Hi folks I'd really appreciate anybody advising me how to decide if I need to remove my gearbox or not.
The problem is that the clutch won't disengage. It happened very quickly, I had the clutch down at a junction waiting to pull out with the Jeep in first gear when bam ! The clutch engages on its own without me lifting the pedal and off I go down the road.
My first thought was either I have a busted slave cylinder or the clutch fluid had all leaked away but this was not the case.
Now there seems to be a little bit of clutch disengagement if I start the jeep in gear with the pedal pressed down hard but it does creep forward.
Could it be that my clutch release/throw-out bearing has broken up?
In this case obviously it all has to come out to be replaced or is there a way to be sure before removing gearbox?
I have bled the slave cylinder a few times (i'm on my own with this) by pumping vigorously and wedging the pedal down with a big pipe against the seat runner.
I'm going to do this again now but I've done it three times and it's made no difference....
Turbo Diesel - Is that an aftermarket engine swap or a non-US market XJ?
Assuming that it uses the AX-15 (or comparable model) -
It sounds like an issue with the TOB or something in that area. You could pull the slave cylinder without removing the entire gearbox and check it's operation by having someone gently start pushing the clutch and seeing if it operates correctly. You can check there's nothing broken in the pedal mechanism itself.
Personally, I think that you're (unfortunately) going to have to pull the transmission to correct this issue.
I had similar behavior as you're describing when one of the springs on my clutch disc broke.
Pedal is mechanically good . Though it feels like it's not doing a full stroke. It doesn't come all the way up. Never has as long as I've had it (18 months).
Pedal is mechanically good . Though it feels like it's not doing a full stroke. It doesn't come all the way up. Never has as long as I've had it (18 months).
Interesting - I'll take a look at mine and see if it's similar.
I'm about half-way done with a clutch replacement myself. If/When you do go to remove the transmission - use heat on the cross-member studs. I snapped mine off with quite a bit less force than I would have guessed it would take to break them. It looks like I'm going to have to drill the stud out and cut (or drill) a hole in the floor to properly correct my bone-headed mistake. According to the post I'm referencing, to drill that hole means pulling out the seats and the trim panels along the door sill. Not looking forward to it.
On a positive note, I did get both the e12 bolts out successfully.
When I took the slave cylinder off hoping to look in and see what was going on in there, all seemed ok, couldn't see much anyway apart from clutch arm, I noticed a 1/4 inch thick spacer between the slave cylinder mounting face and the bell housing surface it bolts up against and thought to myself that bolting it up without this piece would effectively give me another 1/4 inch of clutch disengagement.
Bolted back up, minus spacer and lo and behold, full pedal and clutch disengagement! Un-believable.
I was about ready to pull the gearbox off and now much to my relief I seem to have been granted a break from the guys at Toledo back in '97 when it was put together.
Interesting - is that a factory piece? I'll double check my slave cylinder tonight when I get back to the clutch replacement (my issue was a noisy TOB and incorrect spacer plate.. I'm amazed at how much shoddy work the P.O. did and yet my Jeep still drives), but I don't recall there being any spacer.
When I did the clutch on my 00 TJ I don't remember a spacer either.
If it's supposed to be there you might run the risk of grinding out the flywheel if the clutch disc friction material is super low.
Buddy of mine co owns a tractor dealership. He showed me a tractor they had split in half because the xlutch wouodnt enage at all. Clutch and pressure plate were rustes to the flywheel lol
That plastic spacer is supposed to be there. If you drive with it out, yes it helps, but it also puts a load on the thrust bearing inside the engine. It will end up taking out the thrust bearing if you do not put it back in. Dont ask me how I know...
Appreciate the replies people. So good to get replies from stateside.
5Speed, I understand where you're coming from with your fuller Jeep knowledge and familiarity with the spacer I'm talking about, but I'm fairly sure something has happened to my thrust bearing anyway .
I'm unsure why but for whatever reason the thrust bearing is not pushing the clutch in far enough to disengage with the spacer on, maybe the front bearing surface has worn out after the bearing ran dry or the springs are getting worn, but the fact is it all works now .
I know something has happened and that I have to expect complications but wearing thrust bearing is not really the end of the world to me, SO, i'm gonna run like this and be very sparing with my use of the clutch whilst I save enough for a clutch kit and get my little Honda ready for it's MOT next
month as it's been keeping me mobile throughout this little episode with the Jeep.
Interestingly, my 95 doesn't have any extra spacer plate thing on the slave cylinder. The flange is a pretty beefy looking rubbery plastic-y looking thing, but it's a single piece from what I can tell.
I checked the 94-96 parts catalog and there is no spacer shown or listed. Perhaps this was changed in later years?
Interestingly, my 95 doesn't have any extra spacer plate thing on the slave cylinder. The flange is a pretty beefy looking rubbery plastic-y looking thing, but it's a single piece from what I can tell.
I checked the 94-96 parts catalog and there is no spacer shown or listed. Perhaps this was changed in later years?
Dont know either... I do know that my 98 had it and my current 99 does too. So maybe from 97-99 they had it? The 00+ use a different trans so definitely not sure on those.
@Daniel - The bearing I am talking about that wears out is inside the engine. Not the throw out bearing that the pressure plate finger touch. Any forward pressure on the crank pushes on the engines thrust bearing (removing the spacer add preload). Not a good thing. If you are going to keep the spacer out, keep an eye on your oil. It will start to get sparkly if the bearing starts to go out.
