CJ5 Transmission Trouble

[kwik69]

My son and I are working on a '68 CJ5 with F134 engine and (from what I can tell via this website) a T90C manual 3 speed tranny. It appears to be stock except for the chrome air breather cover and the extra sheet metal on the floor pans.

It's been garaged for 10+ years. It ran when it was parked, the battery went bad and Dad never had an interest to get it going again. Brought it to our house and drained the fuel, re-lined the rusted fuel tank, cleaned the carb and fuel lines.
Got it started and it was putting out a lot of smoke (from the old oil I suppose).
I put it in reverse, backed out of the garage. Put it in 1st, went about 200' and turned up a small incline and the Jeep lost propulsion and died. It will start right up, but doesn't move when I put it in gear.

When I park it and put it in gear, it still rolls freely.

I don't know anything about manual trans, but I noticed the drain plug is on the bottom of the gear box and is a little wet.

Is this a symptom that it could be just low on fluid?

I looked for the fill plug and I think I see it on the passenger side of the gearbox... just a few inches away from and dead center of the frame rail. I guess if I add fluid, it's going to be thru a tube? Is that common practice or am I looking in the wrong place?

Thx in advance for any information you can provide.

 

[Torxhead]

My first guess would be that the transfer case slipped out of gear.

 

[mtnwhlr]

My first guess would be that the transfer case slipped out of gear.

^^ thats what it sounds like to me to but it would be a good idea to check all the fluid levels any way just because it's been sitting a long time and its new to you.

 

[kwik69]

How would I go about slipping it back into gear? Could low fluid level cause that? I hope to check levels tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[mtnwhlr]

make sure you transfer case is in 2hi and not neutral

 

[Hedgehog]

When you are worried about the transmission being in gear or out due to low fluid levels, you are thinking Automatic transmissions. A standard gear box will run dry, it doesn't care. Sure it won't last long without lubrication, but it will run. If you blew a gear, you would have known it from the horrible noises comming from the transmission case. Nope, your transfer case has slipped out of gear. The transfer case is the small lever to the right of the shift lever. You need to grab that and give it a good pull ........... BUT before you do that, buy yourself a manual and learn about how a Jeep puts power to the ground. It is well worth your time.

 

[kwik69]

...The transfer case is the small lever to the right of the shift lever. You need to grab that and give it a good pull .......

Thank you! I wasn't sure if that lever was to engage/disengage or if it was to switch from 2w/4w. Now that it is IN gear, I can test to see which is which.

I tried repositioning that lever when we lost power but apparently I didn't pull it back hard enough, it was contacting the floor grommet. We 'gave it a good pull' last night and all was restored. (now I see how stupid my question was- I just wasn't pulling it hard enough)

I also watched some 4x4 explaination videos on youtube. Thx for your help, my son enjoyed riding in Dads Jeep for the first time, and I enjoyed riding in it for the first time in nearly 20 yrs.

 

[Hedgehog]

The question wasn't stupid, it did show that you are new at this Jeep thing. Now, not so true.

After sitting for a long time your transfer case probably needs some exercise, especially in the area of shifting. Some of the older T-cases are down right stuborn when it comes to changeing gears. Does yours have one lever or two? They both do the same thing, but the single does it all and has a longer throw. This is the reason I switched to a Twin Stick conversion. Without it you'd bark your knuckles on the firewall going into 4 low, then smack your fingers into the tool box going into 2 high. Now it's a simple 2 or 3 inch movement in and out of gear. I'm not saying that you should do the twin stick conversion. I am saying that you need to get to know your Jeeps transfer case. Buy-the-way, does your Jeep have an over drive added on you transmission?

Don't forget to change the oil in both your transmission and transfer case. Those items are soild and relatively rugged, but bad oil/grease will eventually destroy your drive train. The culptret is generally water. If the Jeep sat out in the weather rain and snow melt can and does get into your transmission by following the shift lever linkage down into the case. This is one reason to keep a good functional boot on your shift lever.