this diagnosis I began unplugging wires and when I removed the driveshaft, I noticed not a drop of transmission fluid came out. I decided to check if there was even any fluid at all in the Jeep. Seeing some nasty type of chemical I decided to drain the pan to further inspect this nonsense.
This nasty oil-ish and pitch-black fluid drained out of the transmission pan. I figure there was some transmission fluid but it was later mixed with engine oil. The Jeep itself has a little over 100k miles on it.
Should I bother putting the pan and filter back on and flushing the system with actual transmission fluid? It's around a $20.00 investment versus $200.00, but I'm pretty broke. What do you think?
I'm thinking the past owners put the fluid in the transmission... It really has NO reddish/pinkish hue to the liquid. Plus, the filter looks pretty clotted.
I'm just not sure if I should bother replacing the fluid with clean fluid.
To Br549:
"Up there with them"? Wouldn't it be down?
And how would a tranny be burned up with less than 100k miles? This liquid certainly is not transmission fluid.
thundercat
New member
Do you think someone put oil in the transmission? I don't really see how engine oil would make it's way into the transmission since the only connection to the engine is the flywheel. The fluid might just be burnt. Often times, if a gear simply doesn't work, fluid probably isn't the issue. I could be the clutches or bands are bad. It is difficult to actually flush out the whole system without equipment.
Make sure whatever fluid has drained is done draining. Put on the pan (I'd suggest a new filter) and fill it with fluid. If it works, great. If not, then it would need a trans overhaul. I had a RWD car done once and it was $1400. Not sure if there are any salvage yards around, but it might be considerably cheaper to buy a used one (if you can find cheap labor to replace it).
Make sure whatever fluid has drained is done draining. Put on the pan (I'd suggest a new filter) and fill it with fluid. If it works, great. If not, then it would need a trans overhaul. I had a RWD car done once and it was $1400. Not sure if there are any salvage yards around, but it might be considerably cheaper to buy a used one (if you can find cheap labor to replace it).
thebax2006
New member
The tranny is junk. You can keep hoping it's not but why fool yourself into spending money that won't help.