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98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 Transmission Failure


98gc5pnt9
12-14-2004, 09:18 PM
I am the original owner of a 1998 Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 which, since it was new, had a history of hard shifts, surges in speed with jumps in the tach of 200 or 300 rpms while on cruise, and lastly since the start of the year, delayed shifts between 1st and 2nd, 2nd and 3rd and shifts back and forth between gears like the transmission didn't know which gear it needed. The 5.9 was in to the dealer for service related to these problems for a documented seven times, the last time being in February of 2004 while still under extended warranty. In June of 2004 the extended warranty expired. The surging problem remained and the delayed shifting problem continued until yesterday when the transmission failed with 104,000 miles. The 104k miles are mostly commuter interstate miles in the rural Midwest. I have read several of the posts here and would like to receive feedback from other people regarding their experiences that seem similar to mine and the resultant failure of my 5.9's transmission. Thank you in advance.

Cam7
12-16-2004, 05:12 AM
The surging problem you had sounds like the TCC was going in and out of lockup. The trans now seems to need a rebuild. The shop where you had a extended waranty put off fixing the problem untill the waranty ran out. The delayed shifting could have been Trany fluid low or needed changed valve body, fliter clogged,clutch & servo failure, Govenor sticking and front band being out if adjustment.

98gc5pnt9
12-16-2004, 07:11 PM
Thanks for the reply Cam7. The surging problems existed before 40,000 miles and from what I remember, the entire time I had the vehicle. Is that something a certified Jeep shop should have fixed during one of the five occasions they had the Jeep for the surging problem?

(Tranny fluid was consistently monitored and did not go low.)

98gc5pnt9
12-20-2004, 08:26 PM
Correction: My Jeep has 100,342 miles on it.

And I just got it back from the transmission shop, total cost was $1742.93.

So everyone, should I trade it in now or keep it? I have my eye on a clean 2002 Overland that would make a good replacement for my 5.9. Although I am a bit leary of Jeeps considering the cost of repairs of the three that I have had so far. Thoughts?

mx52nv
12-21-2004, 07:57 PM
Correction: My Jeep has 100,342 miles on it.

And I just got it back from the transmission shop, total cost was $1742.93.

So everyone, should I trade it in now or keep it? I have my eye on a clean 2002 Overland that would make a good replacement for my 5.9. Although I am a bit leary of Jeeps considering the cost of repairs of the three that I have had so far. Thoughts?

unless you use it for towing, go with a 4.0. It has the better 242 tcase and better gas mileage.

98gc5pnt9
01-04-2005, 08:05 PM
I am seriously thinking about trading the 5.9 in for something different. Any ideas on what a 5.9 with 100,000 miles in excellent condition is worth? I would like to sell it outright if the trade allowance isn't enough.

Thanks

Gojeepn
08-31-2005, 07:18 AM
It seems to me that someone may have missed the obvious, but yet it is not so obvious. My 1998 5.9 Limited had the exact same problem. It seemed as though the tranny was slipping, nut only when I was in cruise mode. During manual operation it shifted fine and was certainly connected firmly and could perform very well. As soon as I engaged the cruise it would shift back and forth constantly. I had the tranny checked out on a dyno and the looked at all the possibilities. The only thing that came up that will not generate a code is the throttle position sensor. It actually had a flat voltage signal for a certain span of the range that should have changed. There should have been a change in voltage over the entire span of the throttle travel and there was not. This confused the computer and it unlocked the torque convertor and acted like it was always shifting. After replacing the throttle position sensor I have had no problems. When I purchased this vehicle last Dec it came with this problem it took me about 2 month to figure it out and this repair at a shop will only cost a couple hundred bucks. You also mentioned a Grand Cherokee Overland, I also own one of those if you are expecting the same snap and acceleration from the Overland that you currently have with your 5.9 Limited forget it. The advertised Hp and Torque are misleading my 5.9 will clean up the road with my Overland. However, the features on the Overland and the ride far excede the 5.9.

dksob81
08-31-2005, 10:31 AM
I am the original owner of a 1998 Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 which, since it was new, had a history of hard shifts, surges in speed with jumps in the tach of 200 or 300 rpms while on cruise, and lastly since the start of the year, delayed shifts between 1st and 2nd, 2nd and 3rd and shifts back and forth between gears like the transmission didn't know which gear it needed. The 5.9 was in to the dealer for service related to these problems for a documented seven times, the last time being in February of 2004 while still under extended warranty. In June of 2004 the extended warranty expired. The surging problem remained and the delayed shifting problem continued until yesterday when the transmission failed with 104,000 miles. The 104k miles are mostly commuter interstate miles in the rural Midwest. I have read several of the posts here and would like to receive feedback from other people regarding their experiences that seem similar to mine and the resultant failure of my 5.9's transmission. Thank you in advance.

Have you check the throttle positioning sensor. there has been a few cases of surging while cruising that have been linked to a bad TPS.

You could test it yourself, using a DVOM, backprobe the center wire on the TPS witht he positive lead, hook the negative lead up to the negative battery terminal, turn the key to the ON position, slowly turn the throttle with your hand, the voltage should increase smoothly throughout the whole turning process, there should be no delays or spots where the voltage doesn't change. If you volt stops the jumps to a higher voltage then you TPS is bad.

Joe

dksob81
08-31-2005, 10:32 AM
well it looks like gojeepn beat me too it.
Sorry about that

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