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T176 hard to get into 2nd gear.

9K views 85 replies 9 participants last post by  agear 
#1 ·
It's hard to get my t176 into 2nd gear. You might describe it as feeling very tight putting it in 2nd gear. I don't think it's synchronizers because it is a recent rebuild. My mechanic friend believes its in the shift tower ,where the shift rails and forks attatch. I hope so ,because rebuilding the shift tower doesn't require me removing the tranny from the vehicle. Anybody know what is causing this ?
 
#33 ·
The reason I posted this thread was that there is a wealth of exploded views and info.

It may not FIX your issue but it can't hurt giving you info about the T-176

I have rebuilt my T-176 20 years ago. It really was easy to do as long as you reassemble it correctly.

Good luck.

Larry
 
#34 ·
Yeah I rebuilt this t176 a year ago along with a dana 300. Before that I rebuilt a different dana300. I was very good about notes and details when I rebuilt the first dana 300 but when I rebuilt the t176 and that dana 300 not as much. Wondering if I overlooked something.
 
#36 ·
I don't remember seeing anything out of the ordinary as far as wear goes....... That would be a ton of wear to cause that much play. Or I guess it could be a snap ring or washer issue . I remember when rebuilding there was a part of the instructions that didn't make sense to me.
 
#37 ·
I'm willing to do that. I gotta be able to figure this out and fix though. I don't know how I'm gonna do that besides buying a new mainshaft assembly or something.
 
#38 ·
Replace everything except the case. That would cost well over 1,000 bucks. And I paid 800 for the transmission. That's what I should have done in the first place. ha

I doubt the specs of the width of the gear and how much play it should have , available except at 3rd-4th synch asssembly.

I'm such an idiot. LOL
 
#39 ·
Agear,

Didnt mean to insult you when I refered you to the other thread. Didnt know your mechanical background. :thumbsup:

The person that started that thread had no T-176 backgound, but was able to figure it out with help.

Larry
 
#40 ·
Oh you're fine. I wasn't offended or mad. I just want to make this tranny right. I just took apart the shift tower and found that a couple of the shift lugs were very worn. They may be why it's popping out of gear. It sure looks that way. Let me see if I can get a picture
 
#41 ·
here are some pics of the lugs. You can see the reverse rocker arm assembly thing hitting the side of the case. It can move side to side. With that amount of wear on the 1st-2nd gear shift fork lug making the stick shift kick out more before shifting the synchronizer assembly , you don't think that it make shift harder ?
1st pic is the reverse rocker arm assembly. I would say this wear is what is allowing the stick shift to get lost outside the lugs. I believe you shift into gear and then the stick shift slides out of the lugs and you get stuck in gear.
2nd 3 pics are the 1st-2nd shift fork lug
3rd 3 pics are the 3rd-4th shift fork lug
 

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#42 ·
i would safely say your problems are lying in the shift forks themselves. i have found that the t176 has a common problem with excessive wear to said brass forks. they are very easy to replace and i would suggest doing so along with new shifter and shift kit. i personally have rebuilt both on my old 81 cj5 and my 84 cj7 and it makes a world of difference and the forks themselves are not expensive. also i would check the alignment of the tower with the synco, ect. if there not in place correctly it will bind up and not make it shift right either just some thoughts
 
#43 ·
Yeah, I ordered some shift fork lugs detent balls, interlock springs(if they have them in stock), and a reverse rocker arm so I'll be replacing those next weekend.............
 
#45 ·
God, I wish I never had found this thread. :(

After driving my CJ today, I noticed it was shifting hard into 1 and 2nd gears while rolling.

It's been 120K on the last rebuild, guess I'm going to be doing the same.

This is the second post I have read that someone indicated the new forks wont work correctly.

Interested in the answer that WM69 asked about another source for forks.

Larry
 
#46 ·
Damn. Im sure they're one or the other because i got them at quadratec.

If these shift fork lugs don't fix my hard to get in gear problem. I'm thinking about ordering new mainshaft parts because that seems to be the issue. I only have a week to fix this ,while on vacation so I cant wait to find out if that is the issue or not
 
#49 ·
Bob, if replacing the shift fork lugs and switching to a different lube doesn't fix my problem do you think replacing the mainshaft and 1st and 2nd gears , which are the ones with all the movement, will fix the problem ?
 
#50 ·
The simplest thing to do would be to try changing lubes. If it works, great. If not I would look at the excessive end play in the gears. Unless your mainshaft or gears are excessively worn or damaged, I can't imagine having to replace them. There must be some way of taking up the endplay, either with thrust washers or different thickness snap rings. Wasn't it you that I sent a snap ring to and was never received?
 
#52 ·
Okay. I replaced the 1st /2nd gear shift fork and the 3rd/4th shift fork lug and went for a test drive. Shifting into 1st and 2nd gear doesn't feel any better. Like I said I replaced the 1st /2nd gear synchronizer assembly a year ago. I'm wondering if there is an issue with that.???? gonna try the sta lube tomorrow
 
#54 ·
went to napa......... the gear oil they had was both gl4 and gl5............
 
#55 ·
Okay. I found some sta lub api gl4 85w -90 is the weight okay ?
 
#56 ·
Alright. I put the gl4 85w90 sta lube in there. No dice. Sucks. Guess I'll be pulling it down winter vacation. Maybe I have a 1st /2nd synchronizer assembly spring in the wrong place or left out a washer on the mainshaft.
 
#58 ·
I'm sure the front ball bearing was installed all the way on the clutch/input shaft but could it be I installed 1 or both of the ball bearings incorrectly that would allow me to assemble it and drive it but cause problems ?
 
#59 ·
Hey bob, I bought a new mainshaft and 1st gear(2nd gear was on backorder)and snapings. I fitted my old 1st/2nd synchronizer assembly,1st gear, and snap ring on the shaft. I get the same amount of movement there as my first gear in my t176 in my jeep has. So I'm thinking there's a problem with my new 1st/2nd synchronizer assembly I put in last time I had the tranny out last year.......what do you think
 
#62 ·
Oh man, that's expensive. Do you have the thrust washer that goes between 1st gear and the rear main bearing? also there is a tabbed thrust washer that goes between 2nd and 3rd gears, I believe. I have the T-176 section of the FSM saved in PDF format. Did I ever send it to you? If you want it, PM me your email address.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. My mom passed away recently so we have been quite busy.
 
#61 ·
i see
 
#63 ·
No problem. God bless and sorry for your loss. No worries about the cost I can return them. I never got 2nd gear so I can't check that but I do have the thrust washer that goes between 1st and the rear main bearing. That thrust washer bumps up against the shoulder on the mainshaft. So I measured movement of 1st gear with the synchronizer assembly all the way up against the snap ring-from the synchronizer assembly to the end of the shoulder ,which is where the thrust washer goes. I do have the factory service manual pdf. In the picture below the snap ring the red arrow is pointing to -actually goes in front the 1st/2nd synchronizer assembly between that and 2nd gear , even though in the picture it's exploded behind the 1st/2nd synchronizer assembly , right ? Because if I'm not mistaken ,sometimes the order of the parts in exploded diagrams is not how the parts are when they are assembled.
In the picture there are only 2 snaprings shown in that area.
The 3rd photo shows rear side of the mainshaft behind the 1st/2nd synch. assemb.
 

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