automatic shift lever

[greg92jeepxj]

I know the feeling . It's a thankless job pulling down an auto trans pan . The eternal drip . Really hoping this will be a simple fix and that it is nothing more than spring tension that is the issue. From the photos in the shop manual , I dosen't look like it could be any more than that . But time will tell . Yeah , hard to get siked up for the job but it's good to know that the trans is good otherwise . As far as I'm concerned , any CJ is worth saving . The CJ is a special interest of mine .

 

[Scotts cj7]

Greg have you dropped the pan and valve body on one of these tf999 tranys and seen what it is im am looking for? I would like to get as much up front help as I can. I just don't want to unbolt something and have all kinds of stuff fall out not knowing where it came from. Thanks

 

[greg92jeepxj]

I haven't had the pleasure of working on a TF 999 but at least once did I on a TF 727 which is basically the same transmission with heavy upgrades to the clutch packs . I do not personally think you'll have to drop the valve body , unless your planning on installing a shift kit , to make the repair on the shift linkage . The park rod does plug into the valve body and seems to be spring driven but it should be all mechanical bolt off items from what my shop manual illustrates . You are right to question what pops out when dropping a valve body since there are check balls that can easily be lost not to mention making certain that they must be replaced into the right veins in the valve body or line pressure is lost when shifting must occur. I definately will say to take this like you've been this far in every task and repair you've taken on so far , slow and careful. You'll first want to find what is not working right with the shift lever in terms of the detents and it seems that the park rod may have some or all to do with it since it is most likely spring driven . I'm sorry I cannot be of more help on this but can try to look up what I can in my factory manual of what you may need . If you feel the valve body must be dropped , post back and will look up what tricks this may entail . Usually , there will be steel plates that sit between the valve body and trans case that are called orifice plates that have passages that control shifting when line pressure increases among other parts like accumulator and bands for example. Please take a good look once the pan is down and the dripping allows you to work with full focus and not have to dodge red drops . This I believe will be the focus of the repair , looking for what isn't allowing the ratchet action for the detent to occur. As you know , the shift lever outside the case should click into position for each position . Since your currently able to select all positions , I'm thinking the park rod may have much to do with the internal linkage not staying in position with each movement of the column lever. From the pictures in the manual , this seems to be a contributor to the cause. Looking forward to your posts of your findings but please do tread carefully . Thanks Scott .

 

[Scotts cj7]

That sound good not having to drop the valve body. I think that the skid plate holds everything up under there. Right now im working on restoring one of the hard doors but I think ill set this aside and look into the trany. I do have a good friend that is also a gearhead and has some experience with other types of automatic tranys. Thanks for the photos of the in manual that at least shows me what im looking for. It will be another Jeep adventure only in the shop. Thanks again. Scott

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Not a problem Scott. Glad that the posting will be of assistance . I should mention that in addition to the park rod , the ball and spring detent will also play a part and worth a look . Although the ball and spring will engage the notches for positive position engagement , it appears the park rod provides tension which is what will hold the selector in its position. I'm certain you'll find what's up with the shift column problems soon and with the help of your buddy , I believe you'll find the problem and solution as well. It's likely that others have experienced this problem before since an off road vehicle is subject to heavy use so your sharing via posts will be most helpful. Sorry that brat kid put you through all this . Someday he may see you cruising your pride and joy and just stare in amazement that you've built such a fine machine out of what he tried to break. Looking forward to your posts and progress when you can . Thank you again Scott .

 

[Scotts cj7]

Sorry I haven't replied for a while. Right now I am working on the hard doors which also need a ton of restoration. When I have these done ill get on that trany. I needed to get the hard top on and the doors done it will be cold weather before long.

 

[Scotts cj7]

Found the problem with trany. The detent ball bearing was in the bottom of the pan. A common problem with tf999 after wear and tear the detent lever to the shaft starts to wear making the lever not tight and square on the shaft. Also were the detent spring and ball bearing slides into valve body can wear. Sonnex makes a sleeve and ball rebuild kit for that if that is the problem. I am considering tacking the lever to the shaft with the tig or mig to keep it from moving. Will study it more tomorrow.

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Hello Scott . Thank you for the update . I'm sure you've been very busy . Not a problem . Jeep work first , reply when you can . Glad your making progress on the doors . Very happy also you found the cause of the trans problem . Even happier there is a solution without having to hunt down a junk trans to cannibalize for parts . It sounds like the fix is well within your grasp and ought to be complete soonest. I've been MIA myself helping a friend with an engine swap that is non-jeep related , a ford windstar. Very involved but ought to be complete tomorrow . Hope so , I miss being involved in the forum. Darn glad for the progress and good luck you've been blessed with on your project. Looking forward to hearing of your success soonest. Yeah , I think the TiG may be the way to go since the parts are small and sometimes MIG can be lethal to small parts . Not knowing much of TiG , looking forward to your results since I have an interest in learning of this craft one day . I don't master MIG but I can make a decent repair . Will be flexing some skills tomorrow on an exhaust system . Well , thanks again and wishing the best on this repair and on the body work also. Best of luck brother.

 

[Scotts cj7]

Got the trany detent lever welded this morning and spent the rest of the day putting it all back together. So far everything seems to be back to the way it should be. Not bad getting this thing apart and repaired in two days. Knock on wood.

 

[greg92jeepxj]

That is excellent to hear ! Just glad it worked out to be an easy fix and your jeep is working well again . Great to hear that now the carburetor issues are behind you and now the transmission is working right . Really glad your getting your jeep in better shape every time you set out to repair or improve it . I personally am happy that another CJ is being restored and driven . Thanks Scott !
p.s. - looks like you had better luck than me . I got that engine swap done and was partial success but it's got a bum fuel pump . Too late to do anything about on a late Sunday afternoon . Looks like another Saturday slaving over a hot windstar ! Really hoping to get back to my jeep soon before it gets mad at me .