I have a 2000 TJ with 91k miles and just with in the last week or so Iv noticed the shifting had gotten pretty rough. First gear is really no issue but second gear feels gritty like it wants to get hung up. Third gear is the same way and forth is too. Nothing feels smooth anymore. Iv only had the Jeep a for a month and the thing drove very smooth until now. I’m not hard on it either. Plenty of pressure on the clutch pedal too.
Gritty and rough shifting
- Thread starter Outdoordude
- Start date
This could be a couple things. If the clutch is not completely disengaging, it will make shifting into all gears difficult.
Try this:
Shift into first gear and 4 low on flat ground. Take the parking brake off. Hold the clutch pedal all the way down and rev the engine. The jeep should not move. If it does, there's an issue with disengaging the clutch. If not, it's probably the transmission going bad.
Next step is to change the fluid in the transmission. We generally recommend Redline MTL. It may take a few days for it to improve, if it does.
If it still does not improve, you may need a new transmission. With the NV3550, there are no new units left. You can buy a remanufactured unit for around $2000. A better option is an AX-15 retrofit. The AX-15 was offered in Jeeps up through 1999. And it's actually back in production, so you can buy a brand new AX-15 for about $1600. There's a couple parts you have to swap, but for the most part it's almost a perfect swap.
Here's one source:
26-AX15 : Aisin AX15 5 Speed Transmission (NEW) | Advance Adapters
The AX15 transmission has always been a great transmission able to handle the torque and horsepower of most V8s. The biggest problem now is the availability of new units. With the lack of availability of new NV3550s, we revisited the possibility of obtain...
www.advanceadapters.com
- Thread Starter
- #3
Out of curiosity how does a Jeep with 90k miles start to go bad in a month?This could be a couple things. If the clutch is not completely disengaging, it will make shifting into all gears difficult.
Try this:
Shift into first gear and 4 low on flat ground. Take the parking brake off. Hold the clutch pedal all the way down and rev the engine. The jeep should not move. If it does, there's an issue with disengaging the clutch. If not, it's probably the transmission going bad.
Next step is to change the fluid in the transmission. We generally recommend Redline MTL. It may take a few days for it to improve, if it does.
If it still does not improve, you may need a new transmission. With the NV3550, there are no new units left. You can buy a remanufactured unit for around $2000. A better option is an AX-15 retrofit. The AX-15 was offered in Jeeps up through 1999. And it's actually back in production, so you can buy a brand new AX-15 for about $1600. There's a couple parts you have to swap, but for the most part it's almost a perfect swap.
Here's one source:
26-AX15 : Aisin AX15 5 Speed Transmission (NEW) | Advance Adapters
The AX15 transmission has always been a great transmission able to handle the torque and horsepower of most V8s. The biggest problem now is the availability of new units. With the lack of availability of new NV3550s, we revisited the possibility of obtain...
Not quite sure. Most manual transmission problems are gradual. It's possible the previous owner noted it was going bad and decided to sell rather than repair it.
It could also be improper shifting. Slam-shifting or shifting very aggressively is a sure-fire way to destroy the synchronizers. When shifting, I will simply gently hold it against the synchro until the gears line up and let it in. Use of any significant force will accelerate synchro wear. (Even worse is clutchless shifting, unless done perfectly.) Some manual drivers also pick up the bad habit of beginning to let out the clutch before the gear is fully engaged, or not pushing the clutch all of the way to the floor when shifting. It's not a mustang transmission; nor is it an 18-speed.
If there's leakage in the master/slave clutch cylinders, it will cause shifting issues.