1984 Jeep CJ-7 Progress 2011 11 13
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First off transmissions are a black box to me. I have had no good experiences with them. The transmission in the Jeep had very long throws and lots of sideways slop in the shift lever when in gear. When the Jeep was at the alignment shop it got stuck in reverse.
I did some research on a Jeep forum and it seemed like most of the problems were caused by worn parts in the top plate of the transmission, so I ventured into unknown territory.
I pulled up the carpet, unbolted the floor plate and exposed the top of the transmission. This is what greeted me
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The top plate had obviously been remove at some prior point. the left front corner of the top plate was cracked clear through. The right lower bolt was bottomed out in it’s blind hole and later I found that the treads were stripped |
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When the top plate was removed I found that someone had used an excessive about of silicone sealer as gasket material. there was pieces floating around in the gear oil. The gears themselves seemed to be in very good shape. |
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The forks were in nice shape, with little wear. |
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The grove on the shift lever that rides on the Fulcrum Pins was worn. The Shift lever cover was missing,, Transmission lever cover was badly gouged up. |
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So I gathered up some new parts, a shift lever, new top plate, a shift lever rebuild kit, and a gasket for the top plate |
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First step was to sand blast the floor panel and powder coat it gloss black, see the last picture |
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Time to transfer the parts from the old top plate to the new top plate. and install the new shift lever, and shift lever rebuild kit with the shift level boot |
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| Well now here is a story, all was going so well.I put the top on. Went through first second third and fourth. It would only go half way into reverse. Tried to go first second third and fourth again, but now it is stuck in first.Pulled the shift lever and it was not out of the gates, pulled the cover and Third-Fourth Gear Clutch Assembly is all the way back and will not come forward. Tried the clutch, and putting the transfer case in natural. Makes no difference. It is stuck in first.After scratching my head, writing on the forum for help, removing the transfer case skid panel, draining the gear oil out of the gear box, it was discovered that the reverse idler gear was also all the way forward. | |
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| I moved the reverse idler gear when I put the top plate on. After playing with the gears, tiring to rock the Jeep, scratching my head the reverse idler gear slipped back as nice as you would please and the Third-Fourth Gear Clutch Assembly slipped back into neutral.The transmission is in natural. Now the rear wheels will not turn. The wheels in the rear move maybe 1/2 inch and then stop mechanically (clunk).I did remove the rear wheels and tires to finish painting the springs and shocks black.
I’m thinking it is in the transfer case. I have no idea why this would happen. The shift lever for the transfer case does not seem to move the way I would think it would. There are hardly any detents between 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive high. I think I find natural, but am not sure that it goes into four wheel low. Gears in the transmission move freely (clutch in) I can move the two synchronizer rings through 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. I have put the top back on the transmission and it shifts really nice through all gears over and over without getting stuck. Nice distinct detents between gears and not a lot of play in the shift lever. It has become obvious to me that there has been someone in here before me. I found both red and blue silicone sealer; one of the bolt holes for the top is striped (one of the ones to the rear). I was able to clean out a bunch of gunk in the bottom of the hole, use a thread chaser, save the last ¼ inch of threads in the hole, use a longer bolt, and space it with washers to get exactly the right length to get a ¼ inch of thread bite to pull the cover down tight on the gasket. This problem is still unsolved. |
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I used the reverse fork to try and move the reverse idler gear. Yes that means I had to take the top plate back apart to get the fork |
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Here you see all the Gear Clutch Assemblies back in the neutral position |
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I am convinced the problem with the rear wheels being locked up is not in the transmission, so I have installed the top plate again and it shifts through all the gears very nicely. |
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I set the floor plate in place just to see what it looks like. I think I will be pulling the transfer case unless someone can suggest a better idea. |