Hello All

[dejjen]

Hello! I kinda found this site on accident while I was researching transmission shops in Fairbanks, but it's an accident I'm happy I made. I recently moved up to FWA and my lovely wife just bought me a 95 YJ. It's stock except for 31's which, with no lift, makes loud popping noises when turning sharply. I did have a question though. It won't shift gears smoothly. When I say smootly I mean nearly not at all. It feels like I'm about to snap the shifter in half trying to put it into first, and third grinds every time. Reverse is nearly impossible, and I have to grind it just to get it to go. I'm pretty sure now that I paid way too much for this jeep ($4k), but I'm trying to make the best of it. The clutch feels springy and responsive, so I'm not sure whether it's the culprit or if the problem is the synchro's. At any rate, I don't have the space, tools, or experience to rebuild the tranny, so can anyone recommend a good shop that's not gonna charge me half of what I paid for the jeep? Also, it has an in-line heater installed on the lower radiator hose. Is this sufficient for this area? What about tranny/oil pan/transfer case heaters? I've always wanted a wrangler, and if this one works out ok I'd like to put a 4"-6" lift on it and go up to 33's or 35's. When I get the lift I'd like to go out on a ride with you guys as well. Thanks for any help that any of you can provide.

[naturalbornmudder]

I'd check the fluid levels first, change the slave cylinder fluid and check the slave cylinder itself before I started preparing to spend the loot to have a rebuild one. If you do have to have one rebuilt I would try looking up turbo tom in north pole if he is still in business

[rpiereck]

Welcome to FAO!

For a full winterization you should need the engien block heater, engine oil pan pad, change your oils to synthetic, change your radiator coolant to a sub zero mix, and add either a battery blanket or a trickle charger. I prefer the charger. Also, make a cardboard cover for your radiator, not 100% covered, maybe 80 or 90%, your engine will warm up faster, use less gas and pollute less.

[naturalbornmudder]

Your jeep wouldn't be yellow, would it?

[dejjen]

I'd check the fluid levels first, change the slave cylinder fluid and check the slave cylinder itself before I started preparing to spend the loot to have a rebuild one. If you do have to have one rebuilt I would try looking up turbo tom in north pole if he is still in business

Thanks for the response! I got it IM'd today when I registered it and I asked the guy at Jiffy Lube if he'd check it out while he was under there. He said that the fluid looked just fine, wasn't dark at all, and was as full as it's supposed to be. I thought of flushing it and putting Royal Purple synthetic fluid in it. Do you think this would help? Another stupid question - if the slave cylinder was the problem wouldn't the clutch petal stay on the floor and not come back up? It feels like it has plenty of pressure. I'll check it out anyway though.

[naturalbornmudder]

Usually when a slave cylinder goes out it goes out all the way. However sometimes it fails to function completely, but still partially functions. That's what happened to me a few years ago

[dejjen]

Your jeep wouldn't be yellow, would it?

Nope, not yellow. I want a yellow one pretty bad, but mine is black with a tan soft top. The people that had it before had it painted from red to black, which explains why the top is tan and not black.

[rpiereck]

Black and Tan... yummy!
http://madhungry.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/black-n-tan.jpg

[AKMark]

I ran Royal Purple Synchromesh in my AX-15 and it was great. I also put a trans pad on it and made it even better.


The Royal Purple on it's own took my 5-speed from hard to shift/potential rebuild, to working great and quieter within minutes of changing the fluid. Made the $15 a quart worth it.

[dejjen]

I ran Royal Purple Synchromesh in my AX-15 and it was great. I also put a trans pad on it and made it even better.


The Royal Purple on it's own took my 5-speed from hard to shift/potential rebuild, to working great and quieter within minutes of changing the fluid. Made the $15 a quart worth it.

Thanks. I'll go by and get the Royal Purple tomorrow. My unit is doing ALIT tonight so I won't be home. What wattage heaters should I look for? I found some on eBay, but wasn't sure whether I'd need a 30W, 60W, 125W, 250W, etc. I plan to put one on each -the oil pan and the tranny, maybe even two. Does anyone sell these things locally?

[The_Ronster]

Just got by Napa and pick one up, they are fairly cheap. Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[rpiereck]

^ The gas station on FWW has them cheap too, all different sizes.

[dejjen]

OK, so 20 days and...*cough*...$1,000 later I finally got my Jeep fixed. I tried the Synchromax from Royal Purple, but it didn't help at all. Thinking it was really tranny related I took it over to Born Again Transmission because I no longer had the time or experience to do anything else about it. Every part in the drivetrain was leaking something, and my cramped garage already smells bad enough with the Royal Purple differential and tranny fluid change, so I decided to go ahead and take it in and let someone else fix it all. Anyway, the pinion seal in the diff was bad, so was the o-ring around the speedo cable in the transfer so it leaked, the tranny leaked, the slave cylinder leaked, the rear main was bad and it leaked. They replaced the slave cylinder and it didn't fix the problem...so...the culprit? clutch. one of the springs on the clutch had exploded into several pieces, so it wasn't engaging/ disengaging properly. While they had everything out I had them go ahead and replace all the seals from the engine all the way to the rear diff. Maybe next time I'll quit being lazy and go ahead and take it apart myself and save the $600 labor charge. The guys at the shop were extremely nice though, I have to admit it's a lot better than most shops that I've been in. Oh, mods, if there is a more appropriate place for this thread can one of you move it? Sorry about hogging up the introduction section with my ramblings. Thanks.

[The_Ronster]

Glad to hear that you got it fixed :2thumbs: Now to get you to a meeting and on the trial!

[naturalbornmudder]

well, we won't put you on TRIAL, but it would be cool to see you on a TRAIL...

[The_Ronster]

speak for yourself :D