Transmission Jumps out of 1st Gear

[whitejeep05]

Hey guys,

Hoping someone here has seen something similar and I can find an affordable solution to this problem. My 05 Liberty jumps out of gear in 1st whenever the gear isn't firmly put into place. It drives fine if I shift carefully into 1st, or hold the shifter in place, but it jumps out of gear if i'm not careful with it.

Has anyone else had this problem, and what was the fix? I know the obvious answer is a transmission rebuild(synchros?), but it drives fine if I very deliberately engage the gear. I'm hoping it's like a shifter alignment problem or something along those lines...

Thanks in advance!

 

[KJ604]

Hey guys,

Hoping someone here has seen something similar and I can find an affordable solution to this problem. My 05 Liberty jumps out of gear in 1st whenever the gear isn't firmly put into place. It drives fine if I shift carefully into 1st, or hold the shifter in place, but it jumps out of gear if i'm not careful with it.

Has anyone else had this problem, and what was the fix? I know the obvious answer is a transmission rebuild(synchros?), but it drives fine if I very deliberately engage the gear. I'm hoping it's like a shifter alignment problem or something along those lines...

Thanks in advance!

Yes i have this too. not all the time just once in a while. feels like it went into gear but doesnt quite and when you go to accelerate it pops out.

 

[benjfrance33]

I had the same problem on my 2006 kJ crd 6 manual speeds.
I had to change the selection fork and the first to second synchro.
I know there was a mopar procedure in the usa for this problem on Wrangler but not in France for the liberty. Why? I don't know.
It cost me 500 dollars to buy and change the pieces.

 

[whitejeep05]

I had the same problem on my 2006 kJ crd 6 manual speeds.
I had to change the selection fork and the first to second synchro.
I know there was a mopar procedure in the usa for this problem on Wrangler but not in France for the liberty. Why? I don't know.
It cost me 500 dollars to buy and change the pieces.

Did you do your own labor, and does the synchro replacement require pulling apart the transmission? I'd like to take it into a shop to do it, i am hoping I can get out for under 1000$ but it seems unlikely...

 

[whitejeep05]

Yes i have this too. not all the time just once in a while. feels like it went into gear but doesnt quite and when you go to accelerate it pops out.

That's exactly what's happening. If I don't deliberately set the gear in place it will pop out. I hope I can get this repaired without costing half the value of the car.

 

[CactusJacked]

Not following what you mean by "deliberately set the gear in place"? Aren't all gear shifts, other than missed shifts, deliberate?
Now I'll have to check to see if mine pops out. I wouldn't know, since my hand remains leaning on the shift knob and doesn't come off till I'm done rowing gears.

 

[whitejeep05]

Not following what you mean by "deliberately set the gear in place"? Aren't all gear shifts, other than missed shifts, deliberate?
Now I'll have to check to see if mine pops out. I wouldn't know, since my hand remains leaning on the shift knob and doesn't come off till I'm done rowing gears.

haha i guess you're right... i mean i firmly put it into first gear, and make sure it's set before actually accelerating.

I also drive with my hand on the shifter most of the time, but my wife doesn't and it ruins her day when this thing pops out of gear

 

[JeepinJarhead03]

driving with your hand on the shifter is actually what causes wear for stuff like that to happen in the first place

 

[whitejeep05]

driving with your hand on the shifter is actually what causes wear for stuff like that to happen in the first place

I never knew that, thanks!

 

[CactusJacked]

driving with your hand on the shifter is actually what causes wear for stuff like that to happen in the first place

So you shift like so: put in first, put right hand back to steering wheel, immediately put hand back on shifter to put into second, hand back on steering wheel, back and forth and so on through all the gears? Stuff like that is what wears out the arm and hand. As stated earlier, my hand stays on the shifter till done rowing, since that's where it's needed. Who in the hell keeps swapping their hand on and off the shifter between gears?

 

[JeepinJarhead03]

*shrug* unless im jamming gears
ive got half a dozen or so ax/nv manuals with an avg of 170kmi on each , none of them have syncro issues

and people keep paying me to R&R theirs.
what do you want me to tell ya

I don't put my hand back on the steering wheel but once i've made the shift i let go and ghost grip the shifter and don't rest my hand on it. Not all manuals are prone to syncro/fork/sleeve leverage wear, but AX and NV's nearly as a whole are. Some of which have plastic balls on the end of the shift rod which with leverage against them in the pocket are prone to vibration induced erosion like with the AX15.

 

[KJ604]

*shrug* unless im jamming gears
ive got half a dozen or so ax/nv manuals with an avg of 170kmi on each , none of them have syncro issues

and people keep paying me to R&R theirs.
what do you want me to tell ya

I don't put my hand back on the steering wheel but once i've made the shift i let go and ghost grip the shifter and don't rest my hand on it. Not all manuals are prone to syncro/fork/sleeve leverage wear, but AX and NV's nearly as a whole are. Some of which have plastic balls on the end of the shift rod which with leverage against them in the pocket are prone to vibration induced erosion like with the AX15.

I'm no expert but I have heard of this before.

Its not just about that your hand is at the shifter, its about if you are actually resting weight on the shift knob. This can apply a small amount of pressure which can cause wear issues. My jeep came with this problem so I suspect the PO, who was also the 1st owner, had a habit of resting her hand there. which wore a groove into the synchro, which is why it feels like it went in but it doesnt quite, and if you catch it you can jam the shifter up another 1/4" and then it pops fully into gear.