Clutch stuck while shifting into third

99 4.0l Sport AX-15 NP231 d30 front 8.25 back 3.07 Gears Stock tire size and ride height 201,000 miles

Okay so yesterday I was coming home and minutes before this happened my blower resistor failed... Anyways I was shifting from 2nd to 3rd and my clutch stuck in. I paniced and bonked the pedal really hard to unstick it and then when i went down to push it again I heard a really bad grinding sound and then i cut off the motor. While i was sitting waiting for the tow I put the transfer case in neutral and the shifter on the tranny out of gear, because i wanted to use the ac ( it was a little warm in miami yesterday) What happened next was weird the engine cranked incredibly slow and from the hood it smelled like burning electric from the starter working in overtime. When I only tried to start it for 4-6 seconds

What the heck could have gone on inside of the clutch to cause this? i'm going to be tearing it apart this weekend to see what i'm dealing with, but when i talked to my mechanic friends no one understood the reason for a really really slow and hard start..

this is typically the sign of a clutch master or slave cylinder with a bad seal or worn cylinder or piston. In the case of a bad master seal/cylinder, when you push your foot down, instead of the piston in the master cylinder pushing the fluid in front of it, which would then normally flow through the tubing to the slave cylinder, where it forces the slave to move, disengaging the clutch, the fluid instead is flowing around the master piston seal and getting behind the piston, where it then helps form a vacuum, trying to suck the slave cylinder backward instead of pushing it forward, which was your intent.

the clutch plate is likely stuck against the flywheel, which is why the starter is having trouble cranking the engine (it's turning the transmission as well)

okay so i ordered a new slave and master and when i was removing the slave from the transmission i noticed the rod the engages the clutch had fallen into the transmission...

Has anyone had this happen to them and if so, do you think I can get this piece out of the xj without removing tranny with a magnetic feeler.. I feel pretty screwed right now.

You're probably taking the transmission apart from the motor at this point. You need to verify that the clutch fork is where it needs to be and hasn't been damaged. It sounds like the rod falling off may have been the issue.

Now is a good time to replace the clutch.

There is an inspection plate that covers the bellhousing bottom right next to the engine. Pull the plate and you should be able to retrieve the pin.

Thanks Old Man, Ill go check this out now.

The pin fell out when I removing the slave (the plastic retainers were broken)

oh crap. Yea that's gonna be a PITA to retrieve.

I dont think my 99 has an inspection plate.
Looks like its off to the auto store tonight for a magnetic feeler. If anyone has any tips or tricks let me know.

ktwalker01 said:

Thanks Old Man, Ill go check this out now.

The pin fell out when I removing the slave (the plastic retainers were broken)

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OK, I misunderstood and thought that you found the rod/pin disconnected when you went to do the slave.

Yes, remove the inspection plate like Old Man said and retrieve the pin.

I see tat you said it may not hav eone. I'd have to look at my spare trans as it's later model.

You can try going through the starter hole, but it's going to take a miracle to find a pin in the bottom of the bellhousing from there.

I'm gonna try and go where the slave is

pick up one of those long grabber or magnetic parts wands and see if you can fish it out

old_man said:

There is an inspection plate that covers the bellhousing bottom right next to the engine. Pull the plate and you should be able to retrieve the pin.

Click to expand...

Manual XJ's don't have inspection plates. It's all one big solid plate....

I can't quite figure out the slow and hard start, but a couple of years ago my clutch failed in a way that sounds a bit like yours. The throwout bearing started to run dry, ate through the diaphragm springs (~250K miles), then jammed. When it did, it tore the bearing to pieces, and of course now the clutch would not disengage. When I pushed it down it made a nasty grinding noise, which was the lever rubbing against the pressure plate.

My case differed from yours in that the engine started and ran freely, and it also ate up the slave cylinder, so the clutch pedal didn't come up all the way. It still started and ran in gear, though.

I'm guessing here, but I suspect that a similar blowup except with the bearing still jammed in the diaphragm could cause it to bind and be hard to crank. It's not unheard of for even a good bearing to eat up the surface of the diaphragm, and when that happens it can go in cocked and jam. I had that happen once long ago in a Saab, but the cheesy cast iron lever snapped. The Jeep has a big and, I suspect, indestructible stamped steel lever, so it won't snap. It might jam instead.

Matthew Currie said:

I can't quite figure out the slow and hard start, but a couple of years ago my clutch failed in a way that sounds a bit like yours. The throwout bearing started to run dry, ate through the diaphragm springs (~250K miles), then jammed. When it did, it tore the bearing to pieces, and of course now the clutch would not disengage. When I pushed it down it made a nasty grinding noise, which was the lever rubbing against the pressure plate.

Click to expand...

The slow start I figured out was from a bad ground.

But the last time I remember pushing the clutch it did make the terrible grinding sound, so based off what your saying my clutch is toast.. or at least part of it. I am having no luck getting the rod out of the transmission It looks like i'm going to need to separate the transmission from the engine.

I'm not looking forward to this I have never done it before and this XJ beginning stages of its life was up in salty ohio and I do not think the clutch has ever been replaced... I'm going to order a new omix ada kit today. If anyone has any tips for dealing with a XJ that has 11 years of never being taken apart with some nice salt damage let me know lol

This is the kit, i figure this covers everypart?

Yes, that's the complete kit except of course for the slave cylinder. Jeep only sells the whole hydraulic set as one, but if you shop around at auto parts stores you should be able to find one that sells the slave separately under the "Centrix" brand. I note also that the picture doesn't show an alignment tool. The set I got came with a nice plastic clutch alignment tool, but if there is none there you should try to find one.

There's a little safety clip that holds the lever to the pivot ball inside the bell housing. If you've had a clutch crash it might have been chewed up or fallen to the bottom. Mine disappeared in the carnage, and I did without it. I didn't even know it existed until I looked at a picture in the FSM later, but if you can find it you should probably put it back on.

No real advice on this whole business except that the two top bolts holding the bell housing on are a nasty inverse-torx head, and rather hard to access, so be prepared for some frustration in getting those off. I found an old torx bolt of the right size, and welded its head onto a socket. Otherwise it's just a matter of getting all the pieces disconnected. Front driveshaft can be a bear if the little bolts at the TC end are rusty, and of course the exhaust may or may not be. I couldn't get mine apart without a saw, so had to take the whole thing off from manifold to rear bumper, and shove it out of the way.

If at all possible, a true transmission jack that can be bolted to the transfer case mounting base will make the job much easier. This is one of those time and cuss savers that's worth a pretty big investment of time and effort to find.

Make sure you follow the instructions with the clutch kit, which should be quite specific on the way to torque down the pressure plate. And double check that you have the disk in right way around.

Thanks for the advice, I already ordered the new sealed completed hydraulic assembly it was when i was taking the salve out I noticed the plastic retainer was in pieces and a I "Derped" and let the rod slip out into the bell housing when pulling it out...

I'll order the kit today and let you all know how it went in a week or so after this mess is finished... I gotta love riding bikes in the mean time (miami, florida :laugh: )