Still difficult to shift

Vali Jo

Vali Jo

Member
Joined
May 23, 2017
Messages
25
Location
Troy, IL, United States
It's me ... again. I have a '97 TJ and was experiencing some difficulty shifting (and random grinding going into 2nd & 3rd gear) that came on rather suddenly. One week just fine, next week not so much.
In possibly a rushed decision, with it having 230K miles and being 27 years old (and original) I decided to just go ahead and replace the clutch (LUK Kit) w/ National brand TO Bearing (all metal) and a new pilot bearing along with a clutch fork and pivot ball.
I maybe shouldn't have gone to the more difficult path first but here I am, plus I figured she was due.
I did this over the winter and only just got her back on the road about 3 weeks ago.
I have a few questions so I can make sure the problem doesn't make itself more expensive.

My problem/question is, it still does not want to shift smoothly and in some cases not go into gear at all. It also got stuck in 3rd gear (temporarily).

I am the original owner and she has 230K miles.
  • Is there a way to know if I greased the pilot bearing enough?
  • Could the slave cylinder assembly be causing my issue? (I do not see signs of leakage & fluid level is where it is supposed to be/unchanged level)
  • Any way to tell if it is my synchronizers (before pulling the transmission)?
  • Anything I could be missing/other suggestions??? All would be welcomed!
T.I.A. :)
 
Have you changed the fluid in the AX-15? Lots of folks have good luck with MT-90.

And do you still have your original master/slave hydraulic clutch?

-Mac
 
That sounds like clutch master/slave cylinder problems to me. I've had multiple go bad and none of them had visible leaks.
 
Rickyd said:
That made 2nd and 3rd hard to shift into? Or made it get stuck in gear? Doubtful
Click to expand...

i was focused on the “difficulty shifting” part before the mention of grinding 2nd and 3rd. However when my factory master/slave went bad I did get stuck in 1st with the engine running. When mine have gone bad I’d pretty much have random blocked shifts. Some grinding here and there depending on how bad the blocked shift was and whether the rpm and vehicle speeds were right to cause grinding. I’d certainly try a master/slave before a transmission at least. I wouldn’t have swapped the clutch first like the post mentioned.

I did have a grind in 3rd every once in a while on all the different slaves but that was just old worn transmission on 20 years of GL5. New AX15 fixed that right up.
 
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Vali Jo said:
It's me ... again. I have a '97 TJ and was experiencing some difficulty shifting (and random grinding going into 2nd & 3rd gear) that came on rather suddenly. One week just fine, next week not so much.
In possibly a rushed decision, with it having 230K miles and being 27 years old (and original) I decided to just go ahead and replace the clutch (LUK Kit) w/ National brand TO Bearing (all metal) and a new pilot bearing along with a clutch fork and pivot ball.
I maybe shouldn't have gone to the more difficult path first but here I am, plus I figured she was due.
I did this over the winter and only just got her back on the road about 3 weeks ago.
I have a few questions so I can make sure the problem doesn't make itself more expensive.

My problem/question is, it still does not want to shift smoothly and in some cases not go into gear at all. It also got stuck in 3rd gear (temporarily).

I am the original owner and she has 230K miles.
  • Is there a way to know if I greased the pilot bearing enough?
  • Could the slave cylinder assembly be causing my issue? (I do not see signs of leakage & fluid level is where it is supposed to be/unchanged level)
  • Any way to tell if it is my synchronizers (before pulling the transmission)?
  • Anything I could be missing/other suggestions??? All would be welcomed!
T.I.A. :)
Click to expand...

230k on the original clutch? Damn.

Like others have said, Redline MT-90 is likely gonna help a lot. Many people with grinds have said their grinds have gotten a little better if at all, but gear changes become smoother. I have Pennzoil synchromesh in my NV2550 (the NVG and NSG370 boxes need Redline MTL I believe) currently and it quite literally shifts like a stick in a bag of coins on colder days. When you change your fluid, look for a brass sheen in your fluid. Your fluid may also be low.
 
Vali Jo said:
I still have the original master/slave hydraulic clutch and I have not changed the fluid (but will be doing this (changing fluid) asap).
Click to expand...

A pre bled Luk master/slave is like $125 on Amazon.

There's a section in references on how to flush and bleed the master/slave.

If you Google wranglertjforum and whatever you're searching for it'll show results on this forum.

-Mac
 
macleanflood said:
A pre bled Luk master/slave is like $125 on Amazon.

There's a section in references on how to flush and bleed the master/slave.

If you Google wranglertjforum and whatever you're searching for it'll show results on this forum.

-Mac
Click to expand...

Is LUK a good aftermarket brand for the master/slave?
There are a dozen different brands and OEM I cannot find available (back order only).
 
Vali Jo said:
Is LUK a good aftermarket brand for the master/slave?
There are a dozen different brands and OEM I cannot find available (back order only).
Click to expand...

Luk is my personal favorite and the only one I've had any success with.

Here's a video of my trail travails...


-Mac
 
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