clutch problems

[ws4transam]

Hello everyone.  I know I do not post very often.  That's because most of the problems I had were already addressed here on this forum.  Anyway, I am having a problem with my clutch.  I have put the extra fjr clutch spring on my fj but, it still didn't fix the problem.  In second gear only and at higher rpms it jerks like its going in and out of gear and trying to make me do a wheelie but it never goes into neutral.  She is an 84, so I know about second gear failures.  My clutch only has 10,000 miles on it and it is all oem parts. I also know what a slipping clutch feels like but, this does not feel like that.  Is my tranny going out?   Any ideas would be great cause its driving me crazy.

[simi_ed]

If it pops out & back in, as if you were doing a light switch move on the clutch, then it sounds like a bent 2nd gear fork to me. DAMHIK

[Dan Filetti]

If it pops out & back in, as if you were doing a light switch move on the clutch, then it sounds like a bent 2nd gear fork to me. DAMHIK

Yup, that was my first thought as well... time to split the cases -seems to me. 

There is a slim chance you have a bad chain with some tight spots, but that is a slim chance given how you describe the problem (that, and it's an '84 which came from the factory apparently with shift forks made out of paper).

I guess there are a few early FJ's out there that do not/ have not have/ had the 2nd gear problem, but their owners would have needed to be pretty careful... When I bought my '85, it had the problem. I took it back to the dealer and the owner says to me -"those damn FJ's the ALL have this problem"... 

Dan

[ws4transam]

So what happends if I keep ridding with a bent shift fork?  Will second gear go completely out?

[simi_ed]

I would venture that if you keep riding high in the rpm range, when 2nd gear is popping out & back in, it would eventually break either 2nd or 5 gear (the mating gear).  That will be catastrophic!  It will jam the transmission, locking the rear wheel.  I (and others) have gotten by by short-shifting around 2nd gear until such time as you have the money and/or to repair or have it repaired. 

[moparman70]

It pains me to tell you this but here is what will happen.  It starts --- second gear starts to pop out only at the higher RPM's typically just as you enter the power band (6k).  Then 2nd will pop out even in the lower Rpms -- and becomes pointless to try to engage.  You run the bike skipping 2nd for awhile.  20k miles in my case.  Then 1st gear becomes difficult -- the gear changes feel weird.  You hear noises then it locks up just as you are pulling into a driveway ...flip over.  

Then you wait 2 years to find a good donor ...change the motor.  Get extremely lucky and you are back in business

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=5800.0

So start looking or split the cases....... Houston you have a problem.

You can run the FJ without 2nd ( there is plenty of power)....and you might as well start doing it now..... don't push the gear anymore.  Your drag racing days are over.