Sinking Creek 4WD Association

Good thing I was not able to make it to Windrock, because now I am having clutch problems. I already posted this on the Wrangler forum, but I figured I should post it here as well to try and get as much feedback as possible. Anyway, here it is, copy and pasted from Wrangler forum:

I have a 2004 TJ Sport with the NV3550 tranny. I was driving around today and noticed that sometimes it was difficult to change gears. At one point, I was stopped with the clutch pedal depressed in first gear, and I heard a clunk followed by a few seconds of squealing/rumbling. After that, whenever I stopped with the clutch pedal depressed in first gear, the vehicle would occasionally clunk and lurch forward a bit.

Right now it is parked in neutral, and it is nearly impossible to get it into first gear. I sometimes hear gears grinding, but not always. I also know that it is not fully disengaging because I can hear the tranny input shaft in neutral turning even with the clutch pedal fully depressed (the sound usually goes away when I depress the clutch pedal).

What gets me is how sudden this is. I just drove 500 miles this weekend no problem. I also drove around town yesterday no problem. I didn't notice any clutch slipping or difficulty shifting any time before today. The time between when I noticed the difficulty shifting to when the vehicle started to lurch forward even with the clutch fully disengaged was a matter of 5 minutes. This is the first manual I have owned/driven, but I didn't think that a clutch would fail so quickly.

I have had the Jeep since 86k miles. It is now over 110k miles, and unless the PO replaced the clutch, it is still the original clutch. I have only driven a few manuals in my time, and 2 things I noticed about my clutch pedal even when it was working is: 1. The pedal is stiffer than any other manual I have driven, including a 6-speed TJ, 2. Most if not all clutch pedals I have used seemed to have engaged the clutch sooner than my clutch pedal does.

Does anyone have any suggestions at this point?

Sounds like you could have a seizing throwout bearing if it is dragging that badly.

Yea that's what the Wrangler forum guys said. Unfortunately I do not have the knowledge or the tools necessary to change the clutch myself, so I am probably gunna drop it off at Auto Master tomorrow.

I agree with will, happened to me this summer. I've torn my transmission apart twice now, it's a pretty easy deal with jacks a socket set and one special external torx socket. I would do it myself but that's just me

Yeeup, probably throw out bearing. When they go, they go. As for shitty clutch pedal action, that's just TJs lol. Do it yourself, I have a garage with everything you need including luxurious tranny jack and can lend expertise if need be...

Damn man. I had to make a decision pretty quickly because I am in Florida for spring break, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get it done when I got back. That being said, I made a decision to drop it off at the shop Friday morning hoping that it will be finished when I get back. It's going to cost me more money, but I didn't really have a choice at the time.

I understand man. I had to bend over for Shelor my freshmen year when I sunk my TJ and didn't know anybody who could help me out. I was psyched when I found out there was a club with lotsa older more experienced folks to help out when I got in over my head. I wish there was more of that still goin on. So y'all never hesitate to shoot me a text or call if ya need help with somethin (can't claim to reliably check the forum), cause that's what the club is for.

276.220.2801

Turns out the bell housing was cracked as well, so I guess it's a good thing it was at the shop because I wouldn't know what to do if I noticed that. They ended up welding it back together. Hopefully I will get the Jeep back today.

Yikes sorry to hear. Same thing happened to my TJ with the NV3550. It was fine...until it wasn't. It blew up on the top of Flagpole trail in Harrisionburg, VA with the same exact symptoms. It cracked the input shaft housing on the way out too.