MileHiXJ

I'm having a little problem with my AX-15 transmission.

When I am idling in neutral at a stoplight, it is hard to get it to shift into 1st. I can usually put it in 3rd then go right into first no problem. But if I try to go directly into first, I have to force it in. There is no grinding, but I really have to strong arm it in. And if the weather is warm, and the car is warm, it gets hard to put it into 3rd as well. 2nd gear is also hard to go into. If I am rolling to a stop, it slips right into 1st.

When I am moving, everything shifts very well.

The previous owner replaced the clutch less than 30,000 miles ago.

I have already flushed all of the the old clutch fluid out. I have gravity bled the system, and also bled it with the pedal. I have a vacuum bleeder, but haven't tried it yet. I've also changed the transmission fluid and replaced it with Pennzoil Synchromesh.

Do you think it is worth it to replace the master cylinder? I have an internal slave cylinder, so replacing it would require me to drop the transmission. Or is it the synchros going bad?

Any help would be appreciated.

Distended

FWIW, I recently had the clutch plate, master & slave cylinders replaced on my '96.

I have the same issue when trying to engage first. It does not happen all the time. It seems that if the Jeep is moving really slow, say as I coast to a stop, if moving at just the right speed, I can shift into first like buttah! But if I have to shift from a complete stop, then it is a crap shoot. Also it seems that the grade of the street seems to play a role. So for example, on a flat grade I might have a tougher time shifting into first, while on a steeper grade, up or down it might be easier

Anyway the shop bled it at least twice, but the issue only got marginally better, if at all. I wonder if it has anything at all to do with maybe the clutch being out of alignment with the transmission, say a soft transmission mount? Or maybe when the installed it they messed up the throw out bearing...dunno.

Hope alll works out for you.

andyg

A way to see if the clutch isn't full disengaging is to put the trans in a forward gear to stop the disc and input shaft from spinning. Without taking your foot off the clutch, move into neutral for a few seconds and then try to shift into reverse. If you get a crunch, that means that the disc was dragging and spun the input shaft back up.

If this test works out fine with no crunch, you just have worn blocking rings and should overhaul the trans before crunching starts and you have to replace gears and dog collars.

s14unimog

^ I'm thinking its something along what he's saying. I've rebuilt my AX-15 before and what you're describing sounds like worn blocking rings. They rely on a friction brake with the gear hub to stop the input shaft before the syncro sleeve will be allowed to move; so you're using that other gear to stop the main shaft. Mine also had a worn shift fork but that tends to give you an audible grind when releasing the clutch and only in a specific gear as the other side of the fork could be okay.

Here is a picture of mine, you can tell from the heat marking on the 3-4 fork that its damaged. The blocking ring are yellow in color. Unfortunate thing is that the first gear blocking ring is the last one you can get to; lol, so buy a full set.