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

[beachbumm78]

So has anyone actually had issues with their stock clutch post recall and/or on a 2024+ Jeep? (besides the JScan/bigger tire size issue which has a resolution)

Reading this thread seems like a lot of people jumped down the echo chamber of preemptively upgrading their clutch and are suffering the consequences.

Not sure it’s “preemptively” upgrading when they sent out a recall for the clutch with a warning it could explode.

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[ajLEEP21]

Not sure if I had any recall related issues, however I did experience premature wear after around 45k miles. I drive pretty conservatively with a mix of highway/street. I had hopes of changing it around 100k+ miles like normal standard vehicles.

 

[_olllllllo_]

Not sure if I had any recall related issues, however I did experience premature wear after around 45k miles. I drive pretty conservatively with a mix of highway/street. I had hopes of changing it around 100k+ miles like normal standard vehicles.

My stock clutch made it to 95,000 miles, when I started to feel the onset of shuddering. With the latest recall at the time and the issues folks were having post recall replacement, I decided to go to the Centerforce and be proactive before complete failure.

 

[andrei]

ACT users, how would you describe feel of your clutch pedal?

Today i drove another Jeep with same kit and it felt different.
The other Jeep had a lighter and smooth, tactile 2 stage feel to it, similar to pressing keys on a keyboard, with more resistance at the top and less through rest of the travel. I really liked that feel.

My Jeep is a constant heavy feel through entire range of motion , similar to a brake pedal, or just like any other clutch.

 

[SadRobot]

ACT users, how would you describe feel of your clutch pedal?

Today i drove another Jeep with same kit and it felt different.
The other Jeep had a lighter and smooth, tactile 2 stage feel to it, similar to pressing keys on a keyboard, with more resistance at the top and less through rest of the travel. I really liked that feel.

My Jeep is a constant heavy feel through entire range of motion , similar to a brake pedal, or just like any other clutch.

It's supposed to have that lighter smoother feel to it. If it feels very heavy almost like the brake then something is off somewhere.

Mine had that heavy pedal feel after first installed because it was installed incorrectly. After the transmission was dropped and the ceramic grease went in the pedal feel was completely different. It was much lighter and had smoother travel.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

I'm 1,500 miles into a road trip, of which approximately 500 has been off road in central Idaho. Unfortunately I am now getting nearly every issue mentioned in this thread: lockout from 1st and reverse, an occasional slight "whirring" sound when engaging first, and "creeping" forward when clutch is pushed in and I go into first gear. Luckily I have an appointment today at a 4x4 shop in Boise to get things sorted out. I brought along a new throwout bearing and ceramic grease which Dirk at ACT kindly sent me.

Shifting overall feels terrible, very "sticky" between gears, like something is not sliding correctly. Given that I had my clutch installed at the same shop that originally messed up @SadRobot's, I'm hopeful that removing the clutch, cleaning the Red n' Tacky grease that the shop (presumably) used, installing a new throwout bearing, and using the proper grease will fix my issue. I'll ask them to do an extra bleed of the slave cylinder while they're at it. While I'd rather not fork out my own money to do this, the dealer said the recalled clutch is on backorder so I wouldn't be able to get that done in the necessary timeframe on my trip.

I'll report back when I get my Jeep back!

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

ACT users, how would you describe feel of your clutch pedal?

Today i drove another Jeep with same kit and it felt different.
The other Jeep had a lighter and smooth, tactile 2 stage feel to it, similar to pressing keys on a keyboard, with more resistance at the top and less through rest of the travel. I really liked that feel.

My Jeep is a constant heavy feel through entire range of motion , similar to a brake pedal, or just like any other clutch.

After it sits overnight it’s smooth as in your first description. After I drive around town for a bit it turns into your second description.

I’m leaning more and more towards CF2 with hydraulic throwout every day. Summer makes the symptoms worse, for sure.

 

[mudpup]

My CF2 is still great but I noticed some minor corrosion bubbles starting on the drivers side seam of the hood.
Built 3/22.
F’n Jeep

 

[ajLEEP21]

Unfortunately I don’t have the ability, but has anyone looked into the “synchros” or the gates that help prevent miss-shifting into the wrong gears? For me, sometimes it feels like they’re prematurely engaging when shifting back and forth from 1st/reverse and sometimes from 2nd/3rd.

 

[andrei]

After it sits overnight it’s smooth as in your first description. After I drive around town for a bit it turns into your second description.

I’m leaning more and more towards CF2 with hydraulic throwout every day. Summer makes the symptoms worse, for sure.

And yet another counter to the theories in my head.
Yours indicate that something changes, mine has always been constant for the entire 9000 miles I had it. So what ever assumption we can make about what ever causes changes in pedal feel don't hold true for both samples. Same damn thing about the grease argument.

However, it is clearly that our clutches don't operate the same. Yesterday i drove a sample that was a joy to shift, which mine never was. You experiencing both ends of the spectrum at the same time, and SadRobot have experience both but with different lubricants.

 

[BHank0688]

I'm 1,500 miles into a road trip, of which approximately 500 has been off road in central Idaho. Unfortunately I am now getting nearly every issue mentioned in this thread: lockout from 1st and reverse, an occasional slight "whirring" sound when engaging first, and "creeping" forward when clutch is pushed in and I go into first gear. Luckily I have an appointment today at a 4x4 shop in Boise to get things sorted out. I brought along a new throwout bearing and ceramic grease which Dirk at ACT kindly sent me.

Shifting overall feels terrible, very "sticky" between gears, like something is not sliding correctly. Given that I had my clutch installed at the same shop that originally messed up @SadRobot's, I'm hopeful that removing the clutch, cleaning the Red n' Tacky grease that the shop (presumably) used, installing a new throwout bearing, and using the proper grease will fix my issue. I'll ask them to do an extra bleed of the slave cylinder while they're at it. While I'd rather not fork out my own money to do this, the dealer said the recalled clutch is on backorder so I wouldn't be able to get that done in the necessary timeframe on my trip.

I'll report back when I get my Jeep back!

That really sucks, sorry to hear that. We just got in to Moab today from north east Ohio. Pulling our teardrop the whole way with no issues so far, but your issues have put that thought back into the front of my mind. Very curious what you find out. Hopeful it gets resolved for you and you can get back to enjoying your trip.

 

[LatteSipper]

My ACT was the same resistance throughout the pedal range, engagement near the halfway point or upper half of the return stroke, in all conditions. Force required was more than OEM, but adapted to within a few miles after replacing. Consistent with race clutches I’ve driven.

The only issue was gear lockout.

(Hoping I can unsubscribe with this reply, having since sold the JLU 6MT)

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

And yet another counter to the theories in my head.
Yours indicate that something changes, mine has always been constant for the entire 9000 miles I had it. So what ever assumption we can make about what ever causes changes in pedal feel don't hold true for both samples. Same damn thing about the grease argument.

However, it is clearly that our clutches don't operate the same. Yesterday i drove a sample that was a joy to shift, which mine never was. You experiencing both ends of the spectrum at the same time, and SadRobot have experience both but with different lubricants.

To be clear, mine was excellent for nearly two years and 11,000 miles. My symptoms started after that and have progressed to the point that they’re present more often than not.

Another observation: last week I took a 5 hour highway drive. So almost no shifting, but certainly some heat. When I arrived at my destination shifting and clutch feel were good. Point being it takes a lot of shifting (city driving) for my pedal to start feeling resistant and shifts becoming notchy.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

Alright, the shop has the clutch out and they confirmed the incorrect grease was definitely causing the shifting issues. The clutch dust bound up with it and made it very gritty.

The shop also sent over photos of the flywheel with this odd heat scorching pattern on it. I have an email into ACT but am assuming I'll need a new flywheel overnighted to Boise. The clutch never felt like it was slipping or overheating, so I was very surprised to see this. I know I'm a decent manual driver too as I've never burned a clutch before. Thoughts?

 

[fczabala]

Alright, the shop has the clutch out and they confirmed the incorrect grease was definitely causing the shifting issues. The clutch dust bound up with it and made it very gritty.

The shop also sent over photos of the flywheel with this odd heat scorching pattern on it. I have an email into ACT but am assuming I'll need a new flywheel overnighted to Boise. The clutch never felt like it was slipping or overheating, so I was very surprised to see this. I know I'm a decent manual driver too as I've never burned a clutch before. Thoughts?

flywheel can be resurfaced

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