tuxfan212

So my jeep is my DD. It is a 5spd manual so it has a clutch. Somehow I got air in the line while I was taking my last final exam at school today. I popped it into second with a barely operable clutch just enough to shift it with a little grinding and limped it home. However, my school is 40 mins average commute time so I took all the back roads except for one 60 MPH road that I had to drive about 1/2 a mile on. Well on that road I got pulled over for going to slow, the cop was gracious enough to escort me to the nearest side road where it took me another 30 mins to get home. I was thrilled that he didnt give me a ticket.

I am pretty sure my clutch slave cylinder is on its way out so I will do some trouble shooting and repair it before school on tuesday.

Bustedback

Ok, now replace the slave cylinder and clutch if it needs it.

93gc40

Swao to a AW4.....
Learn to drive with out a clutch. You should only HAVE to use a clutch to start off and when stopped in gear. I haven't shift a manual trans from 1-2, 3-4, 4-5 and so on since I learned to drive, 40 years, except in traffic when going to slow to get the revs right . I do use the clutch for down shifts most of the time but almost never for upshifts.

89Laredo

The AX15 is synchronized (I think?) It should be pretty easy to clutchless shift it.

tuxfan212

Intriguing, are you saying there is a way to shift it without the clutch? This is the first vehicle I have ever owned and the first manual I have ever driven. I do not have a tach though so I dont know if that matters. Sorry I just thought you always had to shift while using the clutch.

FloydXJ

It is recommended you use the clutch, but if you find yourself in a no clutch situation, here is what you do...
You have to be moving. If you are starting from a stop, you will have to start it in 1st gear. To do that, your starter has to be able to handle it, and if you have a clutch switch, it has to be disabled.
Once moving in any gear, rev it up to where you would normally shift or a little faster, then let off the gas and pull it out of gear. When it is not accellerating or decellerating the Jeep, it will slide out really easily. You will then need to rev the engine up to where it would be in the next gear at the speed you are going, and start trying to put it in the next gear. It will take some practice to get it right, but when the engine hits the exact right RPM for the speed you are going and the gear you are pushing toward, it will go right in. It works for downshifting as well, but is much more difficult.

ZachsXJ

First, he should try filling the master with fluid and pumping the clutch. My slave has had a slow leak since October and I just check my fluid often and fill it up if its low, no big deal and not quite worth yanking the trans out of my dd for.

I wouldn't recommend an AW4 swap. they run hot and hard to keep cool. plus a manual is way more reliable, lasts longer and is much simpler.

yes, the AX15 is syncronized. Brass Syncros so you have to use special gear oil thats yellow metal friendly.

clutchless shifting it is easy as pie, I do it all the time when I'm not burning through the gears. Even downshifting is easy without a clutch, you just blip the throttle and know when to pop it in. Its an art and you really gotta learn to feel the shift and not force it. Its basically the art of rev matching.

Don't always need the clutch, don't even need a tach. Its all by feel.
Why is is recommended to always use the clutch? If you are good at it, clutchless shifting is actually easier on the vehicle as a whole.

You don't have to blip the throttle on an upshift. What I do is let off the gas and slide it out of gear and then line up the next shift. put slight pressure on the shifter, but don't force it.(the idea is to have enough pressure to slide it in, but not enough to grind gears) when the engine hits the right RPM while returning to idle the shifter will slide right in nice and easy. the first couple times you may grind gears but once you get a feel for it its easy as pie.

downshifting is a bit more complicated but its still pretty simple. You take it out of the higher gear just like you would for an upshift and then blip the throttle to above the point where it should slide in and while the engine speed is returning to idle you pop it in just like an upshift.

I LOVE doing this on the highway or when I have my left foot hanging out the door(see going doorless) cause then I don't have to move my foot and can enjoy the breeze.

JeepingDan

I shift with out the clutch all the time. Not cuz it's broken just to keep the clutch like new. I put a new set in 3 years ago AFTER my wife learned to drive stick.

FloydXJ

I see some clarification is needed...I mis-spoke a little on the shifting. I typically will pop it in on it's way back to idle as well. Instead of "rev it up to where it would be," it should have been more like you put it. However if you miss your chance on the way back down to idle, a blip will be needed to try again. Secondly, I say it is "recommended" because it is simpler and the manufacturer's intended process for switching gears. It is not unlike jamming your foot in the back tire of a bicycle to stop it. You will get stopped, and save a little brake pad life, but using the brake is how it was built to work. Granted in the clutch scenario, there is not the risk of shoe and foot destruction in the alternative method. To say it is easier on the vehicle is splitting hairs a little, I think. You will save your clutch cylinder some cycles, but while learning, you may grind some gears a few times. Who is to say which has a more negative long term impact? I think either way makes a pretty forgettable difference in drivetrain life. Also, E=MC squared, I am told

Madman

Guys, it is a bad idea to try and teach someone how to do clutchless shifting through a computer. Most people must be shown to do it. And even at that some people just don't have the coordination, or just don't know what's going on inside the transmission. Unless you know how a clutch, synchros, and transmission work; just call AAA. I have seen so many toasted transmissions from people learning to do this on a good clutch (just in case).

If you don't know how to do it, or how it works when you do it...JUST DONT DO IT.

I say this because I am that friend of yours you call when your car dies. I'm the guys cussing and spitting to fix your car out of the kindness of my heart for my friends in need.

4Doors

Your Jeep didn't fail on you, you just have a 16 year old vehicle with a worn out part that needs some attention.

Fail is what my wife's '02 Chevy Trailblazer did to us this week when the alternator/starter/battery all collaborated to kill one another simultaneously.

Fail is Chevy allowing an ambient air temperature sensor to determine how cold it will allow your A/C to blow. When this sensor goes bad it reads a constant 50*, so when you try to get cold air it thinks you must be crazy and only gives you cool-ish air. Replacement is simple and cheap, but still annoying.

The more I work on her '02 Chevy, the more I love my '92 Jeep.

tuxfan212

Ended up being just a leak. I wasnt thinking and could have had it working in the parking lot just fine but I was a moron. I got air in the line because the reservior dropped to low and sucked air in. All it took was taking the cap off of the reservior and pumping the clutch a few times. Although today one of my battery terminals broke off...

All is well though and my jeep didnt really fail it was just one piece of maintainence I overlooked. Oh and I will never switch to an AW4 unless I lose my foot and then I may just learn how to clutchless shift. The AW4 is a good trans as my dad has one with 240k on it and it works fine BUT I really love the AX15 in mine.

Oh and I agree with you 4 doors. The more things happen to my moms 04 Suburban the more I love my 94 jeep.