| First off transmissions are
a black box to me. I have had no good experiences with
them. The transmission in the Jeep had very long throws
and lots of sideways slop in the shift lever when in
gear. When the Jeep was at the alignment shop it got
stuck in reverse.
I did some research on a Jeep forum and it seemed
like most of the problems were caused by worn parts in
the top plate of the transmission, so I ventured into
unknown territory.
I pulled up the carpet, unbolted the floor plate and
exposed the top of the transmission. This is what
greeted me |
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The top plate had obviously been remove at some prior
point. the left front corner of the top plate was
cracked clear through. The right lower bolt was bottomed
out in it's blind hole and later I found that the treads
were stripped |
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When the top plate was removed I found that someone had
used an excessive about of silicone sealer as gasket
material. there was pieces floating around in the gear
oil. The gears themselves seemed to be in very good
shape. |
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The forks were in nice shape, with little wear. |
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The grove on the shift lever that rides on the Fulcrum
Pins was worn. The Shift lever cover was missing,,
Transmission lever cover was badly gouged up. |
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So I gathered up some new parts, a shift lever, new top
plate, a shift lever rebuild kit, and a gasket for the
top plate |
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First step was to sand blast the floor panel and powder
coat it gloss black, see the last picture |
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Time to transfer the parts from the old top plate to the
new top plate. and install the new shift lever, and
shift lever rebuild kit with the shift level boot |
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Well now here is a story,
all was going so well.
I put the top on. Went through first second third and
fourth. It would only go half way into reverse. Tried to
go first second third and fourth again, but now it is
stuck in first.
Pulled the shift lever and it was not out of the gates,
pulled the cover and Third-Fourth Gear Clutch Assembly
is all the way back and will not come forward. Tried the
clutch, and putting the transfer case in natural. Makes
no difference. It is stuck in first.
After scratching my head, writing on the forum for help,
removing the transfer case skid panel, draining the gear
oil out of the gear box, it was discovered that the
reverse idler gear was also all the way forward. |
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I moved the reverse idler
gear when I put the top plate on. After playing with the
gears, tiring to rock the Jeep, scratching my head the
reverse idler gear slipped back as nice as you would
please and the Third-Fourth Gear Clutch Assembly slipped
back into neutral.
The transmission is in natural. Now the rear wheels will
not turn. The wheels in the rear move
maybe 1/2 inch and then stop mechanically (clunk).
I did remove the rear wheels and tires to finish
painting the springs and shocks black.
I'm thinking it is in the transfer case. I have no idea
why this would happen. The shift lever for the transfer
case does not seem to move the way I would think it
would. There are hardly any detents between 2 wheel
drive and 4 wheel drive high. I think I find natural,
but am not sure that it goes into four wheel low.
Gears in the transmission move freely (clutch in) I can
move the two synchronizer rings through 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
and 4th.
I have put the top back on the transmission and it
shifts really nice through all gears over and over
without getting stuck. Nice distinct detents between
gears and not a lot of play in the shift lever.
It has become obvious to me that there has been someone
in here before me. I found both red and blue silicone
sealer; one of the bolt holes for the top is striped
(one of the ones to the rear). I was able to clean out a
bunch of gunk in the bottom of the hole, use a thread
chaser, save the last ¼ inch of threads in the hole, use
a longer bolt, and space it with washers to get exactly
the right length to get a ¼ inch of thread bite to pull
the cover down tight on the gasket.
This
problem is still unsolved. |
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I used the reverse fork to try and move the reverse
idler gear. Yes that means I had to take the top plate
back apart to get the fork |
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Here you see all the Gear Clutch Assemblies back in the
neutral position |
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I am convinced the problem with the rear wheels being
locked up is not in the transmission, so I have
installed the top plate again and it shifts through all
the gears very nicely. |
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I set the floor plate in place just to see what it looks
like. I think I will be pulling the transfer case unless
someone can suggest a better idea., |
