Where I'm at now: Tranny back in. Can't get it to go into gear. Good pressure build-up at clutch pedal, have bled system repeatedly. With the rear axle in the air, I can spin the back tires if the clutch is in, but they lock up when I let it out even though it feels like I'm in neutral (good side-to-side play at gearshift). If I start the engine and let out the clutch, there is some weak power to the rear wheels and a growling noise (I only let it do this for the short time it took to punch the clutch back to the floor).
Where I've been: Okay, I've had a slow leak in my clutch hydraulic system for about a year. I usually have to top it off every couple of months. No big deal until it accelerated to every week, every day. No leaks evident at the clutch master cylinder or the hose. So I pulled the tranny and replaced the slave cylinder (and the clutch disc while I was in there). Put the tranny back in (had a little trouble lining up the splines, but other than that it wasn't too awful). I did use some cut-off bolts to realign the case and so I wouldn't hang the tranny weight on the clutch (a no-no no matter who you talk to). I did have to have my son twist the rear propellor shaft back and forth to line up the splines at the clutch. When I pulled the tranny, I left it in neutral. when I realized I had to have it in gear to do the above twisting of the propellor to line up the splines, I put the shifter back in and put it in 2nd gear (I think). Then I pulled the shifter back out so I could put the tranny back in. So I shifted gears in the tranny while it was disconnected from the clutch/engine.
Where do I go now? I was going to pull the tranny this weekend, but I have no idea what I'm going to do once it's out. So, I'm saving my energy and doing research. Have I misaligned my synchros somehow? How do you realign them? The tranny was working fine before I pulled it, how likely is it that it died on the table? I noticed that when I pull out the shifter and look down in the hole and have my son turn the back tire (it's still up on the jack stands) and the clutch is in, there is a splined shaft or gear rotating on the passenger side of the hole that has a painted mark on it. Why is that there? I've tried to turn the tire so that the paint mark is at 12:00 and 9:00 and put in the shifter and try to put it in gear, but that hasn't helped. So I think my tranny is still in gear, but the shifter thinks it's in neutral. How do I get these two guys on the same page?
Mike? Bill? Anybody?
Thanks,
Bob '88 Wrangler money pit