Have you read the TSB for the 2005? Obviously suggests checking for obstructions but says "The customer should be made aware of proper shift procedures." I guess you can bust the NSG370 pretty easily if you don't shift like they say. TSB NUMBER: 21-006-05 issued in 2005, can't imagine it doesn't include the 2006 but who knows? The fix is just replacing the parts, from the TSB is seems to suggest if you do the same thing again you bust it again.
Who Has Bought a Rebuilt NSG370?
- Thread starter g.hayduke
- Start date
I also did the B&M Shifter and wonder if it would fix a reverse pop...Its much tighter. My wife's LJ pops out of 3rd and I may try it...they are just spendy for a shifter
I was under the impression there were "updates" done starting with the 06 that made reverse more reliable. I guess I don't know what the proper shift procedure is but it was doing it when I bought it in fall of 2020 with 119k miles on it, so who knows what kind of use it saw up to that point. I'll read up on it, but I have definitely checked for obstruction when it comes to boots and tubs and anything else and it's all clear.
I have no idea the details, just would suck to spend on the NSG370 and bust it again, something I'd definitely ask the shop that does your build about. The TSB suggests attempting reverse while moving forward, seems like rocking the Jeep might do it? Allot of people call it a reverse update kit but it almost seems like it just repairs the damage that was done and nothing is changed from the original design.
This video explains the problems and how they can be fixed when rebuilding - made sense to me, high-impact resells the high gear transmissions for a bit less...
Here's the tsb for reference for anybody interested (including myself)
I don't see any reference in that as to actual details of any special shift procedure, other than not shifting from a forward gear while moving forward. I know for a fact I've never done that to it... I still remember the last time that happened. Driving around with my girlfriend, I was 17, somewhat distracted and going fast enough that I unconsciously thought I still had another gear to shift into after 5th. I didn't, but it chirped at me, I put it back in 5th, and Ford had actually managed to make a transmission that didn't ruin itself after such an error was committed.
I don't see any reference other than exactly what not to do. Is that what you're saying? If you bust your transmission the dealership is supposed to say don't do that. That's really all it is. I "think" you got it.
Yeah that's all I mean. When I first read the "customer should be aware" line it made me wonder if they had some specific action in mind for accessing reverse...the only way mine goes in is if I release and press the clutch before immediately yanking it in. Maybe I'm supposed to turn my head to the left and cough and then say Betelgeuse (in the traditional spelling) in the mirror 3 times. If that was the case that might be enough to push me to an Ax15/241 swap.
Popping out of reverse is not typically caused by the shifter nor by shifting technique and will not be cured by replacing the shifter nor changing your technique.
As several have noted, there was a known problem with reverse in the earlier NSG370 units. My '05 had the issue. Some parts were actually redesigned to fix the issue. Any recent rebuild will include the updated parts. I have a recent rebuild by High Impact and so far could not be happier with it. Going into reverse now feels totally different and much more definite for lack of a better word, unlike the original unit.
Another issue with the NSG370 that is not as well-known is the vent placement on the shift tower. The TJ vents for diffs and the TC are extended to relatively high points on the tub to avoid water ingestion but not the NSG370. If you happen to cross deep water that gets higher than the shift tower, your transmission will ingest water. This could account for some of the problems some people have with these transmissions but that's just a theory on my part. I extended the vent when I replaced the transmission on mine.
As several have noted, there was a known problem with reverse in the earlier NSG370 units. My '05 had the issue. Some parts were actually redesigned to fix the issue. Any recent rebuild will include the updated parts. I have a recent rebuild by High Impact and so far could not be happier with it. Going into reverse now feels totally different and much more definite for lack of a better word, unlike the original unit.
Another issue with the NSG370 that is not as well-known is the vent placement on the shift tower. The TJ vents for diffs and the TC are extended to relatively high points on the tub to avoid water ingestion but not the NSG370. If you happen to cross deep water that gets higher than the shift tower, your transmission will ingest water. This could account for some of the problems some people have with these transmissions but that's just a theory on my part. I extended the vent when I replaced the transmission on mine.
Good to hear on the rebuild from high impact working well. It would be nice to have the ability to trust an NSG could be a decent transmission rather than always being swapped to the AX as the only solution. Seems like you have gotten results that prove that a reality.
As for the vent, the AX15 has a similar situation. It is a little capped breather mounted right on the shift tower. I believe the NV has a similar height for its vent as well, but is in the case, not the shift tower, if I remember right. Either way, they are all pretty low and about the same height overall. Not sure it's an issue all that often though. I'd say the 32RH with the vent way down in the bellhousing is the only one to truly worry about. Extending any of them is never a bad idea though.
It's only an issue if you cross water deep enough to cause water ingestion. Then it's potentially a major issue.
Mine is an 06 model with a mfg date well after the issuance of the TSB, so I've interpreted that as mine already having the "updated" reverse components, and still has the issue (and had it when I bought it, though I didn't understand the full extent until I spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours building it before the first time I had it in tight woods and switchbacks). It may be a different cause, or it may be that mine saw a particular type of use/abuse in the 120k miles prior to me purchasing it, but it doesn't give me the warm fuzzies I would need to justify putting another 2000 eggs in the NSG370 basket. It seems to be working out well for you and I hope it continues to, but I know myself well enough to know that it will be itching deep in my brain as long as I own it, wondering if or when it could happen again. If I was just going to sell it a few years down the road I'd throw a rebuilt NSG in it and move on, but I plan on keeping this thing and handing it down to one of my kids, so if there is ever another transmission problem, it's still gonna be my problem.
Are you looking at a mfg date on the transmission or the vehicle? The date on the vehicle tells you absolutely nothing about the mfg date of the transmission except that the transmission is definitely older than the vehicle. To my knowledge, the reverse issue was never a problem with the JKs so I think the fix may have started reliably with the '07 model year (JK debut).
I'm not trying to convince you to do any particular thing just trying to save you from jumping to the many inaccurate conclusions that abound regarding the NSG370. There is a substantial amount of misinformation floating around.
vehicle mfg date is 11/05. I don't know how to find the mfg date of the transmission unless it can be decoded out of the bellhousing decal or the engraving next to the fill plug.
Hard to read in the photo but the engraved (not the cast) number is
163 260 18 00 711.650 0 0 229 503
I'm sure it would have been built before November, but the TSB came out in February. Keeping several months of transmission inventory on hand would be an affront to the field of supply chain management and there's no way corporate would have kept installing another 4,000 potential warranty claims per month (TJ only, not including KJ) once they had a fix for the problem.
Don't count on that logical thought train from a manufacturer. Manufacturing and warranty are 2 different departments. All the parts have to do is make it out of the warranty period, then it's the customer's problem. If all those units are pre-purchased with bad parts, it's easier to just get em out the door and hope that a small percentage fail inside warranty time.
The fact that it's a bulletin and not a recall shows the level of concern.
Other than a bad TO bearing installed at the same time, I have not had a lick of trouble with my new MOPAR unit I installed in 2012. I did have the same issue as you, in that it would violently eject from reverse, I looked around on more than one occasion to try to see what just hit me!
they may not hear of new claims right as they come in but guaranteed the engineering team stands around a board going over key performance indicators about once a week where the outgoing warranty $$$ is announced along with whether it's above or below the metric for the week and YTD, and what major issues might be contributing to the number, so they're very aware of what it means to ship out a known problem. And the fact that they already had a TSB by February of 2005 for a transmission first released in MY 2004 means a good portion of them were not going to wait until warranty expiration to pop up.
I agree that the MFG is always aware, but as the guy that fixed the known problems for 15 years, there's no shortage of bad parts out there that weren't addressed until the old stock was used up.
Or, until a class action suit forced it.