Another Transmission Shifting Question

[Rud Bobbins]

Hello all, got a little (and ultimately little at this point) issue I'm noticing with my '03 manual transmission. Hoping someone can enlighten me on if this is something to be concerned with longer term.

Jeep runs great, well maintained and just hit 100k miles. However within the last six months or so we have noticed it having issues shifting into reverse (sometimes it wants to pop out and grinds a little) and shifting from 1st to second (sometimes it just doesn't want to pop into gear). Both are intermittent and all you have to do is try again and it usually works fine. No other issues with shifting, just those 2. And it is really more of an inconvenience than anything.

My real question is should I be concerned and start thinking about transmission service? Or is this "normal" and all transmissions have their quirks. FYI when I first noticed it starting to get worse I replaced the transmission fluid with Royal Purple Syncromax hoping it would ease things back to normal. Maybe a little better after but not the magic bullet.

Open to all insights as I'm not very proficient when it comes to transmissions and clutches. Oh, and I did cut away the extra plastic on the ring holding the shifter boot on, in case it was getting in the way.

-buz

 

[Jerry Bransford]

First, do you have a body lift or transfer case drop installed? Either of those can restrict how far the shift lever can go which can mean the shifter may not be able to fully shift the transmission into some gears.

Second, Reverse gear is not synchronized on your NV3550 and Reverse can grind if the right/simple technique is not done first which is nothing more than first shifting into a forward gear like 1st then shifting into Reverse. I learned that when I learned how to drive a manual transmission in an old late 50's era VW beetle.

 

[Rud Bobbins]

First, do you have a body lift or transfer case drop installed? Either of those can restrict how far the shift lever can go which can mean the shifter may not be able to fully shift the transmission into some gears.

Second, Reverse gear is not synchronized on your NV3550 and Reverse can grind if the right/simple technique is not done first which is nothing more than first shifting into a forward gear like 1st then shifting into Reverse. I learned that when I learned how to drive a manual transmission in an old late 50's era VW beetle.

It has a 2.5" spring lift but no body lift. It does feel like it is just out of alignment or something, can it shift over time?