So i took my kj threw some mud.. a lotta mudd. I had no problems ran great like always. the next day i put it in 4x4 lo and gave about 30% throtle to get a lil run before this steeep hill, the motor revs high, maybe 3,500 rpm and then got a sudden jerk of maybe less then half power somehow sucessfully climbing this beast.
I got to the top of the hill noticed somthing was wrong so on flat ground tryed going from a slower start then a faster start same thing. They'll be a pause as the motor revs then ill get a spert of power then as you keep accelerating you feel another "slip", high rev then spert of power.

any ideass? i was thinking clutch but in 2wd its perfectly fine. My name is McKinley and i own a 2004 jeep liberty 3.7 limited.

any ideas? please help

My check engine light came on today. im still thinking it might be fluid levels or they need to be changed. would the fluid or my transfer case make my check engine light come on?

There is a lot more force on the clutch in 4x4...ever notice how in 4hi you need a little more revs to get the thing going from a standstill than you do in 2 on flat pavement?

Sounds like you may need a clutch....you do have a standard, right? One way to tell for sure is on flat pavement pop it into 3rd or 4th with you foot off the brake and dump the clutch....if it doesn't just stall right away, the clutch is slipping. Of course the clutch can be slipping to different degrees....it starts out just a little and will get worse. The mud didn't help your clutch if it was on it's way out already. I would suggest 4low for anything offroad other than going fast on a fire road. How many miles on your clutch??

I have a 6speed KJ for a work truck (free gas, woo hoo) and for work it actually sees a fair amount of wheeling compared to your average SUV between all the power line ROWs and other remote sites I have to get to for work....and then the 'after work and I wanna get far into the woods but I don't have my jeep with me....so this one will have to do' effect, haha. It has 78k on the original clutch and this vehicle has been driven by many different people - company vehicle. Maybe it's just gotten lucky?


If you can turn a wrench I would suggest trying to do the clutch yourself, it's really easy. The only hold up will be that you'll want to bring the flywheel to a transmission shop and have them take a look at it and see if it needs resurfacing or just a touch up...it usually does. It's good to have a new clutch seat into a fresh new surface, especially if the clutch was slipping for a while. I've never done one on a KJ but I've done clutches on a bunch of different vehicles including many jeeps, TJs, XJs, YJs and a CJ. It's way easy.

Your check engine light is probably a loose wire, check the undercarriage. Get the codes pulled. Watch out because the rear 02 wire can come loose and rub on the rear driveshaft...if it does it for long enough it can burn out one of the many stupid little control units!!

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

thanks for your input mann. well no it is not a 6 speed its a 3.7 limited, 4speed auto, N242 t-casee. i hear a have a set of gears in my transfer case i thought that could be a problem but now i think they might only be used for fulltime (i have partime, fulltime, and 4wd lo). then the other settings might be ran by gears? maybe my 4x4 lo gear is stripped??

sounds like transmission problems to me. if you had a stripped gear it would make one heck of a racket. did you go through water?

_________________
2004 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
•McGard lugs
•Mopar Hitch
•Courtesy lights!
•Mopar Tow Hooks
•EVIC with homelink
•Boiler's Top Plates
•OME 927 & 948 RSX17004s and RSX17505s

oohh, not a standard!!

First things, your 242 has gears and a chain, and unlike a 231 it also has a differential inside of it!! When you're in full-time, meaning that you can be in 4wd on the pavement, your putting power to the front and rear but there is a differential between the two that allows slippage like when you're going around a corner and the front wheels are on a different arc than the rear wheels. This is just a straight up differential with no clutches or any other viscous couplings or anything to get messed up, so you really can't mess it up. then when you're in 4wd part-time, there is no differentiation between the front and rear axles....this is what you want for snow or for offroad light use. 4low is also part-time in that there is no differentiation between the front and back (don't use it on dry pavement) but the gears are reduced by 2.7 and you have way more power...use this for wheeling, it's much easier on your motor and transmission!! 4hi offroad gives more resistance to your motor/tranny but with the same gear ratio that you use for getting somewhat decent gas mileage on the road....so for anything moderately hard you're going to be taxing the motor and tranny. so use 4low as often as you can offroad, it is your best friend. 4hi is used offroad when you need lots of speed or wheel spin....


Anyways, your auto tranny is slipping BAD!! This is not a good thing. you need to not be offroad or in 4 at all before you can service the tranny. don't go get it flushed unless you want to put a new tranny in it next month. DO go to the stealership, give them your VIN and ask for a tranny filter kit which comes with the seal. Then ask for some tranny fluid, it's +4 or something, I don't recall exactly off the top of my head. I believe you'll want 5 quarts but again, i'm not positive off the top of my head, search for a thread detailing the tranny fluid swap process. Then you'll want a big drip pan, unbolt the tranny pan, drain into drip pan, then remove the entire tranny pan. Scrape old gasket off, unbolt the plastic thing with the mesh screen, that's the tranny filter, and replace with the new one. Clean the pan up real good and put the new seal in place and put the pan back on. put about 4 quarts in, start the motor and at idle check the dipstick. Give it a little time to warm up as the fluid level changes with temp. IIRC, and this was a while ago, my wifes KJ took between 4 and 5 quarts with a fluid change. i'm actually going to be doing one this week too.

This only changes about half of the tranny fluid. you should notice a significant improvement over the way it was prior to the fluid change. Drive around and go back to the stealership and grab another 4-5 quarts of the recommended fluid. This time you can just drop the pan and shouldn't hvae to change the filter again so soon. it will take a little less fluid to fill up without changing the filter, but only about .25-.5 quarts approximately. After doing the second fluid change you will have replaced approximately 75% of the original bad/smoked tranny fluid and the tranny should be acting like new. After about 30k miles, change the fluid and filter again and keep changing the fluid/filter at a regular interval of maybe 50k after that and your tranny should love you long time.

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

Well of course slipping is occurring but it's not in my trans. It has to be in the transfer case. Everything is fine till 4x4lo. So I think it's that gear that is stripped

If the Tcase was slipping in and out of engagement you'd hear a loud clunk and maybe some gear grinding. Nevertheless, if you want to ensure that it is indeed in the proper gear, loosen up the shift linkage, there is a bolt holding adjustment on a rail/bar right near it, and shift it manually over into 4low and see if the problem persists.

When was the last time you changed the tranny fluid?? Transfer cases are pretty indestructible as long as they don't make hard contact with rocks.

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

In other words, there is no clutch in your transfercase. If you're getting slippage, it's from the transmission.

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

Actually.............I had a similar problem with my '04. It's an auto with selec-trac. After replacing the fluid in the transfer case, the slippage stopped (Only slipped while in 4wd), and hasn't since changing the transfer fluid. Change the differential fluid while you're at it. It won't take long, and might cure the problem. Good luck!

_________________
E.E.P. for my Jeep (EMPTYING EVERY POCKET)
2004 Limited - Stock no more
JcrOffroad sliders-Trail tested, mud approved
Frankenlifted
Al's A-Arms
Stock Skids
235/70/16 Cooper Discoverer HTPs

That's strange because there are no clutches or the infamous viscous coupling in the 242....whether in part time or full time you have direct mechanical links through the drivetrain. the 242 in full time has something inbetween an open differential and a detroit true trac....it allows differentiation but only so much, and it doesn't have clutches to wear out or slip, it's gear driven.

Did the KJ come with anything other than the 231 or 242?? If you don't have a 242 then ignore everything I've said. You can determine which tcase you have by looking at the circular tag on the back of it. It should say either NV231 or NV242.

Check out this parts diagram....nothing but chain and gears. http://www.jeep4x4center.com/jeep-trans ... -parts.htm

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

no.

this is why you should check your transmission. It might have water in it.

_________________
2004 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
•McGard lugs
•Mopar Hitch
•Courtesy lights!
•Mopar Tow Hooks
•EVIC with homelink
•Boiler's Top Plates
•OME 927 & 948 RSX17004s and RSX17505s

Ahh. Ima give it a try thankss for the help really hope it works. Im scared of having to pay to much to fix it. So what type of sliping was going on? What did you feel? 4wd lo, fulltime, partime, all?

I havent been threw water but ive went threw a 1-3 inch puddle a couple times in 4wd lo..Beffore I figured I shouldnt use it unless needed. It got pretty wet under there but nothing like going under water. Could water get in from that??

Thanks for the help everyone! If you have anymore info or ideas feel free.

Maybe its just how it works in 4 lo. In mine I notice that 1st gear seems to hang on and then all of a sudden it throws it into second with a jerk. Only at a certain throttle though. Mine's done that since new and I notice a lot of the other Jeeps do it too, even wranglers. Just a thought.

_________________
2004 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
•McGard lugs
•Mopar Hitch
•Courtesy lights!
•Mopar Tow Hooks
•EVIC with homelink
•Boiler's Top Plates
•OME 927 & 948 RSX17004s and RSX17505s

Noo. Ive been in 4wd lo before. This is somthing new that happend. Right after the bigg puddle actually, jus dont think that could of done it.

So did you ever pull the Transmission stick and check for a milky water look? Mine was doing the same thing 04 Liberty 3.7L Auto 242 only in Lo Range I thought I had something broken in the transfer case so I changed the fluid. While I was changing the fluid I noticed a huge mess of grass small sticks and mud all over the linkage so I got a hose and washed off all that junk and it works fine now.

Im really hopping this is the problem givin it a try today

I've been lookin under it a lot. I can't find any cables or linkage and I can't find any clunk of earth. Gotta change all the fluids when I get money. I have been leaking transmission fluid. So when I change the fluid filters and transmission pan I hope it works.