Manual Transmission - Issues shifting into 1st & Reverse (Compilation thread)

[Duece McCracken]

I used what Honda recommends for clutches, hoping that it lends some Honda reliability to the Jeep.

I forget if I used the grease ACT supplied, or an ultra light coating of Mobil 1 wheel bearing grease.

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[m3reno]

Today I was installing a new shift knob and had to tighten it really hard to get the knob centered. Afterwards I felt the shifting was much smoother going into first! Now I'm wondering what could have changed by applying that force onto the knob and resulting in smoother shifting. I'm going for a test drive again to see if it's my imagination. I still think it's something to do with the position of the shifter. As time goes on something is goes out of alignment.

 

[notthenewguy]

Today I was installing a new shift knob and had to tighten it really hard to get the knob centered. Afterwards I felt the shifting was much smoother going into first! Now I'm wondering what could have changed by applying that force onto the knob and resulting in smoother shifting. I'm going for a test drive again to see if it's my imagination. I still think it's something to do with the position of the shifter. As time goes on something is goes out of alignment.

I think my issues is related to the cables as well. The gear gates seem to shift around from left to right ever so slightly which makes it rough to get into gear. Adjusting the cables again makes it feel much better and then it goes back to bad after a few days of driving it. Could it be possible that the cables are kinked or maybe where the cable ends connect, could that be out of alignment?

 

[ski-line900]

You might check the routing underneath, there is a bracket that attaches at the top rear of the transfer case. Make sure they aren't kinked or sharp bends.

 

[ski-line900]

Today I was installing a new shift knob and had to tighten it really hard to get the knob centered. Afterwards I felt the shifting was much smoother going into first! Now I'm wondering what could have changed by applying that force onto the knob and resulting in smoother shifting. I'm going for a test drive again to see if it's my imagination. I still think it's something to do with the position of the shifter. As time goes on something is goes out of alignment.

What were you tightening? The knob just pulls off. The aftermarket knob i have just has two small set screws, but you shouldn't need to put torque on the lever at all.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Well, maybe ditch the grease and run a dry lube, or no lube.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. My mind will always be that of a 15 year old.

 

[AVGeek99]

There is a safety lock on 1st gear...if you are going too fast it won't let you engage first gear and you get a error message in the cluster.

I am actually wondering if there is some error that could cause that lockout to happen when it doesn't need to. Or even how the lockout works at all.

This is exactly what I thought when I first started noticing the issue.

 

[AVGeek99]

I've never experienced that. I downshift revmatch when decelling.

How do you even do this?

I guess I'll research dash error messages for this, then try to figure out what causes it.

In all my years of automotive wrenching, trans splitting etc, never seen this from a manufacturer. I either have never driven a manual trans that poorly, or its something Aisin does that no other manufacturer I have experienced has.

This is my 25th car/truck at this point, so Im not new to any of this. I'll need to do more research into this, but it doesnt make any sense from a mechanical standpoint. Never heard of a car being able to prevent a "money shift", well, never expected a jeep to be able to.

I've never seen an error message on the screen, but there is something that physically locks out 1st gear if going too fast. I haven't noticed it on other gears. It just blocks you from putting it in gear. Feels the same as trying to put it in reverse without pulling up the lever on the stick.

Another weird thing that started happening with mine after I had my CFII installed is a rattling noise, or ticking noise, coming directly from the base of the stick when going more that 30 mph and I pull the stick all the way to the left as if to shift into 1st, but keeping it in neutral. It seems to stop rattling when you drop below 30mph.

 

[AVGeek99]

Well picked up my Jeep with the new batteries, which were covered under warranty. The Jeep drives the same, lock out going into first!

At least you got free batteries out of it.

 

[AVGeek99]

I used what Honda recommends for clutches, hoping that it lends some Honda reliability to the Jeep.

As long as you don't start driving it like a Honda.

 

[Kfoo]

Throwing in my own anecdotes in case it helps with identifying the issue(s).

I had the ACT pro mass installed June 2023, about 13k miles ago.

Started experiencing first and second gear lockout approximately 2 months ago. Behavior is similar to the 1st gear lockout when going too fast.

I noticed that once the lockout starts happening, it will lock me out if I spend ANY time in neutral with foot off the clutch.

If I come to a stop and keep the clutch depressed the entire time, I have no issues entering first gear. (This is one of my methods to bypass the issue)

However, as soon as I release the clutch and depress it again, I am locked out.

When I am locked out, I also have difficulty trying 3rd gear. I am able to shift into 4, and that seems to release 1 and 2. (This is my other method of bypassing the issue)

It seems that sometimes it locks me IN gear, where it becomes challenging to shift to neutral. Releasing the clutch a bit seems to alleviate this when it happens.

When locked IN GEAR, I have also noticed my Jeep moving forward even with the clutch fully depressed. I also notice a groaning sound when this happens at a stop, as if it is trying to move forward but can’t because my foot is on the brake.

 

[gek]

As long as you don't start driving it like a Honda.

 

[SadRobot]

At least you got free batteries out of it.

True but what a bizarre diagnosis. Was the dealer just getting a huge battery kickback or something? I just don't understand the logic unless they just figure it's a cheap way to get a customer to go away? Feels like weaponized incompetence to me.

 

[m3reno]

Well what happened is I had an appointment for the first gear lock out for the 22nd of this month, then my daughter left the heating blanket on which killed the battery. So they assumed the lock out was from the batteries and I wasn't about to tell them that it was my fault.

 

[m3reno]

What were you tightening? The knob just pulls off. The aftermarket knob i have just has two small set screws, but you shouldn't need to put torque on the lever at all.

I have the adapter and I wanted a leather shift knob so I had to tap new threads into the knob but it wasn't centered correctly unless I kept twisting it. I drove it some more and it does seem to be smoother.

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