Broke Down: Transmission or Clutch

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bandz7

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Mar 15, 2009
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Pylesville, MD
Hey everybody, I broke down last night in my Jimmy. It has a 5 speed manual. I was in fourth gear driving down the road and all the sudden there was nothing! I went for another gear and nothing again. I drifted into a parking lot and had it towed home.

The clutch is definitely there (no empty pedal). The transmission will shift into every gear,(with the clutch in or out) but it's like the gears are not there.

What do you think?
 
I bet the spline on the clutch disk let go. Does it shudder, chatter, or make any noises when you engage it in first or reverse.
 
I'm betting on one of two possibilities - A damaged clutch, as above, or possibly a C.V. joint let go. With the vehicle in gear and engine running, do you hear any crunching/banging/grinding noises? Any vibration?
 
Originally Posted By: bandz7
Nope, it even feels like it goes into gear, but you can do it with the truck running and the clutch out!


All that means is zero power is going to the wheels, nothing is engaging at all.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
I'm betting on one of two possibilities - A damaged clutch, as above, or possibly a C.V. joint let go. With the vehicle in gear and engine running, do you hear any crunching/banging/grinding noises? Any vibration?


No banging or vibrations. Just no engagement on any of the 5 forward gears or reverse.
 
Originally Posted By: bandz7
Originally Posted By: Olas
I'm betting on one of two possibilities - A damaged clutch, as above, or possibly a C.V. joint let go. With the vehicle in gear and engine running, do you hear any crunching/banging/grinding noises? Any vibration?


No banging or vibrations. Just no engagement on any of the 5 forward gears or reverse.


UPDATE: I just went out and started the truck up and I did hear a little crunching coming from around the transmission or clutch.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I bet the spline on the clutch disk let go. Does it shudder, chatter, or make any noises when you engage it in first or reverse.


I think you've nailed it.
If the OP can engage gears at rest with our without the clutch, then there's no drive to the gearbox. That, along with the crunching noises makes your diagnoses the most likely.
A failed pilot shaft is also a possibility, although much less likely.
The OP can of course feel resistance when he depresses the clutch pedal, since all he's really feeling is the reistance of the pressure plate springs.
The only way he's going to find out is to drop that transmission.
I hope for his sake that this is a 2WD Jimmy.
 
I once had a clutch loose the rivets that holds the marcel to the hub, basally the friction disc was just floating and not attached to anything... It was fine one second and coasting the next...

One of my friends has a buddy that the gear on the input shaft ate the cluster because of low fluid, just stopped pulling while cruising down the highway... Supposedly wasn't making noise before it quit but I've always had a hard time believing that...
 
Originally Posted By: TFB1
I once had a clutch loose the rivets that holds the marcel to the hub, basally the friction disc was just floating and not attached to anything... It was fine one second and coasting the next...


That's another possibility as well. Either way I think it's related to the clutch disk itself. It looks like it's time to drop the transmission and have a look. These things always happen at the worst time of the year it seems. Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: bandz7
It is a 4x4, and no I wasn't driving it hard at all. I was in 4th gear going about 35 when it happened.


Indy brings up a good point. Did you hit a road hazard that might have knocked the transfer case into N? What has me scratching my head is you were driving when this happened. I don't ever remember a transfer case popping into Neutral while driving. There is a slight chance, there is also a chance something is wrong with transfer case. Try all the ranges as mentioned by Indy.
 
I just had a chance to head out and check on things a bit. The transfer case is definitely in 2 wheel drive right now and I went through all the different ranges. It goes into them fine. If I had to guess it's probably the clutch, but I could still be wrong.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like clutch. If it was CV/ujoint/similar I'd think you'd hear crunching sounds trying to change gears w/o a clutch.
 
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