Need help/advice with removing NSS...

I'm trying to take mine off the '98 XJ and it will not come off.

I tried that write-up method @ http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoNSSrebuild.htm but trying to pry it off using the large nut and bracing against the oil pan only got me a bent lip on the pan and the nut just seems to be pulling right through the threads..

I can't seem to get enough leverage on the unit to lever it off.

I read that some guys have broken the old unit when removing it... I've got my new NSS on hand so i don't care if i break mine off, but i don't want to damage that rectangular pin thing that goes all the way through the large nut...
But, in the end, i want this damn oldNSS off my tranny.

So, any and all advice/ideas would be great!!

I've covered this before...

When I remove mine, I don't pry on the nut. I take two bits of 1/4" thick by 1" wide flat steel bar stock, insert them between the NSS and transmission case, and wiggle the switch back and forth until it breaks loose. The flat stock has some spring to it, so you should not break it - but you'll have more area to prise against than just the nut (and end up stripping the threads.)

Prising against a nut threaded onto aluminum is an excruciatingly BAD idea!

Before you install the new sensor, coat the part of the shift shaft (that's the pin - it goes all the way through the transmission...) where the NSS rests with Never-Seez. DON'T get any on the threads - just the shaft! That should make it rather easier to remove next time...

Torque the nut to 5 pound-feet/60 pound-inches, and the adjuster screw to something like 10 pound-feet/120 pound-inches, as I recall. I might have a chart up with "offcial" FSM torque values up by now - I've been coding them into HTML for reference. Check the Tech Archive section of my site - there's a link in my sig.

Don't suppose I can talk you out of that old NSS once you get it off - even if it breaks? I've got a couple of ideas, and I could use a sacrificial lamb or two...

5-90

If/when i get the old one off i was planning on opening it up to see if anything is salvageable.
My guess is that it's going to be pretty rusty and i won't be able to use it even after cleaning. If that is the case, i would certainly donate it to science.

Thanks for the tip about the metal shims, i'll try that.
It seems like the NSS will only spin MAYBE 1/2 each direction, is that about normal?

yep.

Here's my slight variation on 5-90's shim technique. Here in the land of real rust and corrosion, it's not always enough. If shimming from behind seems not to be freeing up the shaft, but just threatening to break the body of the switch, leave the shims in and with a small hammer (preferably aluminum or brass or even hard plastic), give the end of the shift shaft a couple of taps. There's just a little end play in the shift shaft, so when you shim the switch out, it will pull the shaft outward with it. Sometimes, all you need is that little shock on the shaft to break the corrosion bond.

i need to replace mine but being a trail rig i just put it in nuetral and ease it up turning over the ign at same time...

Well, i couldn't find anything around my place that would act like a good shim, so i gave up on that idea and went to the hardware store. (Canadian Tire)
I picked up some really small crow bars that i think i will be able to fit behind the NSS body and leverage it forward and out.
My helper left for the day so i'll wai until tomorrow to try this out.
Maybe my knuckles will have started to heal by then... lol

I'd not suggest using any sort of tool meant for prying - there's very little "give" there. Your hardware store should carry bulk steel stock (in the industrial section, near the fasteners, or somewhere near the small lumber,) that will work a LOT better, because it's mild steel and hasn't been heat-treated.

It's not just being worried about the NSS itself - but if it's REALLY stuck on there, and you use something with sharp edges and no "give," I can see cracking the transmission case being a result - then you're really in the stew!

This will take some patience, because whatever your feelings for the NSS, you're ultimately after a "non-destructive removal" of the thing - because you don't want to damage anything else!

Flat stock 1/4" thick, or even 1/4" OD rod stock, or 1/4" square bar stock should all work neatly. I just happen to have 1/4" flat stock that I use for making other small tools when I need them...

5-90

This thing is really wedged on that rectangular shaft though.
I think that the aluminum portion of the NSS, where that shaft passes through, i'm almost positive it's sort of rusted/fused together.
The "back" side of the little crowbar is rounded, and not sharp. But i will definitely be watching to make sure that it doesn't dig into the tranny.
This bar that i bought would actually be considered a flat bar. No corners like a normal hexagonal crow bar.

Like a nail puller? You might still run into issues with no flexion, tho...

Yeah - I don't know what they were thinking. Aluminum and steel are far enough apart on the Galvanic scale that they WILL cause mutual corrosion - more on the aluminum than the steel, tho. Good reason for the never-seez - it's either nickel-based (and fairly inert,) or copper-based (and just WON'T sieze!) I use both types, depending on what I'm working on.

However, I can almost guarantee you that there's some corrosion holding things together - there has been on the five or so that I've had to remove (not all mine.) Twice it was bad enough that I put a brass wheel in the drill motor to clean up the shaft, and used a small brass brush to clean out the bore for the shaft in the NSS!

Just be careful - like I said, the NSS isn't the only thing at risk if you have to use force...

5-90