Can't shift into gear (Manassas, VA area)

[Shotgun]

If the MUTT is off, I can press in the clutch and it appears to shift. When I fire up the MUTT and try to shift, the gears just grind. I fire up the MUTT to keep the batteries charged but have not driven it for a year. The PO said there was a transmission leak and just top it off, that's why I pulled the covers off and the starter and looked inside the transmission. It was a little low and I topped it off, and I sprayed penetrating oil into the shifting forks in case they might be a little frozen.

I'm at a loss as to why it will not shift, just grinds the gears as if I didn't engage the clutch. When I removed the starter, I saw the plate move when I pressed down on the clutch.

Any ideas of what this could be? I'm moving of VA and want to get this on a commercial carrier on its own power. It will cost extra if it's not running, so I'm trying to minimize that cost.

Thanks in advance!

Stephen

[D Pizzoferrato]

Your clutch disc is likely rusted to the flywheel and pressure plate. Read this http://www.mossmotoring.com/free-seized-clutch-disc/

[acudanut]

What About shifting into gear with the engine off. With your foot holding the clutch in, start engine. Release clutch it and see what it does. ?

[mutt and jeff]

With engine off, engage transmission and try to cok the jeep and see if it will pop off the flywheel. I have heard that this makes an extremely loud noise when it frees itself. I'm not advocating this but on larger vehicles like trucks, I have read where guys use a come along or another vehicle to push the stuck vehicle until it breaks loose.

Lesson learned to not only start the vehicle once in a while, but actually put it in gear and move it around. Prevents brakes, clutch and any other moving parts from sticking in place. I have also heard that just starting the engine once in a while will do more harm than good as it just causes condensation to form in exhaust system.

[rickf]

I agree that the clutch is probably rusted and while I have used the method Dave posted, I used lower gears, I have found that if you get a few people together and while one sits in the vehicle with the engine off and in first or revers and the clutch held in the rest push it back and forth rocking at against the engine. As long as the clutch is held in this will usually break it loose. Another option I have used is to use a tug rope if you have one. They are the ropes that are made for pulling people out of mud and snow and they have a lot of stretch in them. Hook this to the mutt and a large tree or a substantially heavier vehicle and then start it up in second gear with your foot pushed down on the clutch naturally facing away from the object you are tied to (hey, in these days I feel I have to point that out ) You should have left yourself about ten feet of slack and when the slack runs out it will pull tight and put a strain on the clutch. If that does not break it loose you may need to actually get under there and take the cover off and with the pedal depressed and held with a board you might have to try to pry the disc off off the flywheel and pressure plate. I have never had the tug method fail me though, some took two or three tries but those vehicles had been underwater and then sat for a year.

[muttguru]

.... The PO said there was a transmission leak and just top it off, that's why I pulled the covers off and the starter and looked inside the transmission. It was a little low and I topped it off, and I sprayed penetrating oil into the shifting forks in case they might be a little frozen.
Stephen

Stephen....

if you or the P/O has removed the gearstick at any time, make sure that all the forks are lined up correctly and then re-insert the gearstick with the forks lined up and in neutral.
The reason? If the gearstick has been removed with the transmission in a gear, or if the stick was removed in neutral and then you moved the forks to free them up, you won't get the stick back working correctly until you line up those selector forks.
Ken

[Shotgun]

SOLVED - Thank you everybody for this awesome rescue! I went to www.mossmotoring.com/free-seized-clutch-disc/ and that fixed it. My clutch disc was rusted to the flywheel and pressure plate. I raised it 2" off the ground, had a tow cable hooked to my truck as I had to pull it out of the carport, and hoped for the best. I heard a bang, seemingly after the fact, but was able to watch the wheels spin.

I test drove it around the block but could not make it go into 3rd gear. I pulled over and thought what Ken wrote about the shift forks, but I was smart this time to take pictures of the way the linkage was when I pulled it off. I reassembled based on the pictures so I know it was put in the same way. So at the side of the road, I pulled forward, OK, then Reverse, it worked. I pressed in the clutch and ran it to all gears to make sure it would go in all gears. Here is what happened, 3rd and Reverse are close together, I paid attention to where Reverse looked like and realized that I was a little bit too far. I put it in Reverse, OK, then put it where 3rd went and she rolled.

It's been a while since I drove the ol' girl and just forgot the little nuances of this MUTT and it was just a case of OHS - Operator Head Space as we used to call it when the Operator messed something up.

I think if I posted this outside g838.org, I would have received hundreds of hits on what to do, and there is so much misinformation to what essentially was a simple fix. I'm sure the "great advice" would have been to take the transmission apart to adjust widget A, or do-hickey B only to go to a hundred rabbit holes to nowhere.

I'm thankful that this organization exists, and the expertise weighs in to help members. Y'all made my weekend!!!

Happy Labor Day =)

[acudanut]

SOLVED - Thank you everybody for this awesome rescue! I went to www.mossmotoring.com/free-seized-clutch-disc/ and that fixed it. My clutch disc was rusted to the flywheel and pressure plate. I raised it 2" off the ground, had a tow cable hooked to my truck as I had to pull it out of the carport, and hoped for the best. I heard a bang, seemingly after the fact, but was able to watch the wheels spin.

I test drove it around the block but could not make it go into 3rd gear. I pulled over and thought what Ken wrote about the shift forks, but I was smart this time to take pictures of the way the linkage was when I pulled it off. I reassembled based on the pictures so I know it was put in the same way. So at the side of the road, I pulled forward, OK, then Reverse, it worked. I pressed in the clutch and ran it to all gears to make sure it would go in all gears. Here is what happened, 3rd and Reverse are close together, I paid attention to where Reverse looked like and realized that I was a little bit too far. I put it in Reverse, OK, then put it where 3rd went and she rolled.

It's been a while since I drove the ol' girl and just forgot the little nuances of this MUTT and it was just a case of OHS - Operator Head Space as we used to call it when the Operator messed something up.

I think if I posted this outside g838.org, I would have received hundreds of hits on what to do, and there is so much misinformation to what essentially was a simple fix. I'm sure the "great advice" would have been to take the transmission apart to adjust widget A, or do-hickey B only to go to a hundred rabbit holes to nowhere.

I'm thankful that this organization exists, and the expertise weighs in to help members. Y'all made my weekend!!!

Happy Labor Day =)

Great news. How did you raised it 2" off the ground and pull it ? Floor jacK ??
had a tow cable hooked to my truck as I had to pull it out of the carport, and hoped for the best. I heard a bang, seemingly after the fact, but was able to watch the wheels spin.

[Husker]

If you have issues again I’m in fairfax va not far away there is also a Facebook group for the fredricksburg area if you want to join it