i noticed the clutch feeling less responsive the other day - not as much resistance. my driveway is steep and i park the jeep nose-uphill. it was hard to shift unless the car was moving, and very hard to get into first gear. now it will not go into gear at all. because of the steep incline, i am wondering if i will be able to get a good read on the transmission level.

any ideas? should i get it towed to the shop?

 

I'm guessing its your slave cylinder not fully disengaging your clutch. Mine did almost the same thing.

 

First off the incline has nothing to do with how the clutch works next look and see where the level in your brake fluid resorvior is if it's low two things if the brakes fell good you have a leak at the slave or the line running to it. Other options the prussure plate springs are given or gave out can you put the trans in gear withiut the mototr running that tell's you the tranny is fine the fluid should be ok and it's time for a clutch not a hard job but do to the incline would not attempt

 

Yep! what they both said...

 

sounds like the master cylinder... easy fix, i got mine at napa, like $70, wear safety glasses

 

new master cylinder fixed it in both my 91 and 96

 

Did u check the clutch fluid level? When you're out of fluid you can't put the trans in gear like you described. My slave cylinder leaks fluid and if I hold the clutch pedal in on my jeep at a light I notice right away that the pedal gets spongy and its hard to shift but returns if I pump the pedal a few times, and as long as you don't have a bad leak you have quite a bit of warning before the level gets too low

 

Master cylinder if ur lucky, but it was caused by the slave cylinder on my neighbors 87. Her slave is on the input shaft of the trans, so I changed the disk and p.p. while it was apart. Some of the slave cylinders are external of the transmission - that makes it a lot cheaper fix.

 

my level never even got low, the seals inside failed and caused bypass, thus no pressure...

 

thanks for all the quick responses. i did also mean to mention that yes, i can shift through all the gears when the engine is off, but not when its started, so i suppose the transmission is fine. the incline its parked on is probably about 15 degrees - what would be the issue with trying to work on the clutch at this incline? i also think it may pose a problem for checking fluid levels.

any other help would be great,

thanks,

-alex

 

correct
WHAT???? Brakes have nothing to do with the clutch hydraulics. WTF?

just check your clutch fluid, then check the fittings and hose back to where it enters the bellhousing. If nothing is leaking between the two, and you can see that the bellhousing has oil dripping out the bottom, you MAY have a slave leak. ( i've done this twice) If its dry under there, you MAY need a new pp and clutch (done this once). Or you need a master. Check the inside of the firewall where it comes in and look for a leak. Or its bypassing internally, (deadhead the line and check).

 

I had all the same symptoms two weeks ago. Dropped the tranny, replaced the concentric slave and did a clutch job... I knew it was the slave because of how different it felt when my master went out during the summer. The rig runs like a dream now. Good luck.