H55F Grinding

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rover67

rover67

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10 Year 15 Year
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Sep 5, 2006
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Location
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I put a new H55F in back in October '07 that i got from Cruiserparts. Been having problems with it ever since.

So I did some searches, and there are tons of posts on "hard shifting" that loosens up after a while and the dreaded "stuck in gear" problem. Mine was stuck in gear when i got it, but that was a quick fix since i noticed it before the install. Also, it was never super hard to shift.

But... it has always been really "notchy" and it is hard to shift it without grinding when going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. I mean it acts like a tranny with worn out syncros. It also vibrates a ton in 2nd and 3rd (no, it's not the driveshafts or tires or rear end) but runs smooth as silk in 4th and 5th.

I've checked all sorts of stuff (thats why I am here several months later) and everything seems to be working fine. The clutch disengages fine, The clutch dosen't drag.. nothing.

So I was going to call up cruiser parts and see what their thoughts were. maybe it'd a turd from the factory I don't know.

So is this a common problem? could I be missing something? I have tried a few different gear oils and have settled on redline MT-90 which made it better, but it is still annoying as hell.

I am soooo tempted to go full chevy and get a GM tranny now..... The old 4 speed that had 240k miles shifted GREAT and never ground any gears, and was EASY to shift fast... I almost kick myself for having gotten rid of it.

thoughts?
 
Mine is very notchy. I don't get grinding per se (I don't force the shift), but it is hard to shift from 1st to 2nd and less so from 2nd to 3rd, especially when cold. I was having a problem with something in the clutch not disengaging when the transmission was first installed. The only way I could make it go away was to replace the clutch, pilot bearing, etc.

I don't have any transmission vibrations in any gear. Good Luck.
 
Hey rover67,

Sorry to hear this, mine's still very new and besides a small "catch" going from 1st to 2nd it's smooth as can be. I'm not familiar with any known issues but will be watching this thread to see if there's something to watch for down the road.
 
Mine worked worlds better after changing to synthetic lube. It was notchy and hard to shift when it was cold, but that went away after I changed to Mobile 1. My NV4500 shifts better than anything I ever had including the H55F, although I always considred it to be a decent shifting box.
 
Yeah, it definitly grinds unless you rev it up to a relatively low rpm (2k) and take about 4-5 seconds to slide it into the next gear. sometimes actually forcing the shift and really pushing it hard it does ok.

I went from My cheap dynoshlog break in oil to mobil 1 to nice amsoil, and have now stopped at Redline MT-90 which from what i hear is supposed to be THE stuff to put in a toyota tranny. they all pretty much shifted the same. at first i felt like the MT-90 did better, but it dosen't. In the winter it is hard to shift, but still kinda grinds the same.

Thanks for the replys guys, it helps my thoguht process.
Chris, will yo ube at the Rising Sun Rally this weekend? I was thinking about trying to stop by for a bit. maybe we can trade rides and feel how they are different.
 
I don't think I'll make the Rally on Saturday, my son's visiting and he's into speed (obviously not a 60 guy) so we're going to Bandamere instead. Depending on when we go there I might find time to sneak off for a quick visit.

Hugh at Safari Ltd in Grand Junction installed my H55F and recommends staying away from synthetics due to cold weather shifting problems and says standard 80-90 is best.

If you get down to Denver I'd be happy to meet you and trade rides to check them out. Maybe some weekend when you don't have anything going on? Better yet come along on a front Range 4x4 run some time.
 
I put Amsoil in mine from the beginning. third at first gave a little fit but goes in fine now and 5 still takes a little effort. No vibration though. I hope this helps.
 
ok, I'll let ya know. If I end up doing that I need to do a lot more research...
 
I've come across 2 55s over the last couple of years that have had the wrong (different style) main output shaft bearing installed from the factory......... the bearing should be a caged ball style with a spacer in front against 1st gear.....the incorrect bearings have been a staight roller with removable center race with a thicker flange on one side that goes against 1st gear..... well the straight roller has no way of keeping itself centered thus allowing excessive front to rear movement of main shaft and that effects mesh on all components in question..... contact your dealer and they will give you a replacement if it was in fact a new trans to start with.........
 
Give James a call at Cruiserparts.net. I bought mine from hjim and had him install it. At the start at of the installation, he told me me they are frequently non-cooperative upon installation and, indeed, I watched him work to " massage "it into smooth shifting. He worked at it knowingly and skillfully. I'm sure he will be willing and able to help you out.
 
wow, great. Thanks for the input. I'll give Cruiserparts a ring. They were good to work with when i bought it.
 
I'd love the hear what can be done to massage the 55 into less notchy shifting...and thanks Grant for the info on the bearing!
Mine is notchy, always has been, and has a slight whine in 5th, but thats neither here nor there.
Bryan
 
Do you mean that there should be a spacer in front against 5th gear? Is this the spacer you're talking about Grant5127?
spacer_h55f.webp
 
Here's a picture of the actual collar that is circled in red above. It's a picture from my H42 tranny I pulled. My H55F is already attached to the rebuilt t-case and new V8, and I can't remember if it had one of these collars. If my memory serves me, I don't think there was a collar that came with the H55F.

Looks like I may have to tear down the setup to find out. (I guess it's a good thing my V8 swap is going slow, huh?)
outputshaftcollar.webp
 
Talked to tht folks at cruiserparts.net and they are willing to replace the tranny under warranty... man, I am really happy with their customer service. Impressive :)

Now i need to figure out if that is the bet route. James suggested that the shift forks may be out of alignment... and i don't know if mine has th ebearing issue.. i guess that requires a dissasembly..

will keep everybody up to date.
 
Good to hear you can get it replaced pretty easily. Will they send you a new one first, or do you have to pull yours & ship it somewhere to have it inspected?

I think mine is finally broken in. It only took 2 years/20,000+ mi. to do it. I recently noticed that it isn't notchy going into 3rd anymore, and that was the only problem I had with mine.
 
rover67 said:
Chris, will yo ube at the Rising Sun Rally this weekend? I was thinking about trying to stop by for a bit. maybe we can trade rides and feel how they are different.
Click to expand...

Change of plans, I'll be at the Rally about 10am. My 62 looks like a 60 and is red, you'll be able to find me if we're there at the same time. ;)
 
10-4 Chris.. My sister and i are going to try and knock out a 14er in the morning, but i'll be there around noon I am guessing. I also am picking up a driveshaft from manjerk so I gotta be there.

Yeah, i kept waiting for mine to change cam, but I think it genuinely has a problem. I mean it grinds going into 2nd and 3rd gears unless yo ureally take it slow on the shift, and sometimes it grinds then. I think it was so tight when you drove it when it was new that it felt OK..
 
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