2007 JK intermittently won't shift out of first

ddelatte

New Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2021
Messages
4
Location
Hattiesburg, Ms
Yesterday my 2007 JK would not shift out of first after stopping at a stop light. I pulled over and shut off the ignition started it back up and it was back to working fine. This has happened twice, once when my battery went dead and then again randomly after I stopped. Transmission is pulling fine, although I just had the cooling lines replaced due to them popping off the trans. Anyone have an idea what could be causing this to happen?
 
Electrical problems are usually caused by dirty battery clamps and corrosion on the cable ends and terminals. Clean the grounds good and then see what that does.
 
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Did you replace the coolant line or have a shop do it?

Seeing as how this was a recent thing, it would be my guess that the transmission isn't cooling properly. Fluid could be low, or something was connected wrong. How many miles on it since the fix?
 
Had a shop do it. The lines came of once and the shop told me it needed an oring kit, they put that on the the next day the came off again. The shop then replaced both lines. Both times I pulled over as soon as the trans started slipping. The shop also checked the pressure on the trans and said it looked ok. I have also not had any check engine lights or trouble codes come up. I have only driven it 50 miles since it was fixed.
 
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Had a shop do it. The lines came of once and the shop told me it needed an oring kit, they put that on the the next day the came off again. The shop then replaced both lines. Both times I pulled over as soon as the trans started slipping. The shop also checked the pressure on the trans and said it looked ok. I have also not had any check engine lights or trouble codes come up. I have only driven it 50 miles since it was fixed.
The transmission coolant lines needed an O-ring kit? I've never changed them in a wrangler so someone else needs to speak up, but the ones I have changed on other vehicles were held on like any other hose with hose clamps. So we may be speaking about different things here.

If the coolant lines came off, you are no longer driving the vehicle until they are put on. Your transmission would overheat pretty quick. Please start at that repair, because I feel like I'm missing a bunch of info.
 
Trans cooling line are held in place by a clip system. There is an o-ring, retaining ring, and the clip.

To back up a bit. I was driving and unexpectedly the trans started slipping and smoke was pouring out the back of my jeep. I pulled off to the shoulder. Trans fluid was everywhere under and on the back of the Jeep. I had it towed to AAMCO trans shop (was recommended by a family member). They told me the the cooling line popped out and it needed and o-ring kit ($230). Got it back and less than 20 miles line same thing happened. I had it towed back to the shop and they tried just putting them back on and told me they could not get them to stay. The reason was that the lines were just old and had corrosion. (154K in mileage) So I had then replace them with a new line set ($460). They also did a pressure test and a computer diagnostic on the trans and told me everything was fine.

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2 days later I was driving to (stop and go traffic) and i stopped at a light and felt the trans shift to first and it did not want to shift out of first. I pulled off turned for the engine and started it back up and everything was back to normal.

Prior to the trans line I have had the Jeep go into limp mode after changing the battery. i disconnected for 5 min and then reconnected it and everything was fine. About a month I had the issue of it being stuck in 1st after stopping at a traffic light. I pulled over turned of the engine let it sit for a minute, started it back up and everything went back to normal.

So I'm not sure if the problems were related or not. Just kind of frustrating. I have never had any light show up except the gas cap on this vehicle.
 
Ugg, transmission problems are no fun. Dug a bit and of course JK trans cooling is much more complicated than stuff I've dealt with. My 2009 (same engine etc as yours) is a manual, that comes with it's own quirks.

Check the transmission fluid level is my first suggestion. Low or dirty fluid is big cause of a transmission not shifting properly. For the prices you paid, I would hope they did a flush, and triple checked the level, but possibly not.

Kinda annoying the way this site breaks every video into 30 second chunks, but it has good info and it is for the 3.8 engine. https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/..._3.8L_V6/transmission_fluid/check_fluid_level