I searched through the forums but did not find the answer I was looking for. The question I have for the automatic owners is: In a JK automatic with the transfer case in low, does the automatic transmission shift through all four of its gears, or is it always stuck in first gear?

My last 4x4 I had was a pickup, and no matter how fast I tried to go in low (which was never very fast), the automatic transmission would not shift out of first gear. A friend of mine has a different truck, and his does not shift out of first either.

Thanks,

 

Good question. When ever I've had it it 4 low I've always had it in first and never had it it any other position because I was always just crawling along.

 

It will shift at least as high as 3rd. I don't remember it it ever hit over-drive.

 

This does not answer your question but my 4wd tundra did shift into other gears in 4 low.

 

mine will shift while in 4lo. I've had it into 3rd already, and I think 4th once when I forgot to turn off the overdrive, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Most times I just leave it in 1st or second though.

 

I think it must shift. I know there was a leg on my last trip that went from rough to smooth and back to rough. I had left it in 4 low, and was able to cruise along at a fairly good clip (aprox 10 - 15 mph) across the smooth. I wasn't paying attention to weather it was shifting or not, but it was certainly above crawling speed.

 

Thanks everyone for your quick responses. I have a manual in my JK and had wondered if the auto did shift when in four low. I know it is not as if we are going to be racing in 4lo, but I know there are plenty of areas on trails that need the super slow speed, and then there are patches in-between where a slightly faster speed is just fine. If the auto were always stuck in first, that would mean a lot of shifting out of low, and then back into low rather than just leaving it in low in-between obstacles. With my manual and transfer in low, I can still get moving at a somewhat decent speed in 5th and 6th gear.

 

The transmission is not affected by 4WD selection. It will shift great thru all 4 gears, the the shift points are determined by RPM , so it will run thru all 4 gears by about 20 mph. DON'T run over 35 mph, the RPM's will run up too high...

 

It will shift but I usually run it in 1st, and up shift into 2nd as needed. Have never had it in 3rd while in 4-LO.

 

x2. I recommend turning off the overdrive. It'll cut down on the frequency of shifts when you have those short periods of driving instead of crawling. And if that's prolonged just go up into 4 HI.