new heep, questions on the nv3550

so i got a 01 xj for a decent price. only thing i want to make sure of before i make it my dd is the transmission health. i noticed that sometimes when it sits at idle, in neutral, with the clutch out there is a rattle. i crawled underneath and it is definitely coming from the nv3550 or bell-housing. i plan on checking the flywheel bolts. second thing is that i get a shudder, or vibe as i am taking off in first gear. it goes away after that and shifts through all other gears fine.

i,ve driven an ax-15 before this, just wanted to know if these things are somewhat normal or if i should look into certain areas. i do plan on a full fluid change before i start driving it.

also, the po said the clutch is original. it has just under 300k kms on it(~200k miles). it doesn't slip, grabs and runs through gears fine. don't know if that plays into things.

if you are getting a shudder and it is rattling its most likely the clutch

The throwout bearing will rattle with the clutch out and in neutral. Can be other things but with the shudder.....

Bad muffler bearing

Those guys are right though. It sounds like one of the components for the clutch is failing and its time for some fun...

The noise in neutral is normal. Try switching to either the Mopar fluid or Redline mt90 for the first gear problem. IIRC there is also a normal first gear issue with those transmissions.

The nv 3500 in my 30k mile Rubicon is also noisy. That is normal for this trans.
Ron

ok, thanks for the replies. my searches have told me this is a noisy transmission. the shudder was more of a concern than the rattle.

i have some synchromesh fluid that i am gonna throw into it(i have no idea what is in there now), from what i read this trans should only use the synchromesh(mopar, penzoil, rp, etc). i used mt90 in my ax15 and liked it, but i don't feel like experimenting with this one.

if things are still feeling odd to me, i will swap the clutch and TO bearing out. the PO included a clutch kit ready to install, anything else besides a TO bearing i should replace while i am in there?

Pressure plate