Topic: Lost 5th Gear

[robertsiii]

jeep started vibratating in 5th gear. then lost a tooth or two .  i changed the fluid and found alot of fine metal on magnet . im going with the ax15 this time .jeep runs out though gears ok . how long before it grenades on me ? gettin all my parts together  for the ax15 swap . should i park it or keep driving . what are your thoughts ?

[Jeffy]

What happens when it's in 5th?

Having too many revs while downshifting causes the gear to back out and put pressure on the c-clip.  The C-clip normally sits on one place but after enough wear it can spin.  The clip breaks and falls to the bottom of the case allowing the gear to slide back on it's shaft.  Other then not having 5th, it should be fine otherwise.  It's fairly cheap to fix.  As long as the clip made it to the bottom and isn't in the gears it should me OK.

[robertsiii]

Has a grumbly sound when i let the clutch out . it was very loud and jerky when it first happen .  now its  toned down like the teeth are worn down.

[jagular7]

I lost my 5th last week in my 94 YJ. It rattled and vibrated like I dropped my front ds and it was hitting everything. Immediately hit the clutch and it dissappeared. I was slowing down so I shifted into 4th and no issue. Got enought speed and shifted into 5th, it happened again. Just drove home in 4th at 55mph. I've got another good AX5 to replace it with. I'm figuring the 5th gear shaft gets out of alignment and the teeth don't have complete contact.

[Jeffy]

While under power the gears are designed to grab and pull into each other.  Since 5th gear is now floating, it may catch once in a while but not enough to engage it.  When you back off, the gear pushes 5th away which causes the C-clip to eventually fail.

I've seen a mod where they add a locking collar to keep the gear in place.

[SDWE61988]

That happened to me back in 06.  I drove around for about a month with 5th, and when the tranny locked up on Christmas eve, I then parked it until I was able to get the tranny swapped out.  Mine was a sudden bang, and then I no longer had any power in that gear. 

[VA_YJ]

I lost 5th gear on my way to work this morning.  No pop or bang, no grinding, but the engine revs up and no power is transferred.  I've got 79K on the ax-5, and all the other gears work fine.  Does this sound like the c-clip has popped off?  I don't think the clutch is slipping, because this only happens in 5th gear.

[Bounty Hunter]

I lost 5th gear on my way to work this morning.  No pop or bang, no grinding, but the engine revs up and no power is transferred.  I've got 79K on the ax-5, and all the other gears work fine.  Does this sound like the c-clip has popped off?  I don't think the clutch is slipping, because this only happens in 5th gear.

Mine did the same thing, no bang or noise, just one day 5th gear was like neutral.  I drove it like that for a long time before finally changing it out.

[VA_YJ]

Bounty, did you ever perform an autopsy on the old tranny to see what caused the problem?

[Bounty Hunter]

No but I did get pieces of the clip that holds 5th gear in place out the drain hole.

[robertsiii]

completed my ax 15 conversion. installed a b&M short throw shifter while I was at it.  happy with the end product .gunna open the ax5 up and see what needs to be done to it. getting ready for spring jam at end of month. happy trails!