I enjoyed this episode a lot, especially the removal of the old transmission! I didn’t understand a lot of the technical stuff, but you explained it well enough that I was able to grasp and follow! Thank you for the great watch as always, looking forward to the next episode!
Well done. Love the idea of buying a broken car and working with your daughter to fix it up, may have to make that the rule in my house too. Nice wholesome video. Thank you for sharing.
question how or where did you source transmission. I have been looking since I have a 04 Grand cherokee and I am having trouble finding anything under $1K. Is it local salvage yard or someone parting out. I am trying to get Ideas on what's involved in sourcing decent transmission. Really enjoyed video.
Hey Mark, thanks for the question! We got the transmission off of eBay. For your 04 WJ, we just did a search to check and in the first couple listings, there's 2, one for $499 and one for $399. Both of those have extra cost for shipping though, so our advice is to keep searching and find one with free shipping; that's what ours had. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!
Another thought, eBay has their new guaranteed fit program, where they we ensure whatever you buy fits your vehicle. Be sure to check up at the top and if you don't see a green checkmark and the words "This fits a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee" then select your vehicle and it will verify the fit for you so you don't have to worry about getting the wrong one. Also, our advice is, if possible, try to buy a transmission out of a wrecked GC. Sometimes they will show you a pic of the donor vehicle, and a wrecked Jeep means it was running and driving when it got hit, meaning you'll most likely get a solid transmission. If you go with one that blew up its engine, for example, you might be buying a worn out transmission as well. Ok, that's it, good luck!
Yes, there are 4 bolts that you can reach through the starter hole/bottom of the engine area. Turn the engine by hand using a ratchet/socket on the the crank pulley bolt. Then the torque converter will stay inside the transmission as you remove it. To get the torque converter out of the transmission, just pull; it'll slide right off. To reinstall the torque converter in the transmission, be sure to turn and push. It will click 3 times once its finally seated. Thanks for commenting!
We replaced the output shaft seal. Its pretty easy you just pop the old one out with a cheap seal puller or screwdriver and then carefully tap the new one in. There is an input shaft seal, sometimes called a torque converter seal, that we did not replace because ours looked good and this is only a temporary transmission for us. We're actually supposed to pick up the fully overhauled transmission next week so there will be a much more in-depth, step by step how-to video on the 44RE transmission coming in the next couple of weeks!
We are not *positive* but our understanding is that the 42RE was behind the 4.0 and the 44RE was behind the 5.2 and they have different bell housings, so we don't *think* it will work. 44RE to 46RE yes, but not 42. Thanks for the question!
We're totally doing this! We didn't have the replacement t-case when we did the transmission but we picked up an upgraded unit recently and we'll be installing it in an upcoming episode. Stay tuned!
How many hours should I expect to put in on this? I’m swapping out my trans in 2003 4x4. Is a buddy necessary? Also, do I have to open up the shift consul to access any of the cables or should I be able to disconnect everything from below. One last thing. Is there a special socket needed for any of the bolts? Heard there might be a star one needed?
So the 2003 uses the RFE transmission while the ZJ in this video uses the 44RE. Everything we did is going to be pretty applicable to yours, but we're not sure on the sockets. The ZJ had no special sockets. From what we can find on our own WJ project elsewhere on the channel, you may need a reverse torx bit for the driveline, but you can look at the driveshafts and tell before you get started. Book time on the WJ is 5 hours, but we always seem to need 10-12 doing it on the ground. You can disconnect the shift linkage from underneath and shouldn't need to access anything from inside. Lastly, your transmission is way more computer controlled than ours, so if you have a scan tool you can do a quick learn on the transmission control module. If not, the Jeep will learn the new transmission itself but it will take a while and you may get some hard shifts until it sorts itself out. FYI we're about to drop a detailed how to video on this transmission swap, should be out either tomorrow or Wednesday next week (we're still trying to get all the data in the video), so if you aren't doing it this weekend, we'll have a much more how-to focused video in a couple days. Thanks for commenting!
@@MotorsandMischief thanks for the in-depth answer. I was getting nervous starting this project and these videos really helped boost my confidence. I’ll be tackling in the next couple weeks. Best, jack
We totally have that affect on people "Well jeez if THAT guy can do it, I totally should be able to..." lol jokes aside you can totally do it. There will be a LOT more detail in the next video that will be posted this coming Wednesday. Good luck on yours and let us know how it goes!
No crank no start but seeming to have good power is almost always the power cable going from the battery to starter has corroded. You don't have to remove the old one either, just run a universal cable from the parts store down to it and about 80% of the time that's your issue. If not that, check your grounds (we have a ZJ video on ground locations) and if its not that, check your ignition switch to make sure you have a signal going down to the starter. Good luck!
Yeah we totally agree with you. We didn't realize this video was going to be this popular and it was done more as part of our Project Grand Cherokee overall build than a how to on the transmission. In retrospect, we for sure should have done a full on how-to. We're going back through our footage and seeing if we can put together a better how-to version of this. Thanks for commenting, it helps us know this is needed!
You are absolutely correct! Joel was trying to go from memory in the video, even tho he knows better. And wow another Joel! You Joel's are rare, thanks for commenting!
Where were you when we were diagnosing this?! Actually we’re very impressed you figured that out from the video. The guy we bought it from had a shop work on it and they couldn’t fix the trans. AFTER we installed our junkyard transmission, we noticed someone had stuck the PCM fuse in such that one leg was in the correct hole and one was in a dead hole so, tag-dah! No power to the PCM. Good catch! Unfortunately we didn’t figure that out before the replacement so moral of the story is we need to do a better job of testing and not make assumptions. Sadly we learn this lesson over and over. On the plus side when we did tear it down to rebuild it, it was in fairly rough shape inside so it probably wouldn’t have gone terribly long on the PCM fix. But thanks for the comment and again, nice catch!
![Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ How To Remove Transmission - [Part 1 Removal]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bk8FNL7NIxE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ How To Remove Transmission - [Part 1 Removal]](/img/tr.png)
![Suspension and Exhaust Work on our $1000 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ [Fixing a Broken Jeep]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cvrqyol7qgw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ Transmission Install How To [Part 2-Install]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3hZ0AAdLnmg/mqdefault.jpg)
I enjoyed this episode a lot, especially the removal of the old transmission! I didn’t understand a lot of the technical stuff, but you explained it well enough that I was able to grasp and follow!
Thank you for the great watch as always, looking forward to the next episode!
Thanks Sam, its a huge encouragement that we know you're watching. Thanks for all the support!
Well done. Love the idea of buying a broken car and working with your daughter to fix it up, may have to make that the rule in my house too. Nice wholesome video. Thank you for sharing.
What an awesome comment, thanks so much for posting!
question how or where did you source transmission. I have been looking since I have a 04 Grand cherokee and I am having trouble finding anything under $1K. Is it local salvage yard or someone parting out. I am trying to get Ideas on what's involved in sourcing decent transmission. Really enjoyed video.
Hey Mark, thanks for the question! We got the transmission off of eBay. For your 04 WJ, we just did a search to check and in the first couple listings, there's 2, one for $499 and one for $399. Both of those have extra cost for shipping though, so our advice is to keep searching and find one with free shipping; that's what ours had. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!
Another thought, eBay has their new guaranteed fit program, where they we ensure whatever you buy fits your vehicle. Be sure to check up at the top and if you don't see a green checkmark and the words "This fits a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee" then select your vehicle and it will verify the fit for you so you don't have to worry about getting the wrong one. Also, our advice is, if possible, try to buy a transmission out of a wrecked GC. Sometimes they will show you a pic of the donor vehicle, and a wrecked Jeep means it was running and driving when it got hit, meaning you'll most likely get a solid transmission. If you go with one that blew up its engine, for example, you might be buying a worn out transmission as well. Ok, that's it, good luck!
Do you have to unbolt the torque converter before pulling the trans out?
Yes, there are 4 bolts that you can reach through the starter hole/bottom of the engine area. Turn the engine by hand using a ratchet/socket on the the crank pulley bolt. Then the torque converter will stay inside the transmission as you remove it. To get the torque converter out of the transmission, just pull; it'll slide right off. To reinstall the torque converter in the transmission, be sure to turn and push. It will click 3 times once its finally seated. Thanks for commenting!
Hi. What oil seal did you replace?
We replaced the output shaft seal. Its pretty easy you just pop the old one out with a cheap seal puller or screwdriver and then carefully tap the new one in. There is an input shaft seal, sometimes called a torque converter seal, that we did not replace because ours looked good and this is only a temporary transmission for us. We're actually supposed to pick up the fully overhauled transmission next week so there will be a much more in-depth, step by step how-to video on the 44RE transmission coming in the next couple of weeks!
Anyone know if the 42RE in my 95 can be replaced with the 44RE?
We are not *positive* but our understanding is that the 42RE was behind the 4.0 and the 44RE was behind the 5.2 and they have different bell housings, so we don't *think* it will work. 44RE to 46RE yes, but not 42. Thanks for the question!
@@MotorsandMischief Thanks. I'll continue to baby it. At 175K, so far - so good.
Nice job. But why not upgrade the transfer case while you have it out?
We're totally doing this! We didn't have the replacement t-case when we did the transmission but we picked up an upgraded unit recently and we'll be installing it in an upcoming episode. Stay tuned!
@@MotorsandMischief will do!
How many hours should I expect to put in on this? I’m swapping out my trans in 2003 4x4. Is a buddy necessary? Also, do I have to open up the shift consul to access any of the cables or should I be able to disconnect everything from below. One last thing. Is there a special socket needed for any of the bolts? Heard there might be a star one needed?
So the 2003 uses the RFE transmission while the ZJ in this video uses the 44RE. Everything we did is going to be pretty applicable to yours, but we're not sure on the sockets. The ZJ had no special sockets. From what we can find on our own WJ project elsewhere on the channel, you may need a reverse torx bit for the driveline, but you can look at the driveshafts and tell before you get started. Book time on the WJ is 5 hours, but we always seem to need 10-12 doing it on the ground. You can disconnect the shift linkage from underneath and shouldn't need to access anything from inside. Lastly, your transmission is way more computer controlled than ours, so if you have a scan tool you can do a quick learn on the transmission control module. If not, the Jeep will learn the new transmission itself but it will take a while and you may get some hard shifts until it sorts itself out. FYI we're about to drop a detailed how to video on this transmission swap, should be out either tomorrow or Wednesday next week (we're still trying to get all the data in the video), so if you aren't doing it this weekend, we'll have a much more how-to focused video in a couple days. Thanks for commenting!
@@MotorsandMischief thanks for the in-depth answer. I was getting nervous starting this project and these videos really helped boost my confidence. I’ll be tackling in the next couple weeks. Best, jack
We totally have that affect on people "Well jeez if THAT guy can do it, I totally should be able to..." lol jokes aside you can totally do it. There will be a LOT more detail in the next video that will be posted this coming Wednesday. Good luck on yours and let us know how it goes!
Informative and wholesome, you love to see it!
We appreciate that, thanks for commenting!
Nice episode and very interesting. Bloopers were funny, can everyone please be quiet on the set haha!
No crank no start .but dash lights come on when ignition is on
No crank no start but seeming to have good power is almost always the power cable going from the battery to starter has corroded. You don't have to remove the old one either, just run a universal cable from the parts store down to it and about 80% of the time that's your issue. If not that, check your grounds (we have a ZJ video on ground locations) and if its not that, check your ignition switch to make sure you have a signal going down to the starter. Good luck!
Great Video!.. Your a good Dad!!
Ah man thanks! Really appreciate that!
Wow knowledge, knowhow, and composer.you guys amaze me. Great job 👍🏻
Thanks Mark! Love that you're such a loyal subscriber my friend, thanks for all the support!
Definitely need more details for steps in the video
Yeah we totally agree with you. We didn't realize this video was going to be this popular and it was done more as part of our Project Grand Cherokee overall build than a how to on the transmission. In retrospect, we for sure should have done a full on how-to. We're going back through our footage and seeing if we can put together a better how-to version of this. Thanks for commenting, it helps us know this is needed!
Here's our new how to video with ALL the steps, hope it helps! th-cam.com/video/bk8FNL7NIxE/w-d-xo.html
The grand Cherokee 1st gen is from 93-98
You are absolutely correct! Joel was trying to go from memory in the video, even tho he knows better. And wow another Joel! You Joel's are rare, thanks for commenting!
Doesn't sound like the torque converter sounds like PCM
Where were you when we were diagnosing this?! Actually we’re very impressed you figured that out from the video. The guy we bought it from had a shop work on it and they couldn’t fix the trans. AFTER we installed our junkyard transmission, we noticed someone had stuck the PCM fuse in such that one leg was in the correct hole and one was in a dead hole so, tag-dah! No power to the PCM. Good catch! Unfortunately we didn’t figure that out before the replacement so moral of the story is we need to do a better job of testing and not make assumptions. Sadly we learn this lesson over and over. On the plus side when we did tear it down to rebuild it, it was in fairly rough shape inside so it probably wouldn’t have gone terribly long on the PCM fix. But thanks for the comment and again, nice catch!