Greetings from the UK !
Wondering if any of you guys can help me with a problem on my 1996 Grand Cherokee 4.0 Ltd :
In Sep 03 the 'transmission over temp' warning came on, and the Jeep was clearly less able to deal with accelerating, particularly when towing uphill. My local Jeep dealer could offer no more advice than fitting a new box (@£2800 !). So I got a friend who is pretty knowledgeable about 4X4s to fit a secondhand box (that had apparently done 22K miles) from a breaker in Dec 03. The Jeep then ran fine until about a month ago when it started to make noises when selecting a gear, inspection of the filter revealed it had become clogged, a new filter & transmission oil solved the problem, but only temporarily, last week the following happened :
First the gear selection at low speeds seemed to be a little variable
Then whilst travelling at about 70 mph there was a small judder
Then I noticed the 'disengage overdrive' switch had automatically engaged & couldn't be switched off
Then the transmission over temp sign came on a few miles from home
Inspection of the transmission oil dipstick revealed it had been cooked - it was hot, smoking & had lost viscosity !
So, I think either :
1) I just replaced one dodgy box with another, or
2) It is another part of the transmission that is causing the problem - the transfer box ? torque convertor ? something else ??????
Any tips on this guys would be much appreciated !
Thanks
Steve

Well,it sounds like you cooked the trans.I don't know if you plan on replacing or rebuilding it,but one thing that is extremely important is that you have the trans oil cooler flushed.What happens is that all of the garbage from the trans gets caught in the cooler and then the trans overheats.Then it's just a matter of time.If you don't flush the cooler, you can be certain that the trans will fail.This is for the one in the radiator and an auxilliary cooler if it has one.Chrysler dealers have a tool for flushing and it has a pressure guage so you can tell if the cooler is clogged.Sometimes you can't clean them out.In that case you would end up needing a radiator.

I agree with XJ have the tranny flushed, the reason the Overdrive was off was because of the tranny overheating, it shuts overdrive off whenever it gets too hott to help desipate the heat.
just take the tranny and get it flushed it should help alot.

Thanks for the advice, will ensure the oil cooler(s) are flushed or replaced as necessary. What damage do you suspect has been inflicted on the transmission ? I guess it is more than just a case of replacing the oil & filter ? What is likely to need replacing mechanically ?
Thanks again
Steve

Did the trans throw any codes? if you have access to a scan tool see if any codes are stored and take a look at the freeze frame data it might give you a clue if TCC was working or shut off due to heat. You should pull the pan off and take a look and see if any metal is in the pan. You should be able to take your rad to a Rad shop and they can clean it for u. Sounds like you might have fried the cluthes also take a look at the Transfer case fluid.