T176 questions?

T176 questions?
asfaultdemon

asfaultdemon

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Location
Medford Oregon
Vehicle(s)
1981 CJ-5 304 AMC v8 t176 trans dana 300 Tcase d-44 in front,AMC 20 in the rear, 33'' tires alot more soon to come i hope
Hello

I am having problems with my T-176 in my 81 CJ5 . I just put a new clutch in it with new fly wheel and presure plate . The clutch is a center force and cost me alot of money . The problem is its grinding into every gear if the RPMS are not just right .Accept 2nd that grinds every time . Now that said i can shift without grinding on the road.(Im am extruck driver so i know how to shift)But when trying to climb anything i cant keep my RPMs up amost have to stop to down shift . Now i just spent alot of money on a new CV drive shaft and the clutch so i dont want to swap to anything that those parts wont fit because the clutch and driveline cost me over 1300.00 bucks . Is there a list of Transmission that will fit and still use the same clutch and driveline ? And what would they have been in orginaly.(might have to buy a parts truck to get one around here ) Btw my cj is a AMC 304 factory v8 soon to be a 360. Ill post some pics of it later today. Any other suggestions on any part of te jeep would be great .Tho any suggestions to cut the body or replace stuff with anything other than jeep parts will be ignored Amc made a great jeep and i want to keep mine all AMC
 
Was the throw out bearing changed along with the clutch? Did you adjust the clutch linkage going to the clutch fork after replacing the clutch? Is it 1st 2nd and 3rd or does it do it in 4th gear as well? The T-176 was the best 80s era Transmission offered in a Cj. A little more backround and I can probably help you out.
 
My T177 in the truck will do this if I don't have the clutch adjusted quite right. You may need a little more pedal, It may be that the new clutch needs it to completely disengage.
That is where I would start.:cool:
 
It does it mostly in 2nd and 3rd but it does do it in 4th to if i run the engine up to 3500 RPMs it will grind slightly going in all gears upshifting and i almost have to stop anytime i want to down shift to 2nd . There is a sweet spot that it will shift just right but i cant keep the AMC 304 in the cams power range without grinding . I will check the clutch ajustment . It has to be ajusted alot as i change the jeep around .For example when i lifted it to a 4'' lift from a 3'' lift at frst i had to drop the Transmission a bit in the rear for the driveline angle but now i have a CV drive shaft so i put it back up to stock location .I had to adjust it both times . So i might have got it not quite right . I fear getting it to tall on the pedal and bending the fingers on my presure plate . And yes i did put in a new throw out and pilot bearing with the new fly wheel clutch and presure plate all made by center force . i also changed the Transfer Case yolk to a new cv style and my pinion yolk to a new one . I also found the other day when doing a pre trip inspection before going to wheel it that my bellhousing bolts had loosened just the top 3 not the larger side ones they were still tight . Yes i fixed it before i went wheelin . If i missed anything you would like to know please feel free to ask . I tried to answer and add as much info as i could . My dad has had a CJ5 since it was new in 1977 so i know jeeps a little but we mosly biud hot rod chevies so jeeps are a little out of my leage on the little perks im bound to run across
 
sounds like an adjustment problem to me, the arm may not be going in far enough to fully disengage the clutch plate, one more thought, are you sure you installed the throw out bearing correctly? it is correct the way it is oriented on the clutch fork?
 
Thanx for the detailed answer. :rock: I asked about 4th gear because alot of times these transmissions have worn mainshaft bearings that cause alot of noise and in the extreme, grinding gears. 4th is on another shaft so we'll rule that out for the moment considering it does it at times then. Your knowledge shows as you didnt skip the throwout bearing and pilot bushing as well so thats another plus.

Clutch pedal travel is almost a preference type adjustment. You shouldnt be that far off in your adjustment , just need some tweaking. Just remember you went from a shot stock clutch to a performance based clutch. Theres not alot of "slip" from a centerforce clutch. Which one did you get?
 
Yes i did put the throw out in correctly it will only go in one way in this thing it has tangs that slip over the fork only one way so im sure i got that right . (not my first clutch just the first jeep clutch ) But im not sure it is ajusted right so im going to check that today. AS for the the center force i dont remember what the styleis but ithas cool weights and different presure at different RPM it has 4 pucks on one side and a ful disc on the other and i a brass center i believe cost me alomost 1000.00 bucks for all of it but ts what center force said would work best on street and off road. It realy has not alot of slip to it but i like that. Ill see if i can find the shipping papers and tell you what model clutch it is .I also replaced the the input seal output seal new clutch fork and the pivot and spring. So everything in my bell housing is new
 
In a few mins ill post a pic of the jeep on here just got to load them upfrom cam
 
Sorry, we have to ask
you would not believe how many guys are first timers and look for a forum for help.
I am with Pete about not much adjustment and need to be tweaked. Stock stuff is made with loose tolerances because the easier it is to fix, the easier it is to sell. A performance setup is designed to perform, and if that means tight tolerances, well then they did it correct and used up everything they could to get the most out of it.
 
adjustment is my guess too. if you've driven a truck long at all you know that when the clutch gets worn down the tranny can be a real pain in the <-BAD WORD-> to shift, even if you are floating gears. a little adjustment to clutch will usually fix the problem until its time for a new clutch
 
So these are a few pics of us out scouting trail before the snow and mud hits so they are nothing big never even needed 4x4 but we were also testing a few mods we made to the jeep and my cousins truck . So if the terrain seems lame it was but we want to know where we are going when the snow is 4 foot deep . They are closing alot of trails around here so we go out in the summer and look for new gates and wash outs and stuff that would give us trouble in the snow and mud . Anyway thats what we were doing
 
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Well from those pictures it looks like your whole driveline is shot and you may as well just push that Jeep down here to Pa. and I'll figure out something to do with it. :rolleyes: :D
 
guys, leave him alone, I am the only one that can fix it, he will just have to ship it to me and I promise I will ship it back after a I fix it and spend 10 years doing a break in.
 
Iv biult alot of 4x4s in my life and always regret selling them so this time i put the tittle in my father in laws name so i cant sell it .I just hope that i have time left in life to enjoy it. But i might not . Like my profile says i hope to take my last breath while turning wrenches on my jeep. Latly with all the meds its hard to get the energy to go out and work on it .And iv been known to be working on it and just stop step out to puke my guts up then go back to working on it . So maybe ill get it done but ill for sure die trying. I know it looks like :dung: but im hoping to change that.
 
Hey Demon
Sweet Jeep. we are teasing you.
Anyway, have you tried some adjustments yet?
that is a good tranny and I feel that it is not the problem.
Pics look good also
 
I ajusted it lastnight am going to test drive it today It was way loose . In my race cars i leave about 3/4 of an inch of pedel before it touches the throw out bearing to the fingers on the presure plate. So i did the same here . 3/4 of and inch of free play in the pedal . Sound about right ?
 
Update? I dont believe mine has more play than that. Its brand new although not a Centerforce.
 
well after putting in a new starter relay i drove it yesterday . The grind is stil there at highter RPM and second is still a grind fest when down shifting .But the light cruising speed shifts are better . Iv got anouther question to when i put the jeep under a load or back up if i hold on to the shifter i can feel the tranny move and it does make a clunk part of the time . Now this is not my first rodeo so i did check motor mounts and it has a new Transmission mount all are tight aswell as the crossmember all tight . Any ideas? Im thinking spring bushings as they are old and loose
 
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