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

[BHank0688]

I've had an ACT JP6 in my Jeep for the last 15,000 miles or so and am beginning to experience difficulty getting into 1st gear. It's only been over the past 2 days or so that I've noticed it, and only when the car is warmed up. I've got a 3,000 mile road trip coming up in July so I'm somewhat nervous the issue will only get worse. If it does in the next few days I may just schedule the recall and put this behind me. The ACT has always been creaky and I don't really have the funds or time to drop the transmission to take a look.

Is there any consensus on the cause? Wrong lube used during installation? My clutch was installed at the same spot as @SadRobot so that could very well be the case.

I think we were having the same creaking sound's. Nothing new for me to report on that. For what it’s worth we also head out in July for a 3k mile round trip pulling our tear drop camper, at this point we plan on just seeing what happens. I have some concerns , but I guess it’ll be part of the experience. Good luck!

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[BHank0688]

Question for everyone here. Does anyone else have a slight creep forward and reverse when on flat ground and putting the vehicle into any gear?

 

[Jeremynolan94]

I think we were having the same creaking sound's. Nothing new for me to report on that. For what it’s worth we also head out in July for a 3k mile round trip pulling our tear drop camper, at this point we plan on just seeing what happens. I have some concerns , but I guess it’ll be part of the experience. Good luck!

That's my plan at this point, unless the shifting gets much worse in the next few days. Fingers crossed for the two of us!

Question for everyone here. Does anyone else have a slight creep forward and reverse when on flat ground and putting the vehicle into any gear?

Do you mean if I have the car in gear with the clutch pushed in? I can go give this a try in a bit and see.

 

[roaniecowpony]

That's my plan at this point, unless the shifting gets much worse in the next few days. Fingers crossed for the two of us!



Do you mean if I have the car in gear with the clutch pushed in? I can go give this a try in a bit and see.

When I was helping @SadRobot bleed her clutch slave, I thought it was the piston in the slave making the creaking noise as it moved in the cylinder. Kinda sticking along its movement. Later, Dirk from ACT diagnosed her problem as the throwout bearing lack of proper lube on the snout of the transmission, where it slides fore and aft. You may be experiencing a depletion of the majic grease that keeps the throwout bearing sliding nicely on the snout.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

When I was helping @SadRobot bleed her clutch slave, I thought it was the piston in the slave making the creaking noise as it moved in the cylinder. Kinda sticking along its movement. Later, Dirk from ACT diagnosed her problem as the throwout bearing lack of proper lube on the snout of the transmission, where it slides fore and aft. You may be experiencing a depletion of the majic grease that keeps the throwout bearing sliding nicely on the snout.

Yeah that's sounding likely, especially since I had my clutch installed at the same shop so they likely used the same (incorrect) grease. Dirk was kind enough to send me a new throwout bearing, grease, and alignment tool. I just dont feel confident enough to drop the transmission on my own, and I don't really want to pay a shop to do it if I could just get the recall done for free and put this behind me. Gotta think it over a bit.

 

[BHank0688]

That's my plan at this point, unless the shifting gets much worse in the next few days. Fingers crossed for the two of us!



Do you mean if I have the car in gear with the clutch pushed in? I can go give this a try in a bit and see.

Leave the Jeep on flat ground, in neutral, push the clutch in and hold. Then go into say first gear. As I push the shifter into first the car will move slightly.

 

[toothirtyj]

Question for everyone here. Does anyone else have a slight creep forward and reverse when on flat ground and putting the vehicle into any gear?

Yes, sometimes

 

[BHank0688]

I wish I knew what grease act uses and I’d try and use my camera to see and put more where the throwout bearing slides.

 

[andrei]

I wish I knew what grease act uses and I’d try and use my camera to see and put more where the throwout bearing slides.

And later be told that you used too much grease? Incorrect grease? Too much of correct grease? Not enough of incorrect grease? What other variations of it would you like to insert here?

To test your theory (with caution), what you can do is drop any other lubricant on the guide (like clp, engine oil, WD40, or what ever). IF friction is the issue, you will immediately feel the difference, and all your shifts will be butter smooth until that lubricant wears out.

 

[gek]

I wish I knew what grease act uses and I’d try and use my camera to see and put more where the throwout bearing slides.

Ceramlub 2800. I assumed this was it when @SadRobot first started having issues but some of the grease Dirk gave her actually said it on the package.

 

[SadRobot]

Here's the latest update on mine. Unfortunately, after 2 days I'm locked out of 1st/reverse and now 2nd gear. So hoping to get this resolved soon so I can get the Jeep back on the road again. It was a nice 2 days though of getting to drive it again. Now it will stay parked until the transmission can get dropped again.

 

[BHank0688]

And later be told that you used too much grease? Incorrect grease? Too much of correct grease? Not enough of incorrect grease? What other variations of it would you like to insert here?

To test your theory (with caution), what you can do is drop any other lubricant on the guide (like clp, engine oil, WD40, or what ever). IF friction is the issue, you will immediately feel the difference, and all your shifts will be butter smooth until that lubricant wears out.

As of now I have zero shifting issues. Just the slight creeping when first putting into gear and that annoying noise when i press and release the clutch pedal after the jeep is warmed up. Not sure I want to do anything to it with under two weeks until we head out on our 2-3 week trip.

 

[BHank0688]

Here's the latest update on mine. Unfortunately, after 2 days I'm locked out of 1st/reverse and now 2nd gear. So hoping to get this resolved soon so I can get the Jeep back on the road again. It was a nice 2 days though of getting to drive it again. Now it will stay parked until the transmission can get dropped again.

Before the motor issues, and after ACT worked on your vehicle you weren’t having any issues correct?

 

[SadRobot]

Before the motor issues, and after ACT worked on your vehicle you weren’t having any issues correct?

It was shifting pretty well when the engine went down. I'd say every once in a while it had a hard push into 1st but never locked out.

All the signs now would point to the dry lube experiment not working out. That was always a possibility and a risk I took to try and see if these shifting issues people were having could be solved. So most likely that dry lube will get cleaned up and the purple ceramic grease re-applied and I'll start over.

 

[andrei]

When I was helping @SadRobot bleed her clutch slave, I thought it was the piston in the slave making the creaking noise as it moved in the cylinder. Kinda sticking along its movement. Later, Dirk from ACT diagnosed her problem as the throwout bearing lack of proper lube on the snout of the transmission, where it slides fore and aft. You may be experiencing a depletion of the majic grease that keeps the throwout bearing sliding nicely on the snout.

Okay, do you have any more information ACT diagnostic?
I am doing my best not to shit on this "wrong grease" theory, but when it is being thrown around as a solution, on my end that opens a can full of questions that are begging to be asked.

Too much and wrong lubrication has been mentioned
How much is too much?

• How does one person measure it and another replicate it?
• If too much is a problem, then not enough must also be a problem — so how little is "not enough"?
• What is caused caused by too much grease? What about not enough?

What makes wrong grease a wrong grease?

• Viscosity?
• Lubricating properties?
• Its behavior under heat or over time?
• See how much loaded is into that one simple statement? If it is viscosity and lubricating, well guess what a mixture of dirt + grease does? Or even worse, friction dust from the clutch + grease. IF one grease is so wrong, why is it not wrong for the first 7000 - 15000 miles before it fails and causes issues?

The list of questions can be expanded way further. I will throw this one last thing in here just to get all your gears spinning:
IF "wrong grease" was used and it was doing its job well for 10000 miles, it means that over time its properties degraded and now it fails to meet the demand of the task. I will tell you a little secret, all grease wears out, becomes contaminated and loses its properties over time, there no magic grease out there. Even ACT supplied mystical purple unicorn will do the same.

So with that said, how many more times will you all going to pull the transmission and reapply “the right grease” before realizing the issue might not be the grease at all — but the design itself?

The problem is not in the complexity of the situation, It is not a rocket science. Problem is that the answer is to vague, it does not address anything. It is equivalent to someone responding to you with nonsense, and then trying to make you feel stupid for not understanding the nonsense, because they don't know the answer and are refusing to admit it.

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