Auto tranny hanging in 1st gear

[BigDadys93x]

I have a 93 xlt with about 122k 4.0 motor and auto tranny w/overdrive. The only mod i have done is my new swamper TRXUS sts tires (awsome!!) . My problem is about 2 weeks ago after a short wheeling episode I started having a problem with the tranny shifting. When taking off from a dead stop it doesnt want to shift out of 1st gear after a little feathering of the gas pedal i can get it to shift and then it shifts fine through the rest of the gears . I replaced the vacum shift module thinking maybe that was the problem (it wasnt) when i did that i also replaced the tranny filter and fluid . The fluid looked clean and wasnt burnt and there were no metal shavings in the pan. Everything looks good with no leaks Im stumped and every mechanic I have talked to says they have no Idea what is happening. Also I checked the kick down cable coming from the gas pedal to the tranny and it moves free and has no problems. Any help would be appreciated Thanks!

 

[Opera House]

First verify that you have a solid manual 1 & 2

While I would normally think the speed governor is sticking, the added stress of what you were doing could have snapped the intermediate (2nd) band. Also see if the problem goes away when you are just in D.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

I had the same problem and it turned out to be the govener valve inside the tail shaft housing. Hardest part of replacing it was getting the Park rod/claw mechanism realigned with the t-case still attatched to the tailshaft housing

 

[chris c]

personally i would not remove the tailshaft extension to get to the speed governor. remove the t-case and use an extension to get to the bolts holding the speed governor in.

unfortunatly a clogged speed governor is often a sign of tranny problems else where.

 

[Opera House]

Believe you can get it out the tailshaft

but it is a shocker if you don't know what to expect and have a magnetic socket to capture the two bolts. The assembly easily falls apart and should be pulled out with the weight resting on the shaft. The order of the governor assembly, which isn't obvious, is weight, spring, steel valve, and body. The steel valve gets chatter marks on it which can be polished out with fine sandpaper with oil.

 

[BigDadys93x]

thanks for the responses guys . Now my question is how expensive of a fix is this ? Would I be better off replacing the tranny or just getting it fixed and hope it doesnt do it again?I have read a couple threads in here about people replacing thier trannies at lower milages than what I have . I know this tranny is the original and up until now it has never been touched except for normal fluid and filter changes. Thanx!

 

[Opera House]

All it costs is time

to do the speed gouvernor. Some RTV will probably fix the old gasket, it isn't too critical. You still haven't proved to me it is the problem. Unless something snaps, you probably have a lot of miles left if you just do the low/reverse servo.