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Post by sidriptide on May 19, 2005 0:40:49 GMT -3
the AW4 tranny in the XJs is near bullet proof, and also sees use in the Toyota Supra TURBO cars.. so it handles a ton aof abuse!! it is electronically controlled so the "manual" method of shifting still doesnt give you total control of your gears. and the "first/second" selection still doesnt lock in or out either of the 2 gears.. it has been comon knowledge for a while now that it is a simple MOD to splice in a series of toggle switches into the small TCM harnes to lock in or out specific gears as well as the torque convertor.. but someone has finally perfected this and is making a "kit" for you to use a rotary/multi-position switch to make the trany totally manual control if you want... but STILL retains the fully automatic operation as well.... the perfect example EVERY XJ owner is familiar with is decending a steep hill or mountain road.... 1st gear is TOO LOW, and D it TOO HIGH... it is IMPOSSIBLE to lock in 2nd gear for the right amount of speed and engine braking... this mod alone will extend the life of your brakes. this MOD is designed for ALL XJs with automatic transmissions, BUT 97 and newer XJs have an electronic "glitch" that triggers the CHECK ENGINE light, because it is an OBD-II vehicle. but he is working out the bugs in that one still.. check out brett's site.... www.awshifting.com/ and here is a very detailed installation write-up on NAXJA.. www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54039 |
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Post by chrometj on May 19, 2005 2:08:00 GMT -3
this sounds quite cool!! i know they make kits like this for a lot of automatic muscle cars too, nice find!
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Post by JeepFan555 on May 19, 2005 12:03:20 GMT -3
that does look like a cool mod to do, you could just get a manual too though.
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Post by bluerocket on May 19, 2005 12:46:38 GMT -3
I've looked at thoes, I'll probably make something similar or maybe buy his when I have more money. However you can make your aw4 stay in almost any gear with a little thought even though it has the 1-2 position. It shifts at certain points still and stays in gear untill you hit them.
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Post by sidriptide on May 19, 2005 23:23:57 GMT -3
I' However you can make your aw4 stay in almost any gear with a little thought even though it has the 1-2 position. It shifts at certain points still and stays in gear untill you hit them. right.. but ever wish you could select 2nd gear and keep it there? the shift point for 1 - 2 is like 37mphwhen you are in 1-2... not friendly at all.. that specific function isnt as much a wheeling use as it is when you are decending a mountain road and want more than 20 mph but need engine braking rather than overheating your brakes... |
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Post by jps4jeep on May 20, 2005 9:56:50 GMT -3
interesting... now if yoou are compression braking down a mountain road, have it in 2nd, and then come to a stop, will it go into first, do you manually shift into first, or do you start out in 2nd?
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Post by bluerocket on May 20, 2005 22:27:58 GMT -3
the awshifting kit will hold it in whatever gear it says nomatter what, The XJ tranny shifts to 1st gear when compression breaking at 25mph. but that is overridden by the shift kit.
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Post by chrometj on May 21, 2005 0:00:47 GMT -3
yeah those just hold out the revs longer so you shift later, but like john said how does it know what gear to hold it in??
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Post by bluerocket on May 21, 2005 4:36:52 GMT -3
The AW4 is shifted into gear by electroncally sending certain signals, the shift kit from awshifting sends the signal for a certain gear (after the TCU transmission control unit) to the tranny. So it says "go into 1st gear" and will keep it in 1st no matter what. Or other gears. THe AW4 will go into whatever gear the electric signal says to it. Thats how it shifts, its all controled by the TCU electronically, and therefore you can do whatever you want to it, you can also lock the torque converter with a certain wire.
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Post by hunna on May 21, 2005 13:18:12 GMT -3
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Post by sidriptide on May 21, 2005 20:52:08 GMT -3
interesting... now if yoou are compression braking down a mountain road, have it in 2nd, and then come to a stop, will it go into first, do you manually shift into first, or do you start out in 2nd? in stock configuration you cannot select 2nd.... and if you are in "D" going down a hill and down shift the shifter to 1-2.. it will hit 2nd for a short time.. then at something ridiculous like 47 mph it will drop to 1st... (acceleration and deceleration shift points are different for some asinine reason) its really designed to do a 1 - D shift under normal driving to save fuel.. the AWshifting kit allows you to manually pick your gears regardless of TCU input.. so you could stop and start in 2nd or D for that matter... a perfect example of when i REALLY need to hold 2nd gear is coming down thru the switchbacks on Mt Greylock in north adams... 25-30 mph is a good speed, and with the AW4 that means 1st gear... thats not engine braking RPM anymore.. thats cranking the engine to go a lil faster... D will damn-near freewheel and require use of your brakes for most of the trip down... thats a 30 minute run!! with my current 5spd rig its a cake walk.... |
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