Okay heres the deal...I started trying to get the nss off to clean it and i never could get it off so i decided that i would wait till my dad could help me get it off. So i put it back on and now it will start but its really hard to shift into gear and its like neutral is reverse and 1 gear is drive. I have the automatic tranny if that was confusing you guys.

any advise

 

nss is the neutral safety switch right i did not know you could clean them i thought they just needed to be replaced when not working right

 

I remember mine was a pain to get off when I rebuilt it. So did you get it partially off the shaft and had to push it back on? Maybe it is not pushed back entirely flush with the tranny or the NSS housing could be tweaked if you pried on it with a screwdriver or something.

Now the "neutral is reverse" thing could just be that you twisted it out of adjustment trying to get it off. So just loosen the nut and twist it back the other way. I don't think that explains the "hard to shift" part. New thought...the nut is probably just too tight. Toy around with it until the shifter feels right.

 

it should not effect shifting unless it not on right or adjusted wrong

 

I agree with you, but I don't think that he was talking about the tranny actually shifting hard, but just that the shift lever is stiff or hard to move. Loosening the nut on the NSS should fix that. Maybe he needs to clarify on what he meant.

 

make sure you are pulling it off perfectly straight or it wont come off its pretty difficult just make sure not to twist and break it expensive fix

 

Allright after messing with it somemore i got it back to shifting right. I think i just didnt have it on all the way.

thanx guys

 

If it was acting up, and you didn't clean it up internally, it still needs to be done. It will start acting up again. I just did mine, and it was very easy, and it works like charm now. This is the write up that I used, and it gives you a pretty easy way to remove it the right way!! HTH!!

http://jp.automotive.com/93239/154-0...tch/index.html

 

The NSS switch isnt gonna cause shifting issue's..........it sound like you bumped the shifter linkage some how.......

 

So i followed the steps in that link and disassembled cleaned and reinstalled it. I have 2 questions i didnt use alot of grease because i didnt have a clear idea what i was supposed to lube up. and second i installed it again and now I dont need to push in the button on the shifter to change gears(Automatic), what may have caused this. I also have a different sound when trying to crank than before i disassembled it.

 

IF the NSS is not pushed back flush against the transmission housing, tightening of the adjustment screw can cause it to bind up.

There is no way to "bump" the shifting linkage as it is on the other side of the trans.

When the NSS binds up, shifting can be extremely difficult and at times the cable operated shifter that is in XJ's can "give". The NSS can actually keep the transmission from dropping into gear. DO NOT keep using it in this condition, damage to the NSS can occur.

To remedy this: Loosen the large nut and LIGHTLY tap the body of the NSS towards the transmission. Use of the butt-end of a heavy screwdriver works best. I have also heard of loosening the large nut and running the shifter thru the gears several times to re-align the NSS. But I would try tapping it back first.

What type of grease did you use? Dielectric?

As for the shifter button: that is inside the shifter. Mostlikely your button or related rods inside have stuck. Remove the handle, then the PRNDL panel.
You should be able to see the guts of the shifter below.