Trans Temp

asad.javid · **Posted:** Fri May 19, 2006 10:43 pm

Hi,
i have a problem with my kj 2005 limited. i take it to the desert normally here in qatar. i took it yesterday and problem with it. the trans temp light comes up after some time. it has happened before but after switching it off for 5 mins it goes back to normall. but this time around this happened 6 -7 times and i have to switch off my jeep for few minutes. Is this a serious problem? what might be causing it? i have bought it in last october and have only 17000 on it.

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 12:08 am

Be sure to use 4 low when wheeling steep terrain to take some of the load off the tranny. What are the temps over there this time of year? How does your trans fluid look and smell?

asad.javid · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 4:45 am

Well the temperature around here is between 40 to 50 degrees c. I did not have a chance to smell the fluid. We had 2 4x4s with us. the other one was a nissan pathfinder 2000 model. it did not have a problem. infact i havent heard about any other 4x4 having this kind of problem.

KW AV8R · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 9:41 am

We've routinely had our trans temp lights come on here in CO during extremely long climbs. 4LO does help and so does let it idle until the light goes off (this keeps the fans going if you have a tranny cooler). Not sure if this helps but this is something we've seen here.

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

Normal and nothing to worry about...happens all the time. The dealer has checked it repeatedly and says everything is good. I think we have overly sensitive sensors or something. Anyway, at high elevation and steep climbs this does happen frequently.

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 12:59 pm

There's a TSB out there (2005 models) for a reflash of the PCM, they were displaying overheating tranny lights and codes when everything was fine if I remember correctly. The reflash supposedly recalibrated the sensors.

asad.javid · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 1:23 pm

Well i spoke with my dealer. i was told by the technician that if i keep on driving it might burn the transmission box. He told me out of 400 libertys here mine is the 4th one having this problem. He also told me that a filter can be placed to keep in cool. dont know whether it would work though.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat May 20, 2006 7:02 pm

asad.javid wrote:

Well i spoke with my dealer. i was told by the technician that if i keep on driving it might burn the transmission box. He told me out of 400 libertys here mine is the 4th one having this problem. He also told me that a filter can be placed to keep in cool. dont know whether it would work though.

Transmission box? Hes an idiot. Anyway, this is kinda normal, should the light be coming on...No...Does it happen alot...Yes...If you dont have the engine driven fan, getting it would help alot since it pulls air through the tranny cooler at all times while the electric fan that all libbys come with if you dont have the towing pack only comes on when it "needs" to. Getting a bigger tranny cooler would also help it.

I would be sure to change the tranny oil on time(30K), and I would probably change it alittle earlier since you seem to be hard on it(not that its your fault). When going up big hills its always better to turn off O/D and is even a good idea to shift it into 2nd gear if you are going slow enough, then 4low if you are crawling. Letting the tranny shift alot will cause it to overheat, thats a known. Play it safe and be smart!

asad.javid · **Posted:** Sun May 21, 2006 3:30 am

So it means if the light is on and i keep on driving, nothing will happen??

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

Take JJ's advice and use 4-lo. I've four-wheeling way up in the rockies and w/ steep hill climbs for miles and never had a problem when using four-low and the correct gear. Even, my friends tacoma had it's light come on when we where up there because he wasn't using four-low.

Without 4-low you are making the torque converter slip alot to keep engine RPMs up to generate enough power to move. However, all that slipping generates alot of heat. Lower gearing elinimates the problem, so slip it into 4-low.

However, you are running in a climate that frequently gets well past 100F (50c = 122F). Honestly at those temperatures you probably want to look additional cooling. Most vehicle have trouble at those temperatures. Just driving across the southern california deserts you see water stations every couple miles and signs telling you to stop and let your car cool.
An additional tranny cooler might be a good idea. You can get a decent one for 50 dollars and easy enough for a do it yourselfer to install.
Check the link below for some populare ones. I'd go with the 16,000 or 19,000 one. The other are 1.5" and a little too thick to squezze in. I was planning on installing one this summer
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... ryId=17689
Nice write up on the install
http://www.ws6transam.org/transcooler.html

Finally, I wouldn't keep driving and pushing it. What the light means is the tranny fluid has reached about 275F or 135C which is quite hot for the fluid. I wouldn't run it like that for any length of time. You very well could damage something if you keep on it. If it does happen, the owners manual suggests stopping and revving the engine in park or neutral to the light goes away. That way you are circulating fluid through the transmission and cooler without putting any load on the tranny.

asad.javid · **Posted:** Sun May 21, 2006 12:14 pm

Thanks for the help and support. one question though. why is it with the jeep that the transmission fluid gets hot. i have a lot of experienced friends who take their land cruisers, nissan pathfinders, mitsubishi pajeros etc. and none have this problem. Is this specifically a jeep problem?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun May 21, 2006 1:17 pm

asad.javid wrote:

Thanks for the help and support. one question though. why is it with the jeep that the transmission fluid gets hot. i have a lot of experienced friends who take their land cruisers, nissan pathfinders, mitsubishi pajeros etc. and none have this problem. Is this specifically a jeep problem?

I would say so. The libbys tranny seems to "slip" alot, its all about the torque converter. It lets the engine get up into its torque curve. If it had a really tight torque converter the engine would never get up into the high rpms where it needs to be. So yes, they should of used the I-6 4.0 which gets over 70% of its torque at idle.

Trans Temp

Who is online