2nd gear sounds like a small big deal

[wesley4x4]

so when im going from 1st to 2nd and down shifting from 3rd to 2nd, if i don't go quick enough from 1st or 3rd into second it will grind until i put it into neutral and quickly put it into second again. keep in mind the clutch is to the floor when i do this... so idk if my slave cylinder is going dead or something like that... but it wont do that if i down shift from 2nd to 1st or go from 2nd to 3rd only when i go from any other gear into second... all the other gears are smooth

[Frank]

It sounds to me like the 2nd gear sincro is shot. Its a brass gear that while shifting into that gear ,it gets it up to speed with the main shaft so it will engauge. It sounds like yours in not doing its job and will require dropping the trans to go in and replace it. Question is , how far are the rest behind. How many miles on it ? Repair or replace with a rebuilt or a boneyard or purchase from someone you trust. It can be done on your bench , if you have tools and some ability . FjR68

[Kurt]

Ditto on it being a worn synchro.

Check your tranny fluid level. Be sure it's full.
Better yet do a fluid change on the tranny and look for bronze flakes in the bottom of the drain catch pan.
Many people swear by Redline MT90 in their trannies to help with grinding issues.

If you go the tear down and replace the synchro route it's actually not a bad job.
Beside the usual tools you need a gear puller with moderately long jaws to get the gears off the main shaft and a press to put them back on.
The step by step teardown section in the FSM is VERY helpful to have too. Lot's of little steps and parts to keep track of.

I did this "job" on my white TJ. The PO had driven the Jeep as if it were a drag car and stripped the teeth on the main shaft.
Had to buy a replacement main shaft and transfer alll the hubs, synchros, bearings, etc to the new shaft.


Oh... BTW... whan you are at a dead stop do you get any grinding when you shift into reverse?


A new synchro is ~$20

[wesley4x4]

Ditto on it being a worn synchro.

Oh... BTW... whan you are at a dead stop do you get any grinding when you shift into reverse?

so i went out to the jeep to try that and see what it would do and it was a little tough to put it into reverse, so i made a video showing the issue.

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d136/ ... ent=sa.flv

[ZAEDOCK]

That's typical AX5. If the one synchro is going/gone, the others aren't far behind.

[wesley4x4]

That's typical AX5. If the one synchro is going/gone, the others aren't far behind.

soo what should I do? Should I get all the gaskets I can and have a wrench fest at udoit or should I just bring it to transmetic?? Also while I have the tranny apart would it be smart/cost effective if I replace the clutch/throwout bearings/ and other things??? Or what's you guys opinion?

[Kurt]

Before you gear up for major surgery be sure to do the following first...

Check your tranny fluid level. Be sure it's full.

If you top off or change and refill it and still have grinding/shifting issues then you may want to either tear into the tranny and replace the synchros or swap out the tranny.

Or... If you're interested I have a spare AX-5 tranny I'd consider parting with to swap into your rig.

If you have a number of miles on the rig it's usually a good idea to replace the clutch disc, pressure plate, and throwout bearing while you have the tranny down.

[ZAEDOCK]

Pretty much what Kurt said. Make sure you use a GL4 like Synchromax, MT-90, or similar soft metal friendly fluid when you refill.

[wesley4x4]

do you think that maybe the previous owner did not use a GL-4 for the tranny fluid thus my issue occurred or is my little jeep just getting old

[ZAEDOCK]

I'd be willing to bet that the fluid has never been changed.

[wesley4x4]

Solo if i change the fluid do u think the problem will go away or is it too late

[johnsxj]

Changing the fluid will give you a chance to see if there's crap in the oil.
Can't hurt to try and is fairly cheap to do.

[barkle]

Changing the oil might make it shift better, maybe just a little (?), and like johnsxj says, it will tell you if there's junk in the oil (like little pieces of metal or gasket, etc). And new fluid will make it last longer without a rebuild, with less wear, but the problem's not going to go away - you'll need to fix it sooner or later.

That said, I've been using the ax15 in my 98 tj with worn sincros for years, and they still hold up, mostly... I get a little crunch most times I shift into second from first, so I'm used to sort of easing it in there when I shift. But In the winter when it's cold, the tranny won't stay in 2nd easily until it warms up - I have to hold it in there with my hand for the first couple seconds. And I don't try to shift too quickly when off-road.

I don't think you'll want to leave it like it is, especially if you go off-road alot - babying the shifter into second is not sympathetic to getting through or over obstacles cleanly. I won't do serious off-roading until I upgrade my axles, so I can live with babying it, off-roading only in minor ways, for now. But I have another ax15 to rebuild when the time comes. And I'm not sure specifically about the syncros, but I hear that the ax15's (I think the ax5's are similar in construction) have soft gears that tend to wear pretty quickly, relative to other trannys with hardened steel gears, so when I put the rebuilt bench-tranny in, I'll keep the 1st one to rebuild and swap in later when I need to. I have a ford t5 tranny for my sportscar project, I think it has nylon gears which are considered real soft... other tranny's (nv-4550?) have hardened steel gears that can really take a beating without wearing much at all over time.

Depending on how long you plan to keep the jeep, you may want to plan on rebuilding once in a while, get a bench tranny to keep around, or consider getting a different tranny that will last longer ($).

My 2cents,
- Mark

[nostaw]

If you're going to go through the expense of rebuilding it you may want to consider swapping in an AX-15 if you can find a deal on one....

JW

[wesley4x4]

ok well i did my reading and i think ill stick with the the AX-5 for now so seeing how this is my DD i might just end up buying kurt's AX-5 and putting that in until it breaks and have the already rebuilt by that time ax-5(original) to throw in there... and just keep going back and forth... soo here is a rebuild kit i found http://www.quadratec.com/products/52170 ... lemerchant its $360.00 so0o0o0o0o0o why must my jeep keep kicking my wallet in the nads??? tell me what you think of that overhaul kit and maybe can someone suggest a cheaper one?