We consider a wireless ad hoc network with random access channel. We present a model that takes into account topology, routing, random access in MAC layer, and forwarding probability. In this paper, we focus on drawing benefit from the interaction of the MAC (governed by IEEE 802.11 or slotted Aloha) and routing by defining a new cross-layer scheme for routing based on the limit number of retransmission. By adjusting dynamically and judiciously this parameter in a saturated network, we have realized that both stability of forwarding queues and average throughput are significantly improved in linear networks with symmetric traffic: a gain of 100% can be reached. While in asymmetric topology network with asymmetric traffic, we achieve a better average delay (resp., throughput) for each connection without changing the average throughput (resp., delay). In addition, we show the efficiency of our new scheme in case of multimedia applications with delay constraint. A detailed performance study is presented using analytical and simulation evaluation.