1996 Jeep Laredo Up and Down shifting

GOOSEMAN13

MEMBER
1996 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO

Transmission problem
1996 Jeep Laredo 6 cyl Four Wheel Drive Automatic

When I leave for work (20 miles away) in the morning my jeep shifts fine for the first 10 miles (stop lights 6 miles then expressway) then I get into some stop and go traffic and my jeep down shifts from overdrive to 3rd gear then up shifts then down shifts, stays in 3rd until I put it in neutral let the r's comback down and put it back in drive. At this point I am getting off of the e-way back into city driving, the jeep does it a couple of times then settles down execpt that it start out in second even if I put it into 1st with the gear selecter. After work 9 hours later, it starts out in second and if I leave the gear selecter alone, after 5 miles the trans drives like nothing is wrong as long as I baby it off the stop lights and lmoderately excellerate. It does this every day, but if I drive it around like shopping trips, as long as I don't hit the e-way it is fine. The engine temp is normal and no idiot lights are on. I just got the Jeep and took it in for the normal prevenative maint. They said the trans fluid was a little over filled and looked burnt, but did not reccommend changing it because I did not know when it was changed last and putting new fluid in could cause more damae. 1) Is this true about the fluid change or should I try changing the filter and fluid? 2) Is this a shift control module issue or is it time to rebuild?

1 Reply

BEEF99

MEMBER
152 POSTS

Overfilling your transmission could destroy your transmission if you drive it a while without removing the extra fluid. Draining your trans fluid and changing your filter and adding the correct amount of fluid back in will NOT damage your trans.

I would not take it back to the same place to get checked out if they are giving you this misinformation. Overfilling your trans could cause it to act up as you were describing. Drain the fluid and change the filter and add the correct amount and see if your trans is still acting up. If it still acts up, take it to a reputable trans shop to have it checked out. It could have damage but it may not. It could also have a bad Governor Pressure Regulator in it that is making it shift at the wrong times too. Do not replace random parts as you could be wasting your money and with the extra money you could have it properly diagnosed.