NV3550 hard to shift out of 1st and 2nd gear

02SteelBlue

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
412
Location
New Orleans, La
My shifter is hard to get out of 1st and 2nd gear after the Jeep has been running for a while. Like its stuck on the first attempt, then I let it go and try again. Second attempt usually works.

I brought it to a transmission guy, he rebuilt it, and said all was good. Which it was, until a few months later when the same problem came back.

Someone mentioned a bushing under the shifter that can go bad. If so, should that have been tackled in the rebuild?

Looking for any insight y'all can provide. Thanks!
 
I had shifting problems in 6th and reverse. Switching to Redline brand trans fluid helped a lot with an improved shifting in all gears.
 
Thanks for the reply. Shortly after I bought the jeep, and when I first noticed the problem, I switched from whatever was in there to MTL.

It maybe helped a small amount. I even drained that and tried the Mopar stuff, but that was definitely worse than the MTL.
 
This may help answer your questions...

IMG_7725.jpg
 
Thanks Charles. I'll see if I can find it this weekend.
Any idea what happened here?

my 03 Nv3550 with 58,000 miles is getting hard to shift out of first and second and you can tell you need to let it mesh into gear as well.

smelling a hot smell, suspect my clutch is going , was wheeled hard in its previous life.
 
Any idea what happened here?

my 03 Nv3550 with 58,000 miles is getting hard to shift out of first and second and you can tell you need to let it mesh into gear as well.

smelling a hot smell, suspect my clutch is going , was wheeled hard in its previous life.
I've changed fluids a few times and had it rebuilt, including clutch, and still it persists.

It starts rearing its ugly head when it's been driven for a while, so I haven't taken it on any of the road trips I had planned.
 
Oh i
Suggest you limit driving the Jeep with the bad clutch unless you are good at double clutch to mesh the gears without grinding. You will destroy the synchros.
Oh i know , thats why i said you can tell it has to mesh...i never, ever force gears.

This all just surfaced...very hard to get it out if gear when driving, and you can tell not to force it ....the pedal feels good so im thinking the clutch is going...real question @CharlesHS is am I thinking right ? Have seen many automotive clutches fail, so my diagnostic experience is limited.
 
I've changed fluids a few times and had it rebuilt, including clutch, and still it persists.

It starts rearing its ugly head when it's been driven for a while, so I haven't taken it on any of the road trips I had planned.
Thanks man.
 
Oh i

Oh i know , thats why i said you can tell it has to mesh...i never, ever force gears.

This all just surfaced...very hard to get it out if gear when driving, and you can tell not to force it ....the pedal feels good so im thinking the clutch is going...real question @CharlesHS is am I thinking right ? Have seen many automotive clutches fail, so my diagnostic experience is limited.
Clutches can fail quickly or last a long time depending upon driving style and what clutch is installed.
The ‘98 XJ I had for 21 years had 138k when I sold it. The TOB went bad after 5 years, but the clutch still had many years remaining. I replaced everything since I went to the trouble of pulling the transmission and tcase. The clutch and TOB were still good 16 years later when I sold the Jeep.
 
Clutches can fail quickly or last a long time depending upon driving style and what clutch is installed.
The ‘98 XJ I had for 21 years had 138k when I sold it. The TOB went bad after 5 years, but the clutch still had many years remaining. I replaced everything since I went to the trouble of pulling the transmission and tcase. The clutch and TOB were still good 16 years later when I sold the Jeep.
Does this sound more indicative of the clutch than the slave cylinder, pedal is solid.
 
Do an inspection of the clutch MC under the dash and the slave cylinder for seepage.
If the slave is not fully disengaging the clutch this can cause difficult shifting.
About 6 weeks ago I replaced the MC and slave with the Mopar kit. Didn’t want to install the knock off cr@p.
 
Do an inspection of the clutch MC under the dash and the slave cylinder for seepage.
If the slave is not fully disengaging the clutch this can cause difficult shifting.
About 6 weeks ago I replaced the MC and slave with the Mopar kit. Didn’t want to install the knock off cr@p.
Mine was the factory 20 year old assembly and the slave seal blew out.
 
Do an inspection of the clutch MC under the dash and the slave cylinder for seepage.
If the slave is not fully disengaging the clutch this can cause difficult shifting.
About 6 weeks ago I replaced the MC and slave with the Mopar kit. Didn’t want to install the knock off cr@p.
Thanks im on it
 
FWIW, I replaced my master and slave with pre-bleed(?) Luk replacements.
Thanks, it only shows signs of being hard to shift when running , and the pedal is fine....it is starting to engage a little fast (less progressive) and then there is a smell I thought was burn off from an axle seal repair...took @CharlesHS advice and no obvious issues at the reservoir or under the dash, so im thinking a new clutch kit needs to go on.

Thankfully i have a great mechanic, he wont miss anything and will evaluate it first.
 
Thanks, it only shows signs of being hard to shift when running , and the pedal is fine....it is starting to engage a little fast (less progressive) and then there is a smell I thought was burn off from an axle seal repair...took @CharlesHS advice and no obvious issues at the reservoir or under the dash, so im thinking a new clutch kit needs to go on.

Thankfully i have a great mechanic, he wont miss anything and will evaluate it first.
Please report back in and let us know