FJ40 will not shift into gear

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Jun 29, 2015
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Hey guys, please help me out here Im stalled. My (73) FJ40 sat at a local shop for about 4-5 months as it had the roll bar built and installed. Before I dropped it off everything was functioning properly, when I picked it up it and trailered it home. I tried to drive it when I got home with it and it would not shift into gear while running. I could try to force it into gear but it would grind and not go into the gear. I am physically unable to shift it into gear because it grinds. Thats when I first noticed it was leaking brown brake fluid from the slave cylinder all over my driveway. So I replaced the slave cylinder, the hose, and the master clutch cylinder and bled the line. I tried to run it again and again it is not able to shift into any gears. So I begin messing around with the transfer case. In every option 2l 2h 4l 4h it will not shift into gear while running it grinds; HOWEVER when the transfer case is in neutral the car is able to shift into gear while running. If the car is not running it shifts fine. If the transfer case is in neutral the car shift fine while running. Any other option results in grinding and will not shift. Please help me! I need to get back on the road asap.
 
And, always replace both the master and slave at the same time. If one goes, the other will shortly follow.

It's not the local shops fault btw. It's just bad timing.
 
It if was outside the clutch itself could stuck/rusted. If the fork is depressing the throw out bearing and the three fingers on pressure plate are moving that could be the case. Remove the inspection plate on the bottom of the bellhousing and see what's going on when someone else steps on the clutch pedal. Block a wheel while underneath to be sure it doesn't roll.
 
Ok so watched the fork action as the clutch pedal was pushed in and let go. The slave cylinder is pushing the fork as far as it will go, so those parts seem to be working. I did replace the slave and master and the hose in between them. I believe that means that I installed something correctly this time?.. lol
 
I've had the exact same problem after sitting for a long time. The 3-speed flywheel has a deep (16 mm or 5/8") step cut into it, so the clutch disc sits that deep into the flywheel, with the pressure plate attached behind it. The clutch disc just fits inside this steep cut, so, 'gunk' from worn disc material, mud, etc. can gather around the circumference of the disc, wedging the disc to the flywheel.

The solution to free it up is as noted above; before starting the engine, shift the transmission into first gear, tcase in low range, and start the engine with the clutch pedal depressed. The torque from the engine trying to turn the flywheel stuck to the periphery of the disc will free it up in short order.

The 4 speed flywheel has only a 0.5 mm (0.020") step, so there's not much chance of that arrangement binding.
 
If the clutch disc was stuck then the trans input shaft which is splined to clutch disc would be spinning when the engine is running and cause grinding whenever any attempt to engage a gear occurs. OP's truck does not do this.

OP says that the trans shifts fine with engine running, but only if the transfer case is in neutral.
 
Honk, read the decriiption again, he cannot engage any gears while running, the reason he can with the transfer in neutral is because there is no load on the gears and it will simply spin the input shaft. I guarantee its a stuck disc, been unsticking clutch discs for 25 years!
 
Honk, read the decriiption again, he cannot engage any gears while running, the reason he can with the transfer in neutral is because there is no load on the gears and it will simply spin the input shaft. I guarantee its a stuck disc, been unsticking clutch discs for 25 years!

You're right (!) I guess I skipped to what seemed like the meat and missed his first description - even after he said it twice.
 
Hey guys, please help me out here Im stalled. My (73) FJ40 sat at a local shop for about 4-5 months as it had the roll bar built and installed. Before I dropped it off everything was functioning properly, when I picked it up it and trailered it home. I tried to drive it when I got home with it and it would not shift into gear while running. I could try to force it into gear but it would grind and not go into the gear. I am physically unable to shift it into gear because it grinds. Thats when I first noticed it was leaking brown brake fluid from the slave cylinder all over my driveway. So I replaced the slave cylinder, the hose, and the master clutch cylinder and bled the line. I tried to run it again and again it is not able to shift into any gears. So I begin messing around with the transfer case. In every option 2l 2h 4l 4h it will not shift into gear while running it grinds; HOWEVER when the transfer case is in neutral the car is able to shift into gear while running. If the car is not running it shifts fine. If the transfer case is in neutral the car shift fine while running. Any other option results in grinding and will not shift. Please help me! I need to get back on the road asap.
Would it be possible/probable that this would happen to a clutch that has just been rebuilt? I have a 74 FJ40 and Im having the exact same symptoms as above after putting everything back together. I had flywheel resurfaced, new pilot and throw out bearings, new clutch disc and clutch pressure plate. I have done all adjustments mentioned throughout this forum and still getting same problems as mentioned above. I find it hard to believe that my clutch disc is stuck since it is new and never even been driven yet?
Any comments are more than welcome at this point!
 
That happen to me when I replaced my clutch. The disk was a hair to large in the diameter. Pulled my hair out trying to figure it out. Have someone depress the clutch pedal and look at the clutch disk to see if the pressure plate has released pressure. then spin the disk or put it in gear and depress the clutch and start it it will release and be fine as long as you have installed everything correctly.
JP
 
That happen to me when I replaced my clutch. The disk was a hair to large in the diameter. Pulled my hair out trying to figure it out. Have someone depress the clutch pedal and look at the clutch disk to see if the pressure plate has released pressure. then spin the disk or put it in gear and depress the clutch and start it it will release and be fine as long as you have installed everything correctly.
JP
I finally got it to go into gear and I think after running it in gear the clutch plate released enough from flywheel. However, when it's running and I have someone inside to push in clutch, the clutch plate never stops spinning? Shouldn't it stop spinning when clutch is depressed?
 
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There is residual drag on the clutch disc, it will still spin, as long as it is free, it should go into any gear. Did the pilot bearing go in ok and trans install smoothly? Bad pilot bearing will cause this too..
 
There is residual drag on the clutch disc, it will still spin, as long as it is free, it should go into any gear. Did the pilot bearing go in ok and trans install smoothly? Bad pilot bearing will cause this too..
Pilot bearing went in and actually was spinning freely after installation. The transmission went in smooth as well, once I got it lined up correctly.
 
There is residual drag on the clutch disc, it will still spin, as long as it is free, it should go into any gear. Did the pilot bearing go in ok and trans install smoothly? Bad pilot bearing will cause this too..
It is strange. With it running and I push in the clutch, it seems like the clutch plate is still spinning because it grinds when I try and put it into gear. I can get it to go into gear, but it grinds first and it seems the grinding slows down the spinning of the clutch plate enough to get into gear?
 

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