clunk when shifting

[Rig-Pig]

hey guys, everytime i shift, 1st-5th, when i let up on my clutch, i hear and feel a "clunk"  almost as if the gears were travelling an inch, then catching...  not to mention third grinds when on highway, and when i downshift, it clunks hard from 4th to 3rd.  just wondering if anyone else encountered this, i have a 99 tj, 180000 k...  clutch (hopefully)  or is my tranny pooched?  I've also heard tell that some vehicles have a "softener bearing"  to stop gears from catching too fast; do jeeps?   thanks

p.s  i just had my gears done at national, backlash is proper, so i know its not my diffs...

[cotaman]

ujoints???

[ramtuff]

u-joints, loose control arms.

[Bnine]

u-joints, loose control arms.

Loose shock mount, shock re locator, bad bushing

Lots of possibilities to check before you get into transmission or clutch.

[Bnine]

p.s  i just had my gears done at national, backlash is proper, so i know its not my diffs...

Ouch man. Thats after you paid a backyard guy in Ardrie to do your gears right?

At least things will be good now. National does a good job on gears.

Have you seen the YJ you sold Mike? We nicknamed her the Rust J.    

We got it working pretty good now. Through a RE lift under it, SYE, CV shaft, Rubicon D44's with air lockers and 5.13's, new disks and hardlines all the way around,new body mounts, rear bumper, and winch on the front. She's working good now.

Still a rusty SOB but Mikes happy he doesnt have to worry about trail rash.    

[Rig-Pig]

she looks SWEET!!  too bad my wife made me sell it, but i doubt i could have done anything like that to it..  glad he enjoys it, hope to see you on the trails!!  

yeah when the backyard guy was all said and done, turns out that the pinion nut wasnt torqued tight enough, came loose, and angled the pinion... after i smelt the burning, i noticed that the gears were ground down almost to knife sharpness..  lesson learned