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94 5spd XJ won’t move when put into gear— what to replace?

LockeXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
USA
Posting here to get some advice on how to fix my 1994 Cherokee Sport.

Long story short, halfway through a road trip yesterday I began to hear a whining noise from the transmission tunnel area of the car while driving around 75mph in 5th. Suddenly I heard some sort of bang, and pressing on the gas just revved up the engine with no power output to the wheels. This happens in every gear except 4th, which still works normally for some reason.

I tend to do all the repairs myself on the Jeep, but by no means am I an expert (especially related to clutch/transmission work). From what I’ve searched I would guess that my clutch failed, but maybe it could be a transmission failure too.

Should I start with replacing either of the clutch cylinders, or the entire clutch assembly? Or does it sound like my transmission is blown?

Let me know if any other details are needed, and thanks for the help.
 
If the clutch went out in traditional terms it means the clutch is engaged connecting the engine and transmission together and you simply can’t disengage the clutch to shift gears. If the transmission is still engaged to the engine, you should be able to put the stick in first gear with the engine off, and start the car and it will move because it is in gear and then drive/shift through gears by using engine rpms. If you can shift normally pressing in the clutch then it’s behind the clutch, i.e. transmission.
 
If the clutch went out in traditional terms it means the clutch is engaged connecting the engine and transmission together and you simply can’t disengage the clutch to shift gears. If the transmission is still engaged to the engine, you should be able to put the stick in first gear with the engine off, and start the car and it will move because it is in gear and then drive/shift through gears by using engine rpms. If you can shift normally pressing in the clutch then it’s behind the clutch, i.e. transmission.


Interesting-- I had assumed that there was some way for the clutch to fail that would've left the engine and transmission disconnected. They're definitely not engaged right now because I can put it in gear while the car is idling in place and it won't stall out. I'm hoping its not a bad transmission, but if so now would be a good time to get a parts car and swap over to 4wd.
 
The clutch uses friction to grab the flywheel which is bolted to the engine. It is normally touching or engaged with the flywheel and pressing the clutch pedal uses hydraulics to disengage the friction discs to allow you to change gears. Normally a clutch will wear down the discs or the slave cylinder(hydraulics) will fail. If the clutch wears down, normally the engine will run normally when you push on the gas but the clutch won’t be able to grab and the car will not move normally. If the slave cylinder goes out, you loose the ability to use your clutch pedal to shift.
 
From personal experience, if you find yourself getting a clutch kit, do not plan to use the throwout bearing which comes with the clutch kit. That thing is a POS and will fail on you without warning. Order a real throwout bearing such as a Timken or SKF.
 
And another thing is that a clutch is a fairly basic mechanical idea and it does not care about gears. It either works or doesn’t work. It simply engages and disengages and the function or movement of the clutch is the same all of the time and is not dependent on which gear you are using.
 
If 4th is working normally then the clutch is not the issue.

4th is drive - 1:1 ratio which doesn't use any of the gears. It sounds like one or more gears are not meshing because they either moved on their shafts or exploded. Even if the problem is just a broken snap ring it still means removing, cleaning, disassembling, inspecting, and reassembling with new gaskets which is most of a rebuild.
 
^What he said. From what you're describing, it sounds like the input to cluster gearset broke. Short story...new trans :(
 
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