NSG370 Questions

[Universal Off-Road]

I bought my 2005 Rubicon December of 2019. At the time I didn't know the 6 speed trans was known for issues, I figured the reverse popping out problem I was having wasn't that big of a deal. Fast forward 7 months later, my reverse no longer works. If I try to hold it in gear and release the clutch the gears grind, but reverse will no longer engage. Since these transmissions cost thousands of dollars for a replacement, my question is, would my replacing my shift forks fix my issue? I can't really afford to pull the transmission apart to find out the internal issue, but I figured if the gear is still there, the forks are causing an issue and I would much rather spend a couple hundred dollars on shift forks, instead of a few thousand on a transmission. Should I just make the effort to swap in an AX-15 or NV3550?

 

[L J]

Should I just make the effort to swap in an AX-15 or NV3550?

The shift fork kit is ~$365 so it depends how much you want to invest in the NSG370. A rebuilt NSG370 is ~$1500 when available. Novak has new AX-15s for ~$1600: https://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/transmission/transmission-packages/ax15-package

NSG370 to AX-15 swap:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjcr5-AqFV1F11VPq8gjI--8SPuA9C_YE

 

[Feralkid]

do an ax-15 swap and let us know how it goes!

 

[sierradmax]

A new AX15 swap will cost the same, if not more than a NSG replacement or a rebuild. High Impact has a 24 month warranty on their NSG's, FYI...

 

[Steel City 06]

I would go with a remanufactured NSG370 over an AX-15. The AX-15 and NV3550 are not direct swaps, and require a number of parts to work.

Plus, the NSG370 has much better ratios than either of the 5-speeds. It is the only TJ transmission (auto or manual) with 3 usable highway gears, even with proper axle gearing. It also has the lowest 1st gear ratio

 

[Doctor Bone Smash]

The NSG370 had it’s issues resolved when they put it into the JKs. Remanufactured units will have the improved 1st, 2nd, and reverse gear. Otherwise, it’s not as strong as some other transmissions, so I wouldn’t consider mating it to a V8.

 

[Jamison C]

Not trying to take a jab at you, but if that’s your Jeep in your profile pic, I’m going to guess that contributed to your issue. The vent on the manual trans doesn’t sit much higher than the trans itself, and it’s easy to get water in there when you’re doing deep fording.

Not that it really matters now since R is already gone, but you could pull off the fill plug to see if the fluid looks like chocolate milk.

 

[gaabbee]

I bought my 2005 Rubicon December of 2019. At the time I didn't know the 6 speed trans was known for issues, I figured the reverse popping out problem I was having wasn't that big of a deal. Fast forward 7 months later, my reverse no longer works. If I try to hold it in gear and release the clutch the gears grind, but reverse will no longer engage. Since these transmissions cost thousands of dollars for a replacement, my question is, would my replacing my shift forks fix my issue? I can't really afford to pull the transmission apart to find out the internal issue, but I figured if the gear is still there, the forks are causing an issue and I would much rather spend a couple hundred dollars on shift forks, instead of a few thousand on a transmission. Should I just make the effort to swap in an AX-15 or NV3550?

Not to sound like an ass but if you are who I think you are, I saw the video of you trying to drive through the "lake" at Rausch creek. That was dumb and you have a lot to learn. This is a good spot to do it. From the video it looks and sounds like you hit the clutch while submerged. That will kill your clutch in short order on top of the breather issue. If you don't want to learn then just sell your truck and stick to automatics. BTW your transmission is probably toast after seeing how you treated it that day alone.