Hey everyone, I bought a spare Jeep a little while ago and it has a strange transmission problem. It's an automatic, and I don't think it has first gear, or is making the switch to first gear.

It's really boggy taking off from a stop, and once you get up to speed it drives fine. If I put the gear selector into first the Jeep doesn't move, but second and drive move. I've read a couple suggestions trying to track down the problem. One person said that there is a sensor in the transmission fluid pan that needs to be replaced, someone else suggested that there is a kick down switch. This is one of the first automatic transmissions I've ever owned so I know very little about them.

If I can't fix it myself I'll just swap the transmission.

Thanks for any help.

It's a 42re trans, if you have no first gear engagment , check the fluid level and color, if it's full and not burnt then you may have a gear selector problem. if the fluid smells burnt at all then it's toast, these trannies are very weak and don't handle heat well. I'd swap it out for an AW4. look on www.nagca.com for the swap info.