Overheating Transmission

[LibertyFever]

The weather isn't very warm (temperatures less than twenty degrees Celsius) yet but I've noticed the last two times I've been offroad in 4Lo that the transmission temperature indicator comes on. If I shutoff the Libby it resets the indicator and I continue wheelin. Should I be concerned?

My Libby is a Sport with a trailer package. This means it has a transmission cooler with an electric fan up front and a clutch fan behind the rad on the engine.

 

[J-Thompson]

The weather isn't very warm (temperatures less than twenty degrees Celsius) yet but I've noticed the last two times I've been offroad in 4Lo that the transmission temperature indicator comes on. If I shutoff the Libby it resets the indicator and I continue wheelin. Should I be concerned?

My Libby is a Sport with a trailer package. This means it has a transmission cooler with an electric fan up front and a clutch fan behind the rad on the engine.

are you in D or 1?
if you are in D then it is shifting gears and generating heat and depending on terrain it may be doing a lot of shifting
if you are in 1 and 4lo and it is still doing it then you have an issue
could have a plugged cooling line or some thing like that

 

[kjfan18]

What ****** do you have? It happens to alot of guys that wheel in the rockies with the 42rle ******.

 

[tjkj2002]

What ****** do you have? It happens to alot of guys that wheel in the rockies with the 42rle ******.

Yep the KJ's with the 42RLE have overheating problems,even in 4low,here in CO and many times while still on the road to the trail head and they have the HD cooling also.Never had any problems with my '02 with the 45RFE and no HD cooling but I have added a AUX ****** cooler rated for a 28,000lbs GVWR RV.The one other '02 KJ I wheel with has not had any problems either,even when towing a 4000lbs+ camper over Vail Pass hear in CO,he has the HD cooling though.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Never had any problems with mine.

A guy that used to wheel with the midwest guys has had his Jeep all over the place and never had any problems. He goes by eddo.

Im curious to know what gear you had it in.

 

[Dave]

Mine does not overheat. You are in 4lo-first gear right?

Dave

 

[J-Thompson]

Never had any problems with mine.

A guy that used to wheel with the midwest guys has had his Jeep all over the place and never had any problems. He goes by eddo.

Im curious to know what gear you had it in.

I think this is where I am at
he said 20* C
that is what 65-70*F
heck to me that is cool and not at all putting a "strain" on the cooling system
you dont even need AC for that ,even though the AC has almost no bearing on the ****** ,I'm just saying it's cool

 

[candpliberty]

Took our Liberty into the dealer for a check engine light, flashing ****** temp light and occasional idiot lights lighting up like a Christmas tree. Next day we got a call saying we needed major ****** work. We still have warantee so they fixed it, no charge. Got new torque converter, bands, flush. Seemed ok bfore the repair except a cycling noise coming from ****** that we could hear sitting still. It all seems good now and the noise went away. Thank you, Chrysler Jeep! BTW, we have a 06 Renegade with the 42 RLE and factory ****** cooler.

 

[LibertyFever]

I've removed my radiator's electric fan assembly, cleaned it out and put it all back together again. It now works but smells like it's burning up so I guess I'm now shopping for a replacement.


I just had a thought, why is my Liberty's transmission overheating? Not all gas powered Liberty's have an auxiliary transmission cooler & electric fan. Is it really my driving habits? Do I need to be in 4WD Lo and not in Drive anytime I'm offroading?

 

[jnaut]

I just had a thought, why is my Liberty's transmission overheating? Not all gas powered Liberty's have an auxiliary transmission cooler & electric fan. Is it really my driving habits? Do I need to be in 4WD Lo and not in Drive anytime I'm offroading?

In general, if you're in 4hi or 4lo there's no need to be in drive. When you're truly offroad, you need your OD off and you should be in 2nd.

The only time I've ever been in drive while in 4HI is driving on a snowy/slushy highway. There, the conditions might allow you travel at 30-40mph or so but 4wd keeps the vehicle solid on the highway.

Most offroad trails I've been on, you wouldn't want to be moving at 30-40mph and if you are, it's probably flat and dry and so you don't need 4wd.

 

[J-Thompson]

When you're truly offroad, you need your OD off and you should be in 2nd.

Really?
at last check it was the shifting of gears that caused friction
friction causes heat
the pump in your transmission will pump more at higher RPM ,just like the water pump and oil pump
This is what makes 1st gear and 4lo the way to go off road

This is what I know ,in my TJ
for a long time I had strange over heating issues when off road ,engine
it would get very hot if I pushed it very hard then shut it off
what I did to make it MUCH better
replace broken fan shroud
replace hoses ,T-stat, fan clutch and coolant
install a transmission cooler and remove the trans from the radiator
installed a trans temp gauge ,which showed me what a mechanic told me

when you have the trans being cooled by the radiator only you could very well be heating the trans not cooling it
if your coolant is hotter than the trans fluid then it will be heated not cooled
I found that my trans on just the cooler I installed has an in bound temp or
the fluid from the cooler is much cooler than the coolant ,40* cooler
this will add life to the trans

 

[jnaut]

Really?
at last check it was the shifting of gears that caused friction
friction causes heat
the pump in your transmission will pump more at higher RPM ,just like the water pump and oil pump
This is what makes 1st gear and 4lo the way to go off road

I was differentiating between DRIVE vs any lower gear. I tend to hang in 2nd because many of the trails I go on I can drive at faster speeds but I need 4wd to keep the wheels from slipping.

1st and 4lo is probably most appropriate for many trails.

I was merely suggesting the OP get out of Drive so if he's going down the trail at slightly higher speeds, his transmission won't be constantly shifting gears as it will be in "no man's land".

Speaking personally, I only got to 1st and 4lo when crossing obstacles.

I've never had a transmission light come on even when climbing a couple thousand feet of altitude offroad. If I were, I'd probably go to first more often.

 

[LibertyTC]

AS far as I know all R2RLE came with a cooler, even though I do not have THE HD, it is also not listed on my build sheet, but then again neither was the block heater.
http://s779.photobucket.com/albums/yy75/LibertyTC/Jeep%20Liberty%202004/?action=view&current=KJRockyMountain.jpg
I can see the power steering cooler as well as the ****** cooler behind the front grille. I was thinking about upgrading the ****** cooler to something larger, but after looking at the stock cooler, it is fairly large, and it may be easier to think about mounting a slim electric fan behind the grille. Any ideas on what might work in there? I do not have the HD cooling (no fan mounted on pulley) but never had engine light or ****** light yet.
Mounting slim line fans would be a huge bonus when stopped in traffic and when it 85 degrees outside and you have been hauling something.
Does your rad electric fan ever continue running after you turn the motor off? I guess they never thought of that?
I normally lift the hood after shutting down for a while, to let it cool down. And then I can access the hot-dogs that are ready.

 

[J-Thompson]

AS far as I know all R2RLE came with a cooler, even though I do not have THE HD, it is also not listed on my build sheet, but then again neither was the block heater.
http://s779.photobucket.com/albums/yy75/LibertyTC/Jeep%20Liberty%202004/?action=view&current=KJRockyMountain.jpg
I can see the power steering cooler as well as the ****** cooler behind the front grill. I was thinking about upgrading the ****** cooler to something larger, but after looking at the stock cooler, it is fairly large, and it may be easier to think about mounting a slim electric fan behind the grille. Any ideas on what might work in there? I do not have the HD cooling (no fan mounted on pulley) but never had engine light or ****** light yet.
Mounting slim line fans would be a huge bonus when stopped in traffic and when it 85 degrees outside and you have been hauling something.

Yes they do
but is the cooler in line with the radiator as well ,does the trans fluid EVER pass through the radiator?
if it does then the coolant is heating the trans fluid
my trans runs below 150* in stop and go traffic ,with out the use of an electric fan which I do have
the coolant is 210*
this will cause the fluid temp to rise when it hits the radiator or not cool below 210*

good luck finding a "slim"fan that will fit and move air
I just used a 10" fan from the local auto parts store

 

[LibertyTC]

10 inch fan mounted where? In front of the ****** cooler behind the front grille?
Got a photo of it, did you just take the grille out or___ to install it?

 

[67Customs]

I've wheeled for 5 straight hours in 4-lo and the ****** never overheated. Nor has it the other times I have used it.

Something must be wrong.

 

[J-Thompson]

10 inch fan mounted where? In front of the ****** cooler behind the front grille?
Got a photo of it, did you just take the grille out or___ to install it?

we are talking about my TJ
it is mounted as a puller fan behind the cooler in front of the radiator
IIRC it is 3" or so thick
you can "through core" mount them but you will want to buy some foam
insulation to keep the vibration down