shifting difficulty

Digitalchaos

Registered User
Some behavior has recently occured which has caused me to reconsider the problem my car has had since purchase..

Upon occasion, which is usually a fast shift @ higher rpms under heavy acceleration, the transmission will grind going into second, or sometimes, third. I fully depress the clutch pedal, and do so long enough to fully execute the shift. I do not believe I am shifting it unusually fast, I can regular shift my Jeep like this in traffic (160k all original). This problem is not at all regular, and won't occur if I shift slower. My transmission shifts perfect under all normal conditions, never grinding.

However, it has recently become harder to get the shifter into all gears, requiring enough effort that it is almost hard to do with one or two fingers. I also sometimes have to push a little extra after shifting into first to fully enguage the gear.. that is, it will have about a 1/4" more it can go in. This is at a dead stop. I have also had a problem with clutch "chatter" from a dead stop since buying the car. It's just so hard to engage the clutch smoothly that sometimes if I don't feather the RPMs just right it will chatter on the flywheel, and shake the car. Also, it tends to "snap" when I release the pedal, rather than gradually enguaging like other manual clutches I have used. I can not really regulate how quickly it enguages, its like a switch. This usually causes the bouncing common amongmst new manual trans drivers. Finally, if I push the clutch pedal in, hold it, and let it out fast, I can hear a slight slap noise every time. I do not know if this is normal, but have heard that some noise can be associated with a bad throw out bearing.

To my knowledge & from what I can tell, the vehicle is all original & has never had service on these parts.

Again, the trans will shift perfect under almost all conditions, and even under quick acceleration if I allow a slightly abnormal length of time for it to slip into gear.

Do these symptoms sound like a failing clutch, perhaps slave cylinder?

Thankyou for any assistance you can provide!
 
If you are grinding gears you are ruining your syncros. Don't do it. You are definately having issues with clutch disengagement. Before you do anything else thoroughly bleed the clutch. Flush out all the fluid.

If you still have the problem (most likely), then you need a clutch, TO bearing, pilot bearing, rear main seal, and slave cylinder. When you have the tranny out, check the clearance on the syncro's, less than .040" needs replacing.

Pretty classic symptoms, and it only gets worse from there. :(
 
Thus far it has gotten worse.. it will sometimes try to grind when shifting is slightly slowed.

I had the clutch flushed as the first maintainance performed on the vehicle.. the fluid is still dark & dirty so I will have it flushed again this time with DOT 4.

If shifting is executed without grinding, is it still safe with a bad clutch? All gears engauge about the same when at an idling stop, second is the most likely to find a grind.. but then agian it is the one usually enduring the most power. All gears can be shifted without grinding if I shift slowly enough, probably allowing for a shift speed which loses 1k rpms before going to next gear.
 
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