NV3550 swap questions/problems

    I bought a used NV3550/np231 with 58k from a guy doing an auto swap into his TJ. Jerry and I (whatevah) worked on getting it in yesterday. It's all bolted up and the only issues we found are that the rear driveshaft is too long, there is a crazy amount of play coming from the shifter, and it whines when the clutch is not depressed. So my questions are:



    Why would the shifter have so much play? and
    Other than the throwout bearing, why would the transmission whine when the clutch isn't depressed? Once you step on it, the whine goes away. When we were bringing it home it lost quite a bit of fluid and I never topped it off. Could that have something to do with the whining noise? Also, neither of the driveshafts are hooked up right now and they weren't when we were testing it. Not sure if that could have anything to do with the noise. :shrug:


    Jerry might want to elaborate on this since he was under the Jeep while i was working the clutch.



    Thanks in advance for any input/help. :wavey:

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    a LOT of play with the shifter. It engages gears but you have a lot of movement.


    With the trans in neutral and clutch out, the output shaft spins... Push in the clutch and it stops spinning as expected, but its supposed to be in neutral??? Spins a lot faster in first gear, whatever that means.

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.

    Or in what we assume to be neutral since the shifter has a lot of play in it and you can't really tell what it's truly in. :bang:

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    are you using a shifter for the nv 3550? whinning could be due to a bad throw out bearing. with unit in neutral and engine running out put shaft should not be turning. make sure you are using the proper fluid type.

    Quote from Diablo


    Or in what we assume to be neutral since the shifter has a lot of play in it and you can't really tell what it's truly in. :bang:


    The shaft speed didn't increase much when you reved it, so I don't think a gear was engaged.

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.

    Quote from Rookiejeeper


    are you using a shifter for the nv 3550? whinning could be due to a bad throw out bearing. with unit in neutral and engine running out put shaft should not be turning. make sure you are using the proper fluid type.


    Yes, it is the stock shifter setup. We already determined that is has a bad throwout bearing, and we have a new replacement one but were too lazy to change it. :laughing: We'll see about that. I just wanted ideas of what it could be other than throwout bearing assuming we change it and the whining continues. I was going to buy Royal Purple Syncromesh or Amsoil Syncromesh to put in the tranny, but can't seem to find it stocked anywhere.

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    The output shaft spinning while in neutral with no driveshafts installed is normal.


    The whining may be the throwout bearing, low fluid or a combo of both. Mine sounds like a diesel truck is running in the next lane at a light, but goes away when you step on the clutch. I would fill the trans before I swapped that throwout bearing.


    The shifter maybe loose or worn out. I installed a Hurst at about 70,000 miles and the throw is less than half. You're more then welcome to try my factory shifter to see if that is your problem or the rails are worn. I live just outside of downtown Newark and work in Pike Creek.

    Thank you much. I might take you up on trying out your old shifter, and I'll have to check into seeing how much the Hurst setup costs. Is that straight bolt in?


    I figured the output shaft spin had something to do with the fact that no driveshafts are hooked up. Thanks a lot for the info thus far! :wavey:

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    Quote from whatevah


    The shaft speed didn't increase much when you reved it, so I don't think a gear was engaged.


    my jeep goes as far as it moves axleshaft when i am doing rear brakes (when in neutral)

    *bLaTaNt DiSrEgarD oFfRoAd*<br /><br />&quot;Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. <br />One died for your soul; the other for your freedom.&quot;

    The Hurst was right about $200 and was pretty much bolt in. The plate on the floor needed a little modification. The difference is night and day. You can try mine if you want, but you'll likely be buying one after, it is that nice.

    Quote from FZMax


    The Hurst was right about $200 and was pretty much bolt in. The plate on the floor needed a little modification. The difference is night and day. You can try mine if you want, but you'll likely be buying one after, it is that nice.


    Thanks! :wavey:

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    mine makes the same noise with the clutch out... figured I'd change the throw-out bearing when I change the clutch... 4:1 low range isn't hard on the clutch, so I've lived with it for a year and probably will for a few more.


    My shifter feels pretty solid, not too much play, although my CJ had play until I replaced the forks and cover plate, but the 3550 is built differently than the old t-176.


    Good luck.

    Okay so the consensus on the whining noise seems to be throwout bearing which I already figured. :wavey:


    The shaft spinning deal seems to be fine since there are no driveshafts hooked up.


    Now we just have to figure out the shifter issue. :)





    Thanks guys!

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    Quote from Diablo

    Yes, it is the stock shifter setup. We already determined that is has a bad throwout bearing, and we have a new replacement one but were too lazy to change it. :laughing: We'll see about that. I just wanted ideas of what it could be other than throwout bearing assuming we change it and the whining continues. I was going to buy Royal Purple Syncromesh or Amsoil Syncromesh to put in the tranny, but can't seem to find it stocked anywhere.



    I "have" theroyal Purple Manual trans fluid if your interested. The reason I say "have" is because I'm in Arizona as of today and it's in storage at my parents house in Dover, DE. Made a mistake in buying it for I have an auto in the Rubi. If you're interested, I can call them up to let them know someone's taking it. You'd have to pick it up though...


    Otherwise I got mine from a Royal Purple distributor out of OR. Came out UPS in like 3-5 days.

    Dover is too far. Thanks though. :wavey:

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    Quote from Diablo


    Now we just have to figure out the shifter issue.


    I will be in Pike Creek tomorrow, if you can get Whatevah to come by and get the shifter I'll bring it with me.


    Quote from jeepyjeepyyeahman

    I "have" theroyal Purple Manual trans fluid if your interested. The reason I say "have" is because I'm in Arizona as of today and it's in storage at my parents house in Dover, DE.


    If Diablo doesn't want it and you can get your parents to ship it, I'll take it. I need to change my fluid soon.

    FZmax, you can have dibs on the Royal Purple. I'll shoot Jerry a pm about getting that shifter off of you. Thanks. :wavey:

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    I fixed the shifting problem tonight. Jerry and I were going back and forth about this "bushing" thing that you could see on a diagram of the shifter. Turns out it is called a pivot cup and we never installed it. I found it in a box of nuts and bolts the guy had given me with the transmission. :doh: So, I took it all apart and redid it. It wiggles back and forth a little bit in each gear, but not so much that it will hinder driving it. It now stays put in ever gear and you can actually shift and tell which gear you are in. :wavey:



    Also, on the whining issue. I remembered that the transfer case is bone dry since we drained it. Whoops! :laughing: That could have something to do with it.

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

    Edited once, last by Diablo ().

    Quote from Diablo

    Also, on the whining issue. I remembered that the transfer case is bone dry since we drained it. Whoops! :laughing: That could have something to do with it.


    :doh: That's my girl! Good thing you found the bushing, that'll save us a bit of time this weekend. :)


    Thanks to Meeper for the diagram, and to FZMax for volunteering his stock shifter.

    Jerry / Whatevah

    2020 Gladiator Mojave - 33" Falken mud tires, LoD side steps, Zroadz bed rack, Quadratec QRC winch bumper, Superwinch EPi 9.0, Kleinn on-board air, Kleinn air horns, lots of lights, Yaesu ham radio with GPS tracker.

    Gone- 2012 JK Rubicon with stuff. Long gone- Long-arm 2001 Cherokee with stuff.






    Is that pinion angle too much or too little or what? I have nothing to measure it with so I'm going by sight.

    You do own a hairdryer don&#039;t you she asked? Of course I do, he replied, it&#039;s in the driveway, it&#039;s called a Jeep.<br /><br />Current - 97 TJ, 99 WJ, 12 Scion tC<br />Past - 94 ZJ, 02 TJ, 06 Rubicon, 06 XK, 07 Scion tC

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