1985 CJ7 T5 Transmission Problems

[dirtrider113]

Recently I took my jeep up in the snow and for the first time in years I had it kick out of First gear and start making a grinding sound until I pulled it completely out of gear. Then as I was turning around in the deep snow on the hill and was pulling forward, it did it again. The only thing I could do was pop it out of gear again and put it back in. All of this was in four wheel drive.

Then on my way home I was slowing down to turn onto another road on the main highway and when I downshifted into Third gear (I was in 2 Wheel Drive at this point), it did the same thing. But after that I haven't had another problem.

Any suggestions? The CJ repair manuals don't go into much detail about Transmission adjustments on the Borg Warner T-5 Transmissions. The Jeep has a 6 cyl. AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l AMC motor in it.

Thanks,

Dirtrider113

 

[BusaDave9]

Sounds like it's time for a rebuild, replacement or better yet upgrade to a tranny that's not a piece of
Check out this link:Weak transmissions of the 1980's
If you are serious about off-roading I would get a T-18 . Click here: T18

A T-176 would also be a good upgrade. Click here:T176


EDIT: The T-176 would be the easiest swap but require the driveshafts modified for length. Swapping in a Ford T-18 would be the best swap (very heavy duty).

I used to have a '82 Jeep CJ7 that I swapped out the T-5 for a Ford T-18 . I got an adapter kit from Advance Adapters (Novak has one too) I had to replace the main (output) shaft of the T-18 . I also had to drill and tap 4 holes in the bellhousing. Otherwise it wasn't bad. I reused the drive shafts without modifying the lengths. (That's uncommon for a tranny swap)
I used a clutch pressure plate for a jeep and a clutch friction plate intended for a Ford.