manual tranny question

i recently bought a 94 xj with about 155,000 miles one it. its a 5 speed, from what i've read i'm guessing its an ax-15 transmission. shifts fine except for when i put it in reverse. about half the time when i shift into reverse there is a slight grinding sound. could this be low transmission fluid? i haven't checked yet. i'm gonna replace all the fluids on it soon. anybody have any suggestions?

ive got a 96 that does the same thing sometimes, mostly when its hot out or ive been driving a lot. I just slowly put in in reverse or cycle through the other gears before i put it in reverse and then its ok.

Perfectly normal.The reverse gear is straight cut and is not syncronized....if you hastily shift into R it will grind.I usually shift into 5th and ease out the clutch just enough to move the jeep a little and then shift into R....It seems like the gears aren't quite linned up some times making it difficult to get into R.

rickolis22 said:

i'm gonna replace all the fluids on it soon. anybody have any suggestions?

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A little word of advice on changing fluids. Do it now, not later. I picked up a YJ last year that I was going to get all the fluids changed in but waited on the differentials for about 6,000 miles. No leaks so I wasn't worried. Come to find out, the front diff was empty from a leak prior to when I bought the jeep and it destroyed the front end. I know it's rare, but if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen to me. Don't wait, it takes no more time now and may save you some aggrevation.

I said it before, I'll say it again: Don't use GL-5 rated gear oil in your AX-15, your syncro gears will thank you. Use GL-3 gear oil, or better, a synthetic product like Redline MTL or MT-90. Makes shifting much smoother, worth the cost IMO.

x2 on both otto and sigmund. definately read all the bottles before you buy as our local AZ only carried GL-5 and pennzoil syncromesh. Tranny fluid may also be something that you don't want to trust to a shop to do either, as the wrong fluid may end up there.

Like otto and artsifrtsi said, GL-3, NOT GL-5. MT-90 is excellent and well worths the extra $ over non-synthetics. Makes a huge differnce in the cold and all shifts, any temp are better.

To help with grinding going into r, just leave the clutch in for like 10 sec. before you try to go into gear, that keeps it from grinding every time for me, works for my buddy too. We both have the ax-15. Id be suprised if it doesnt work for you
MT90 is a must IMO

thanks for the tips guys. i'm new on here and new to jeeps. i've learned a lot from reading the forums on here and on jeepforums. i'm gonna be doing some simple mods this summer. i found a guy in town parting out his 94 xj and i'm gonna buy his instrument cluster so i have a tach and do the swap. i like to see how many rpm's i'm at when driving a stick. about changing the diff fluid. i feel comfortable doing all the other fluids but don't know anything about changing the differential. is it easy for a novice? how much would a mechanic charge to do it?

It doesn't get much easier. as this is "new to you" I recommend pulling the diff covers and looking for anything abnormal anyway. even if you've never done it and are not sure what you're lookin' for, big problems or extreem wear will be obvious once you're in there.

pick up necessary gaskets and fluid from local parts store (along with a big drip pan)
loosen the top two cover bolts and remove the others (will make a mess so have pan ready to catch fluid)
remove top two cover bolts when it stops dripping and siphon the remaining fluid out. (if yours has a drain plug you can drain from bottom)
break cleaner and a magnet will get any garbage out of there and then you are looking for anything that looks outta the ordinary (broken teeth on gears and such)
replace cover and seal it up
fill from plug and stop when it begins to run outta the plug.
replace plug and bask in the wonderful aroma of used gear oil--yum, yum!

--Shorty

Shorty said:

replace plug and bask in the wonderful aroma of used gear oil--yum, yum!

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Quite possibly one of the worst smells known to man.


On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being repalcing a fuse and 10 being rebuilding an engine/tranny, how difficult is this diff service to do?

I think you mean best smells....

id say a low 3

Shorty said:

Even if you've never done it and are not sure what you're lookin' for, big problems or extreem wear will be obvious once you're in there.
--Shorty

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Definitely worth taking a peek at the stuff that makes your wheels spin the way they do. Things make so much more sense after you get to look inside them, dont't they?

Shorty said:

pick up necessary gaskets and fluid from local parts store (along with a big drip pan)
loosen the top two cover bolts and remove the others (will make a mess so have pan ready to catch fluid)

Shorty said:

remove top two cover bolts when it stops dripping and siphon the remaining fluid out. (if yours has a drain plug you can drain from bottom) --Shorty

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You can get a "suction gun" to do this quite easily and inexpensively. Works exactly like a big syringe, with a flexible hose on the top.

Shorty said:

Brake cleaner and a magnet will get any garbage out of there and then you are looking for anything that looks outta the ordinary (broken teeth on gears and such)
replace cover and seal it up
fill from plug and stop when it begins to run outta the plug.--Shorty

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You can use the "suction gun" for this as well, except in reverse, obviously. A lot better than a standing behind your bumper while pouring oil into a funnel connected to four feet of tubing into your differential. Try doing that AND watching for spilling AND making sure your getting the right amount in there. Not fun. Just use the "suction gun".

Shorty said:

Replace plug and bask in the wonderful aroma of used gear oil--yum, yum!--Shorty

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That smell? Oh yeah, that's the smell of MANHOOD! YEAH!

Now, go ask your wife if you can go out this weekend

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