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[Denis O]

There seems to be a few posts on the TJ auto boxes of late so thought I'd add my 2 penneth.

My car gets left for up to 4 months at a time, without use. It's connected to a C-Tek so no problems with the battery but the last couple of times, once started and put into D, there is no drive for a couple of seconds. It then pulls away and is happy till the next time it's left.

Box oil is clean like cherryaid, full according to the dipstick so what could it be. I doubt it's just having a hissy fit because it gets lonely when not being used.

I saw 1 post which said the bands can be adjusted. Would this help with mine?

[wildwood]

Happens with most auto boxes. Esp when not used for length of time.

Bigger the box longer the wait

My Dodge Ram needs a good minute before all fluids have pumped around and got to where they should be. (4 weeks non useage)

If it slips and judders after that time and your off down the road then you have a prob but doesn't sound like that?

[bgbazz]

    I've come across this situation on all types of older auto boxes...Allisons, Borg Warners, Torque Flites etc. The quickest and easiest way to deal with it was to start the motor as usual and while idling and warming up, foot on the brake and shift through every gear postion, pausing for 4 or 5 seconds in each and finishing in 'drive'...drive off when ready. If it's been parked for a long period of time (like yours), you might have to do it a couple of times.

Always worked for me.

[Bubba]

yup

[Denis O]

Thanks fellah's.

Doesn't sound like I need to worry then and I'll try the cycling through the box before moving off trick.

[bgbazz]

It's something worth trying...thinking logically, when the vehicle sits, unstarted, for an extended period of time, the oil will drain back to the pan and leaves the galleries empty...cycling through the various gear positions gets the galleries charged again...the exact same happens with the motor. Most of the oil settles in the sump and the top end is effectively dry...that's why you should never give the motor a bootful of throttle the moment it fires!! Lots of engineering evidence to suggest that the greatest stress and wear in a motor occurs in the first 30 seconds of a cold start.

Slightly unrelated...a few of the older auto transmissions need the oil level checking with the motor running and the selector in the 'drive' position...worth checking the handbook regarding this. All of the Borg Warners and Allisons I've ever owned or driven were like this...I'm not talking about one or two...more like 20 or 30! I've always done the final dip after following the gear selection sequence and the oil warm.

[LairdScooby]

Just a short bit to reinforce what everyone else has said here - my XJ does it if it's left a while (it also does something similar with the PAS), both my Rover 827s do it (not quite so noticeable as they're FWD), my Volvo 740 GLEa (the Jeeps predecessor) did it on a ZF 4HP22 box, the Nissan 300C before that and as far as i can remember, all the autos i've had (and there have been many!) have done this "trick".

As long as nothing untoward happens once it's up and running (be gentle with it for the first few miles to get everything purged) then i wouldn't worry, just do the ATF changes as per schedule and keep an eye out for any sediment in the fluid.