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After driving through a mud hole water got into the transmission and now the transmission is stuck in first gear

Tiny
MIKE MAXWELL2
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 JEEP WRANGLER
  • 2.4L
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 208,000 MILES
Got into a mud hole a couple weeks ago, didn't swamp the motor but it was about 3 ½ feet deep and was in it for half an hour while I winched her out. Once I got back on dry ground, it was idling high, misfiring, and when I got back to the road and my speed climbed, it was stuck in first gear. I limped her home about two miles, hosed her down and immediately checked fluids. Definitely water in the transmission but thank God not in the motor. Dropped the pan right then and let it drain. Got the filter and gasket and fluid and put it back together hoping for the best, but it's still in first gear.

I was reading here it could be the TPS (seems unlikely from your experience) so I bought a new one of those, but it didn't fix it. I bought a new solenoid (It's a 30R so it only has 1?) But I couldn't figure out how to get that plate off to get to it, so I abandoned that.

Just hoping for advice on any other things I can try before I putz around to the transmission shop for a currency enema. When I say "that plate", I mean the Valve Body.

Thank you and have a great evening.
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Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 AT 5:36 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,055 POSTS
We need to run the codes first so we can go in the direction of the trouble code. These guides can help. Also does the fluid look red not a pink milkshake? Does the speedometer work?

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/automatic-transmission-problems

Please run down these guides and report back.

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Wednesday, July 6th, 2022 AT 5:29 PM
Tiny
MIKE MAXWELL2
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Thank you for your reply, the fluid is fine now (upon initial inspection when I got home it was the tell-tale milkshake which is why I immediately drained it), normal red and to the full line. The speedometer does work, everything does. There is no Check Engine light, nor are there any codes on my reader. It's not a high dollar unit but it's reading clear as of now.
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Thursday, July 7th, 2022 AT 6:47 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,055 POSTS
Okay, this sounds like you have a valve body that is not working or has a broken spring, these are easy to remove and get a rebuilt unit for. Here is the location of the valve body so you can check it out in the diagrams below. Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what you find.
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Saturday, July 9th, 2022 AT 9:27 AM
Tiny
MIKE MAXWELL2
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
That's where I was hung up, is I didn't know the throttle and manual levers needed to come off to get it to drop. I only have access to this vehicle on occasional weekends, so it may take me a while to respond here, but this is very valuable information. Thank you, sir.
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Saturday, July 9th, 2022 AT 7:09 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,055 POSTS
You are welcome, please let us know how it goes.
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Sunday, July 10th, 2022 AT 1:19 PM
Tiny
MIKE MAXWELL2
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
After much wrenching and multiple trips up north, she' back! I had one heck of a time getting that top bolt off the shift mechanism, but I finally dropped the front drive shaft and gained the extra room I needed to drop the valve body. Installation of the Solenoid, rebuild kit for springs and rings on the Accumulator Piston, whole assembly bolted right back up. Fresh fluid, fingers crossed, VIOLA All things back to normal! Just a minor adjustment needed for some reason on the shift cable assembly because she won't quite lock into Park, but it's all good. I appreciate your input, thank you.
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Thursday, October 20th, 2022 AT 2:47 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,055 POSTS
Thanks for the image, this is the best time of year (fall) glad you get it fixed. Can you please leave us a rating? (Copy entire link)

https://www.google.com/search?q=2carpros&gs_ivs=1#lrd=0x80dcd47364be5d0d:0xba091aa4209f4497,1,,,&tts=0

and

https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/2carpros.com

Use 2CarPros anytime, we are here to help. Please tell a friend.
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Friday, October 21st, 2022 AT 11:24 AM

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