Everything you need to know about Jeep YJ and Tj shifters

[@wvjeepguy8178]

Best video out there for this information. I'm working on a YJ ax5 right now and this answered all my questions about the shifter assembly. Mine was full of dirt and the transmission is full of water. The boot was tore to shreds and the bushing is not there.

[@robertbryant7771]

For the shifter upper portion that goes in the tower (lower seat down to pivot ball) on the AX-15: first one you showed is from a YJ; it uses the straight lower half with the longer seat to pivot ball measurement and the tall tower. Dakota one you showed also uses a tall tower and has the longer seat to pivot ball measurement. 3rd one you showed is from a TJ; also uses the tall tower and longer seat to pivot ball measurement, and has the 'crooked' stick base. MJ and XJ back to mid-1989 use one that has a short tower and shorter seat to pivot ball measurement, but also has the 'crooked' stick base. If you do a transfer case drop in XJ/MJ you can get the downward distance back by switching to a TJ tower/ lower stick.

[@johnbird3646]

Great video, super helpful. In my situation was able to disassemble pretty easy. Unfortunately the previous plastic cap (that snaps on to the ball end) seems lost forever and was broken likely fell to bottom of transmission. Hope it won’t cause a problem. Got a rebuilt kit for 70$ shipped. Putting it back tomorrow. Wish me luck

[@lucaskosty6305]

I agree with everyone in the comments best video i have found on this you are a smart man. I ran out into my garage stumped not knowing what it was pulled up on my shifter and i was excited that it might be the bushing and not something inside of the transmission im going to dig into it tommorow morning bright and early. im 17 wish me luck :)

[@HamptonBallance]

For me being a first time Jeep owner, this video was very educational, and informative. I just aquired a 88 Jeep Cherokee, was originally an automatic, but engine was replaced with a 6 cyl out of a 94 wrangler (in 1998). Trans was replaced with a manual in 2020. With this video, I was able to determine that mine was a AX15, the shifter was actually broke. (Lever side) thank you so much.

[@gearboxgarage]

I am happy that his video helped

[@tomynoks]

Best video I've seen!! When I pulled mine apart ('93 YJ) there was no bushing at all!! :)

[@gearboxgarage]

thanks, the reason this parts fail is due to it being made with materials that are not oil safe. which I am sure make sense only to the company selling them

[@ACVBeAWolf7792]

Awesome video man. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this. Really saved me a lot of time and a huge headache in the near future. Much appreciated!!!!!!!

[@joeydenison3886]

Ive got a 1998 xj with a brand spankin new re manufactured ax15 in it. After we got it replaced, thought the slop and trouble getting into gears would be completely solved. Gears shift nicer, however there is a fair bit of play, and it has trouble getting into reverse (especially when cold). I have to use a fair bit of force when I push it into the detent, and a fair bit of force back. If I don't, it acts like its halfway there. I sometimes get a grinding sound (and obviously no motion), and suprisingly it doesn't go back fully into neutral in the middle (which makes a fun game of always wondering whether its in reverse or not). It seems like a lot of the issues you described in your video apply to me, but I thought id ask for your professional opinion on my specific jeep as you seem very knowledgeable. Thanks!

[@gearboxgarage]

no matter if it was a brand new unit or a quality rebuilt unit you should not have any transmission issues... that said is it the same shifter from the original unit? take the both shifter boots off of the floor and re-drive the jeep. If your issue goes away or changes then the boots should be the issue, either hard or due to a tcase drop or body lift they might be interfering with shifter. if none of these help let me know

[@robertpc100]

lol, thats pretyy much what i did after soakin in some koil and squeezed the sides a little it came on out.Thanks friend.Good work

[@michaelweaver7683]

Thanks for awesome video.... Replacement went flawless!!!

[@gearboxgarage]

glad to hear everything went smoothly

[@colin5064]

Excellent information thank you

[@thambu19]

Phenomenal video... Very thorough

[@Fuzzeldust]

Awesome video! Thanks man

[@robertpc100]

great stuff for sure.Good job.Got a questio though.Im doing new clutch and SYE kit and axkes,Well pulled shifter out and bushing below shifter is almost gone and the metal sleeve that twists down into top of trany is pitted terrible on bottom but the shifter doesnt have those holes fpr 8mm bolts and nut trick.Its all factory ,havent been welded on but their are no hole or holes with caps in them, nothing.Any idea how to get the shifter apart.Have you ever dealt with this issue before.Its a 99 tj 4.0. Thank youy for any ideas.Great stuff!!

[@gearboxgarage]

if your shifter doesnt have the holes on the side then what i do is place the lower shifter into a vise and with a brass punch drive "gently" the upper shifter off.

[@blownaway4371]

Good evening. I need to ask you a question. I have a 2001 Dodge Dakota with the 2.5 and "had" a nv3550 (removable bellhousing) that was trashed by previous owner. I had a few ax5's that would bolt up, but shifter was too close to the dash andwouldn't shift to (1,3,5). Dug through my pile and found a bellhousing that fits the ax15 and metric 2.5L. Swapped slipyokes, and everything was great until it started popping out of 1st. Now its doing it most every time, so am starting out in 2nd. I bought a shifter "rebuild" kit and waiting for the new detent spring and ball in the mail. I have 3.55 gear and its a bit slower, but at least its not popping out. What are your thoughts on why(?) I believe i pulled it from a 01 Cherokee, and felt nice and tight, with nice honey colored lube when drained. Did install a new clutch assembly with pilot and surfaced flywheel. Do you have a rebuild service? Im just under Memphis area. Please respond!

[@gearboxgarage]

Ok the first thing I suggest is to remove all of the shifter floor boots, you want to be able to see the shifter as it moves in and out of the gears to make sure there's no interference. Do this then drive it and see if there's a change, if so then you know the boots are at least part of the issue. If you have the upper part of the shifter hitting the dash then you can either swap to another style of shifter or heat this one up and bend it into a use-able angle. If there's no change after either of these then it would be inside the unit. I do build these daily and have a large selection of used parts if needed.

[@blownaway4371]

@gearboxgarage Yep. Tried that and then started to pop out of 3rd. If I was empty, I could start in second. But too tall of a gear in third. So parked it and pulling the transmission back out today. I did have a couple more transmissions and will put them out for pictures. I'll get back to you.

[@larryalexander4833]

Appreciate the video. Is a help ! Can you recommend what fluid ( correct type due to synchronizer ) to run in a aX15 transmission ?

[@gearboxgarage]

I use Pennzoil syncromesh, if you live in a colder climate (unlike here in Florida) I would suggest Red Line MTL fluid

[@larryalexander4833]

@@gearboxgarage I'm in SC near NC . I'd think Pennzoil should be fine

[@tenndude1]

Dang I wish u were here in Tennessee!!! Ive got a 92 Jeep Wrangler I had a conversion kit put on it from Advance Adapters!!! This kit went from internal to external !!! Having problems! Randomly seizes up and wont go into 1st gear!! Please help!!!

[@gearboxgarage]

If you can shift into 1st with engine off then its hydrualics, if not its inside transmission. about all i can do from florida

[@jacobh.7076]

I have the NV3550 in a 2000 jeep tj, currently I have issues with a very sloppy shifter and it doesn't spring back to N like it should. I feel like the issue is with those stupid little plastic bushings at 25:55. When you slide them back in do they have any play forward and back or do they fit very snug into their housing? Mine have a very small amount of play making it so the shifter will not spring back into place. Can you replace just those or do you need to buy a whole new tower?

[@gearboxgarage]

if you need parts then you have to buy a new shifter- $75. or find good used parts

[@robertpc100]

i meant 6 mm.Did you drill and tap that yourself? looks like they are perfectly aligned on the sides opposed to bend of bend in shifter, but those nuts inside are factory arent they?

[@gearboxgarage]

I will make another video showing how i separate the Yj and TJ upper and lower shifters.

[@skyflier8955]

On my NV3550 I tried to get the bolts on the shifter and take it off, but one of the holes is completely stripped and cracked- there is no way to get it out. Is there another way to get it off? It's hard to find any useful info online, and I can't even find new shifters to replace it if I tore it apart to get it off. Great video, just about the only thing I found.

[@gearboxgarage]

That will be tough, unless you can get something welded to the stripped out area or use an over sized bolt or screw I am not sure what else to try.

[@skyflier8955]

@@gearboxgarage Thanls for the help! We did try an oversized screw, but since it’s cracked it didn’t do much. It was just to replace that inner boot... but I think I’ll just have to go without it.

[@gearboxgarage]

@@skyflier8955 I would do everything i could to get the upper shifter off. that seal leads straight down into the transmission, moisture and dirt will get in. worst case get another shifter

[@skyflier8955]

@@gearboxgarage we did try everything we could. I’m not driving it much (if at all) right now, but I’ll definitely look into getting another shifter. My dad was wanting to get a new one anyway, won’t be hard to convince him lol. Thank you for all your help and expertise.

[@gearboxgarage]

@@skyflier8955 your welcome, any time.

[@stevefoster3630]

As far as the Peugeot, is there a pivot washer that the ball sets in like the ax-15? My shifter is sloppy but I can’t seem to find any parts online or locally.

[@gearboxgarage]

there is no shifter seat that can be replaced. yours will have 2 pins inside which prevent clockwise and counter clockwise rotation. to keep the shifter tight from up and down movement there is a spring plate. check you tube for videos.

[@builtnotbought7787]

i swapped a 1999 tj ax15 into my 1990 yj, i am using the shifter from the ax15 that came out of the jeep, are the tj ax15 shifters diffrent than the yj ax15? the correct pilot bearin for the trans im putting in is just a little to small to seat correctly, it seats way in the back of the hole, any advice would be helpful. im just hoping i didnt just waste money on a tj shifter for nothing

[@gearboxgarage]

if you have both shifters or both upper shifter housing then just measure them. on the shifters measure from where the spring sits down to the the tip, on the housings measure their overall height. 99% are the same there are some odd ones. as for the pilot bearing, some swaps require a bushing not a bearing. the 99 should have a .750 input shaft, NATIONAL PB77HD should work. I can only find it at rock auto.

[@TheFordRebel]

I'm thinking of getting this 1994 yj. The owner said the shifter is broke and the transmission is in reverse. I haven't seen any pictures of what it looks like but do you know of a way to shift these just to get them home?

[@gearboxgarage]

you can remove the shifter from the tower and take a long screw driver and manually shift the linkage into neutral so it would roll if you want to drive it then you would need to have another shifter to reinstall

[@TheFordRebel]

After doing more research and asking him he says that when it was in reverse the guys wife forced it outf of reverse without the clutch and that's what broke the shifter. So do you think it's actually the shifter that's broke or could that have damaged the transmission? I saw on here that the transmission could get locked in reverse and the shifter will move but not to into any gears. I'm hoping it's a simple as that what do you think?

[@gearboxgarage]

odds are something inside has come apart, since with the engine running or not or clutch good or has exploded you should still be able to still shift the transmission.

[@vwfanatix]

Hi, thank you for great video. I have a NV3550 in my XJ. And i have a lose shifter. Can i buy some part in for example a little plastic pieces or i must buy complete shifter?

[@gearboxgarage]

New parts are not available, you will need to buy a new shifter ($75). you might get lucky by buying a used shifter if you only need the white plastic piece. or you can buy a B&M short throw shifter ($280) part #: 45048. The B&M shifter is a nice upgrade if you dont mind the cost.

[@vwfanatix]

@@gearboxgarage Ok, thank you for response. Yeah B&M looks a great solution, but i'm from little country in Europe and there wasn't much parts for Jeep and shipping from US with taxes is expensive. I will try to find some junk yard parts. Is a small pieces same on other shifter's for example from Liberty?

[@gearboxgarage]

@@vwfanatix i dont think the Liberty is the same, but the chevy s10 has a similar transmission.

[@badboymowersofnorman6011]

I have a yj with ba10/5 trans.... I can't find the right shifter. Can you help??? It has a full ball just before the transmission. All that I find is the half ball. "Shifter pivot".

[@gearboxgarage]

i will have to look at some of mine and see if i can understand what your asking- or take a pic and send it to my email

[@chadnoriega7644]

Nice vid, I have a 91 jeep renegade 4.0. It seems be stuck in gear with engine off and it won’t shift into any gear. The clutch was replaced and drove fine a year ago prior to me currently having a no spark problem. I need it in neutral to find TDC to install the distributor. Would this rebuilt of the shifter help with my issue of not going into or out gear to find neutral? Any help would great thank you.

[@gearboxgarage]

fixing the shifter tower wont fix your issue, unless some how the shifter has jumped out of the selector (inside the transmission). You can remove shifter and use a screwdriver to manualy shift the selector to neutral. If it wont move either something is in a bind or something in the transmission is broken. normally the trans wont break from sitting.

[@gearboxgarage]

If it has been sitting you could have the clutch disc stuck to flywheel, sometimes you can tow jeep and dump clutch to see if it frees up. but I would think you could still shift into neutral.

[@chadnoriega7644]

Ok thank you, well I did remove the shifter and it won’t budge, only side to side. I did have it towed in neutral, and at a later date went to set the timing but the crank wouldn’t turn so that’s when it seems to first be stuck after towing it on a flat bed. Any other options? Thanks for the help!

[@gearboxgarage]

@@chadnoriega7644 Even if it is stuck in first gear, you should be able to push the clutch in and hold it while finding TDC. you might need help. Also if it is in first gear and stuck, if you cant manually move the shifter selector backwards (to neutral) with a screwdriver then theres an issue inside the unit.

[@chadnoriega7644]

@@gearboxgarage Ok thank you for the advice. I’ll try pushing the clutch in for TDC then dig further into the tranny. Thanks again.

[@tomynoks]

DO you pack it with grease when you reassemble? Or to what extent do you lube it?

[@gearboxgarage]

no lube is needed, the oil from the transmission lubricates the parts.

[@masonhaugen5917]

How do you get the AX15 shifter stalk off to replace the seal that keeps dust out of the transmission?

[@gearboxgarage]

I collaspe the spring and cap and place into a vise, then with a brass punch i hit the bottom of the upper shifter driving upwards. I also mark the lower & upper shafts so i install back in same spot.

[@orlandorodriguezjr9593]

I have a 1999 Jeep Wrangler sport 4.0 L . I can’t find a shifter retainer seal . I have tried all auto store and even Jeep dealer and can get a hold of one for my Jeep. Dealer says that it do not take one on the AX15 tranny.I watch your video on how much play is in the shifter and found the boot cover was broken and a lot of dirt was inside , I clean it up as you said but can’t locate a a bushing that the shifter ball sit on! Can you help? Please

[@gearboxgarage]

Quadratec Part #: 52109.02 , Quadratec Part #: 52118.022 , Quadratec Part #: 918886.86

[@gearboxgarage]

Also make sure the locking cap fits over the lower shifter. sometimes they get damaged and need tweaking to fit smoothly over.

[@moejr14]

Is there a way to separate the shift handoff from the actual shifter on the Peugeot?

[@subietec]

18:49 is all i wanted...

[@Denver1976Man]

has anyone tried a dodge acuator for the 4x4 fork. They have the same setup but not vacumm

[@gearboxgarage]

When you say actuator I think ac switch so I am not sure what you mean.

[@Denver1976Man]

@@gearboxgarage electric acuators are basically a small 2 way motor. Like an electric door lock acuator. Most today like dodge trucks use an electric actuator to move the fork back and forth. The system, except for the electric motor looks the same on the inside of the transfer case as a jeep. I am sorry this is off topic. was just picking your brain or others that watch your channel. They have a cable kit but electric would be cool.

[@themidnightrdr7292]

What rebuild kit do you recommend?

[@chief7839]

Can you recommend another source than ebay? I removed and closed my account after I got screwed out of $755.00 when I used them. Someone had hacked my account and getting the funds returned was a tremendous hassle. Also is this something I can do with the transmission still installed?

[@gearboxgarage]

you can try - www.allstategear.com/AX15-Shifter-Parts-s/2027.htm

[@chief7839]

@@gearboxgarage thank you for the reply. I tried Allstate and those parts are not available for a 1998 Jeep Wrangler with an AX15 transmission. I have ordered the bushing at the bottom of the cup and I'm going to replace that and the cover over that. I got some assembly goo. Should I coat the bushing and everything on the shifter as I put it all together? Thanks for your help man.

[@gearboxgarage]

@@chief7839 your lower shaft should look like one of the two pictured. The transmission was changed in 2000 to the nv3550. take yours apart and match up with the picture. you can use a light coat of lube but its not needed since its bathed in trans fluid when moving

[@leighyarnall7346]

Hi mate I have shifter on my 2002 jeep liberty looks limits missing shim washer can I send you photos so I can maybe help in getting parts Leigh

[@jedhatcher252]

Do you know where I can buy a new AX-5 gear shifter lever? seems impossible????

[@gearboxgarage]

I have never seen any, but novak-adapt.com/ might have some.

[@jedhatcher252]

@@gearboxgarage Okay. Thank you.

[@lucaskosty6305]

@@jedhatcher252 EBAY

[@micheallinderman481]

I need info on a 2001 jeep tj. Looking to find the dirt seal under the steel pan above the tranny.

[@gearboxgarage]

I have no idea what your asking. sorry

[@micheallinderman481]

@@gearboxgarage No problem I think they stopped making it! Thanks for the reply!

[@jonathanlambert8998]

I can not find a shifter for my ax-5 can I use the ax-15 shift with the ax-5 base?

[@gearboxgarage]

maybe, you need to find one from the same type of vehicle (cherokee,wrangler,dakota,etc) there are different lengths.

[@gearboxgarage]

I am surprised ebay doesnt have any ax5 upper shifters

[@RandyStClair-li4ss]

I have a 2000 TJ and I am having trouble shifting into 2nd and reverse. Thoughts?

[@richardwhiteside9444]

you may have a bent shift fork or a squeed synchro

[@richardwhiteside9444]

it can’t be anything to do with the shifter it has to be something internal

[@rafaela.moreno4406]

👏

[@Bob_Suruncle]

Where can you find the little vent caps at 2:24 ?

[@gearboxgarage]

Dorman HELP! 14689 Transmission Case Vent

[@gearboxgarage]

Last time i found some in a 25 pack for $20, I dont see them now

[@Bob_Suruncle]

@@gearboxgarage Thanks much!

[@tenndude1]

If something is bad in the the shifter would it keep it from going in 1st gear

[@gearboxgarage]

no

[@robertpc100]

Sorry it is an AX 15