61 CJ5 won't move

I went through alot of time and effort to make my plow-jeep have an exhaust system that wasn't going to kill me, and a gas pedal that actually made it accelerate.. but now it won't move at all.

I drove it to where I parked it, didn't have any problems aside from the afore-mentioned, but when I went to start it yesterday, I turned the key and all I got was a "thunk" So I took the battery out and charged it, put it back in... Thunk. So, after double-checking all the wiring, I got back in the cab and held in the clutch and turned the key, and it fired right up. Let it sit and idle awhile before releasing the clutch (slowly) and the engine died.

I've tried to make it go forward, or in reverse, but it won't do anything. And the stick is incredibly difficult to throw around, I can't even get to 2nd or 3rd as it is. And neither of my transfer-case sticks will move. And when I have it in neutral, the engine still dies when I let go of the clutch...

The only thing I can think of, is that the oil in the transmission has turned to sludge with the low temperatures... but it only just got below +20F, it should take more than that to make it inoperable shouldn't it? It's too far away from a power source to throw my magnetic block-heater on it and test my theory... So I'm just going to have to either wait for a warmer day, or pick up 4-5 extension cords...

Is there anything else that might cause this problem? I understand the front axles can lock up if they aren't alowed to slip, but I was only on paved road for 10-15 feet, and the vehicle drove after that. And that shouldn't impede the shifter, or the engine in neutral.

Thanks.

 

So it dies immediately when you let out the clutch, even in neutral? I seriously doubt it is transmission oil.

 

frozen clutch disc ?

 

sounds like trans is in 2 gears at the same time

 

No idea on any of those...

Yes, as soon as I let go of the clutch it dies... there isn't any middle ground either, even if I painfully slowly ease off the clutch, there's running, then dead. No point where it even tries to move.

I don't think any water got down in there. I've only had it for a couple months now, but I know it was used to plow all last winter, and I doubt very highly any maintanence has been performed on it since. Certainly a possibility I suppose. But that still leaves me in the same boat with oil turned to soup theory. Could always try draining it and replacing it with synchromesh just to be sure... but I'd rather not throw money at it until I've got a more solid idea of what's wrong.

How does a clutch-disc freeze? If it were stuck to the plate I wouldn't be able to dis-engage it, but it would still move. If it were frozen away from the plate it wouldn't engage at all. Unless there's something I'm missing there...

 

its always a good idea to change all the fluids in the axles and gearboxs when you first buy an old jeep if it is the least bit questionable. water is not good on gears and bearings. even if there was no way for it to get wet. condensation still forms

 

I think Blazer has it..

 

lol, it has one made of 2x6 and clear plastic... now. That was my contribution to the hodge-podge There wasn't enough left of the body to put a proper cab on. Has been without one for quite awhile though. At least since April. Didn't realize water could enter through the sticks, makes sense though, and the boots are pretty rough, but still in-tact.

So, my repairing this dilema will be heating it up until the ice melts, then draining it, and putting in new fluids... Is the drain plug fairly obvious on the transmission? I haven't been under it at all... not sure if my floor jack will even get high enough to lift it up much... Can it be done without lifting it? Where do I fill it from?

I've changed the oil in my 5spd on my Fiero once, but that was a VERY different transmission, lol.

 

Twilight, I am with Blazer on this one! If some kids played with your shift lever while you had the Jeep down for repairs, they may have accidently got it to go into two gears at once. Under normal shifting this will not happen, However, with kids rough handling (wach them some and you will see that they can be very aggresive), and a little slop in the shifter, this can easilly happen.
My clues to this guess as to your problem is; are, hard to move into any gear, not able to get 2nd or 3rd, and dies immidiately when you let up on the clutch.
Look up how to pull the transmission cover on this site. Once it is off you will be able to slip it back into nuetral. It is easy to fix.
Good luck, Matt W.

 

lol, there had better not be any kids within a 1-mile radius of my house that's not in a car on the highway I live alone in the sticks. And, "down for repairs" were just cutting out the exploded muffler, and shoving a piece of pipe on the end instead of it, and jurry-rigging a bolt through an L-bracket to make the bottom secure point for the gas-pedal, as the existing one was a hole in the floor.

I've rough-handled the shifter a bit myself though... it's not the smoothest thing in the world, and takes a bit of encouragement to get it where it goes... It's old, and had next to zero maintanence... and it's burned to the ground 3 times >_> It was free with my house. Was my Aunts, actually.

I'll take a look into it, sounds like a free thing to try before I throw a bunch of money into synchromesh gear oil... that stuff is kinda expensive... How much does the transmission need by the way? I've got to find a service manual for this thing...

 

I live in northern Minnesota... It gets down to -40F every winter here. iirc, regular gear oil doesn't do so well under extreme cold. I like to throw better stuff at my vehicles whenever possible... this jeep may not be the prettiest car I own, but I still want to take care of it, and, have plans to fix it... I just bought a new body (Which came with a ton of extra parts ) for $200! It's not perfect, but it's fix-able, and a heck of alot better than what I've got...



But Glen has got to be right, the only variable between when it ran and when it didnt is the sharp temperature drop. It was above freezing when I parked it, and well below freezing when I tried again. ice makes good sense, though its amazing that could stop it.