clutch or gearbox?

[tigermuzza]

hey fellas,

ive just purchased another tj after a 5 year hate affair with a navara, thought everything was sweet till it started making a weird noises coming from the gearbox

there is a rattle that's there inbetween changing gears, kind of sounds like a handful of bolts rattling around. its really noticeable when your going from one gear to another.

lets just say I'm idling in 1st gear and I put me foot on the clutch I get the noise until I stop. taking my foot on and off the clutch when stationary gives no noise at all

on another possible realated issue I get a light whine coming from possibly the gearbox, maybe the motor when I'm going up the gears from 1st to 4th, totally disappears in 5th and 6th

its a 2004 tj with the 6 speed

any ideas?

haven't had a chance yet to pull the fluid to check that out but I will hopefully tomorrow when I get the right allen key

cheers

[Struth]

Welcome back,

I have the 5 speed (NV3550) so I'm not much help but the first thing I'd do is give it a drink of...



Might pay to remove and check your drive shaft universals (and diff). Probably should be eliminated before dropping the box.

It may help to record the sound on your phone, upload it to youtube and link it to this post

[Mattyk]

I have exactly the same issues with my 6 speed..

No idea where the clutch noise is but have had the box dropped when I got the SYE done and they couldn't see anything wrong

Same issue with the whine but most noticeable in 4th.

Previous owner had the box re-build (I think because of the popping out of gear issue.. worn fork) and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't put it back together properly. When I had the SYE installed the ouput shaft looked like it had been attacked with a hammer. Invoice showed bearings and syncros replaced but the idiots filled it with ATF instead of the proper oil so it crunched every gear change. replaced with royal purple and now only crunches if I shift from 1st to 2nd quick or when cold. He paid over $8K for the rebuild too I think you can get a new one imported from the US for that price

Would prefer a 5 speed and if it craps itself will look at this option. Not sure how easy it would be to retrofit but NV3550 from what I understand is a stronger, more reliable box

[Redemptioner]

Throwout bearing mate (also could be the throwout fork, throwout spring or pivot point), easy to replace and I would probs just buy a clutch kit and replace the lot while I had the gearbox out. If the jeep has done some miles would also be worth the extra $100 to do the flywheel as well while you are there, especially if you are paying for labour as most of the labour is taking the box in and out.

[tigermuzza]

it does sound like a throw out bearing, I've replaced a clutch in me last tj and it wasn't that bad of a job so if some royal purple doesn't fix it I think I'll order a new kit. Just curious though if it was the throw out wouldn't it make the noise while stationary too?

[Redemptioner]

Originally Posted by tigermuzza

it does sound like a throw out bearing, I've replaced a clutch in me last tj and it wasn't that bad of a job so if some royal purple doesn't fix it I think I'll order a new kit. Just curious though if it was the throw out wouldn't it make the noise while stationary too?

Not much moving around when you put the clutch in (nothing inside the box), the noise only comes when you put the clutch in so the only thing(s) moving is the throwout bearing/fork assembly. What is likely to be happening is either the retainer clip, on the pivot point, has disintegrated or the top of the pivot point has worn down (or gone missing) and now the whole assembly falls to one side as you push the clutch in, this causes the edge of the fork or bearing to unload allowing the whole bearing to "wiggle" on its axis and hence the noise (bearing is skewed on the shaft). I can also occur when the wrong throwout bearing is used (one a little too big), same slop occurs.

[Baseplate]

The 6 speed is notorious for the rattle sound when it is idling in neutral (with the clutch not engaged) and also a creak when you depress the clutch.

I have owned my 06 since new, I took it to the dealer and they replaced my gearbox and the new one did it too.