james-mc

Yep i figured id just get a clutch kit with everything. Also looks like rear seal might be out cuz I did see some fluid on the tailpiece.

Ok so here's a recap of the problem. I was checking the engine and topping off fluids. I want to add that I did top off the MC reservoir with Dot3 Brake Fluid just like the cap states, it was a bit lower then the low marker. Pumped the clutch a few times Then I started the engine and let it idle in N. About 3 or 4 mins later a marble in a can sound came from the transmission. Like something was bouncing around in there. The sound seemed to come from the bell housing but that can be misleading. Anyways not much later is when engine stalled and died. I restarted engine to replicate the issue. Happened another time. Second time around I noticed it subsided when clutch was pressed in. No noise or sputter. Only when I released the clutch it seemed to catch a gear and kill the engine. Two days later I tried to replicate the issue to find that as soon as the clutch is released the engine is killed. I can get it to move in 1st gear if I am riding the clutch. No reverse at all. Just engine rev and then dead. I do get a hint of burnt fluid smell. I'm not sure if its the brake fluid from the SC or id its gear oil. It doesn't smell like motor oil though. Tonight I am going to check the trans fluid and poke around in there with my flexible magnet grabber tool. Also I am going to try to realign the shift rails as suggested. Its raining its @$$ off here today so I probably won't do much beyond that.

Will do. Luckily Pick n Pull lists the VIN of their cars. So i do the vin lookup on autozone to see what motor and whatnot they have.

Haha yeah. But its all good info since I will prob end up putting an AX15 in at some point. I'm hoping I can fix the BA10 without breaking the bank. Then when a 2WD AX15 comes into the JY Ill grab it and store it in the garage until the BA10 craps out. I have 4 Pick-N-Pulls within 100mi so once a Jeep shows with an AX15 I'm gonna go snatch it. Alot of the other JY around here is just kinda go there and check as they don't have their Inventory listed online.

I am in Missouri. Near Kansas City.

Only trans work done by previous owner was a new clutch about 3-4 years ago. When I drove home it the shifter was kinda sloppy. It didn't pop out of gear or anything when I drove it. It just kinda felt loose and had a little play in it. I will inspect the shift rail either tonight or tomorrow. Like I said it was working pretty good when I got it home. Topped off fluids (Oil, MC, Antifreeze, PS). Started it up let it idle in neutral. Then all of a sudden a rattle (marble in tin can) sound in the transmission. Engine started bogging down and died. The engine will only run if the clutch is pressed. If clutch is depressed it will die 100% of the time.

Lol if i could find a ax15 2wd for pretty cheap id snatch it right up.

Lol if i could find a ax15 2wd for pretty cheap id snatch it right up.

That actually makes a lot of sense. That might be worth a try before dropping the transmission. I read on another Jeep Forum where a guys shifter had broken internally and he had a couple of the symptoms I had

Yeah there isn't much selection around here. I've looked into buying a used trans online but they are pretty expensive. I hope I can fix this one until an ax15 comes my way. I'm still going to do some digging. I have a flexible magnet grabber that I'm poke around through the drain plug. From the sounds of it something broke and is bound up in the transmission is my best guess.

Right. If I could come across an ax15 at the JY Id pick it up but any and all jeeps Ive seen are 4wd. 1993 and up. I might not have much of a choice besides try to fix or pay high dollar for a trans. I'm trying to look up any other vehicles that would have an ax15 that I could swap in but not much luck there either.

I will try that. Ive been searching for another 2WD trans I can swap in. But no luck so far.

I've seen 1992 and 1993 Cherokees around but they have 4WD transmissions. Mine is RWD unfortunately.

I will have to find the fill plug for this trans. I'm think I'm going to need to drop the transmission and inspect the bell housing first. Then work my way into the gearbox if nothing looks torn up. The way it sounded like something was loose in the transmission and now it seems to just lock up makes me suspect some bearing or gear is broken and chunks of metal is locking it up. I have a haynes manual coming, hopefully it will help me out with this transmission.

Unfortunately I was unable to get the drain bolt off. I will most likely have to grind down a cheap 1/4 inch extension. I hope its something simple though lol. I have a week off at the beginning of April. That's when I hope to fix this trans. I know something is wrong I just don't know what.

Alright so I was able to get a picture of the ID plate of the transmission . It looks like a Peugeot BA10/5. I tried to take a video to replicate the issue but it seems there are even more issues. First being whether you're in first gear or reverse the engine will die. Although if your riding the clutch in first gear it will roll for a little bit but once you fully let off the clutch it dies. In Reverse the truck just doesn't move and then dies when I let off the clutch. If the clutch is pressed the engine will run. But regardless of gear or neutral it will die once you let off the clutch. Also I noticed that now you can put it into any gear without the clutch pushed in. I was unable to do this before. It looks like there is some fluid leaking near the driveshaft.

That's good to hear. I am going to crawl under the truck tonight. And thank you for the pic I might need it later. I'm going to try and take a video of the problem maybe that will help show exactly what i mean.

When i was under the truck the tranny does have a similar shape to the ax15. Ill check for sure tomorrow.

Ok I was thinking and I have a theory. So the shifter doesnt have a bezel. Just the boot kinda flapping there. And i did notice I was one panel screw short but it was getting dark. My screw cup was on the center hump near the shifter, its possible i dropped one while putting screws in the cup. So i figured it was on the floorboard and Id get it when its daylight. Now I'm thinking...could be that damn screw made its way into my gearbox? I know if that's the case I will probably win the award for dumbest comanche owner on earth lol. I won't know for sure until tomorrow when i search the cab for that screw. I do have a flexible magnetic grabber and I have access to an endoscope that my buddy has. But it has me thinking that the noise and symptoms could also be that panel screw in the transmission, right?

Will do. I'm going to work on it tomorrow evening. Tonight I'm going to head to the JY for some of the other parts I need. I suspect the issue lies somewhere in the bell housing that's where the sound seems to be coming from. I don't think the transmission is locked up or anything. It just seems to catch a gear or something if truck is sitting in neutral. Even after the engine dies and I restart the engine it will run normally for about 30 seconds. But I will check for metal in the tranny fluid 1st, then onto checking the clutch. Also I am going to try and see if i can find the part number on the trans so I know which model it is.

Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping it is the throw out bearing. I've read that input bearing could be issue. I hope its not the IB as from what i seen that's pretty much a whole teardown of the tranny. When it dies its not an instant lockup. Its almost like the clutch is catching( or at least trying to) and killing the engine the same as letting off the clutch too fast from a stop. The sound seems to come from where the trans meets the engine. Man id rather have an engine issue, its more familiar territory lol. The only trans work I've done was replaced clutches nothing more.

Hello new comanche owner here. I got a 1989 Jeep Comanche Pioneer with the 4.0 I6 engine and a 5spd 2WD manual trans (I think it might be an AX-5?). My girlfriends dad gave it to me for next to nothing. Ran and drove fine (20mi to my house at least). Today I was going through the truck to see what needed fixed/replaced. Topped off fluids and tested some bad/not functioning components (radio, HVAC blower motor, Oil Pressure Switch, change burnt out dash bulbs, etc.) While the truck was idling I noticed a horrible sound. Like something was loose inside the engine. I'm thinking it threw a rod or something. As I went to turn the engine off the sound got louder and the engine died. Imagine putting a handful of marbles in your dryer mixed with a baseball card in a bike spoke. That is the kind of sound it was making. I restarted the engine and with the clutch fully pressed I did not notice the sound. However when I release the clutch the grinding clunking sound would reappear and kill the engine after a few seconds. The trans was in neutral but when it would die it would act as if the tranny would try to engage. That at least narrowed the issue down to the transmission..i hope. I was able to drive in 1st and Reverse (just about 15ft in the yard, didn't wanna mess anything up worse). Nothing out of the ordinary. The issue only seems to happen when the truck is in neutral. Engine starts then after a few seconds the sound appears then not much longer the truck will die. And when the engine dies its like the clutch tries to engage. Kind of similar to killing it at a stoplight by releasing the clutch too fast. So now it is parked until I can pinpoint the issue and fix it. I called my dad over and he told me it could possible be the throw out bearing. Before I buy any parts I wanted to get your opinions. I've done some tranny work on my old saturn but never had anything like this happen. What should I look into replacing first?