Three problems related to manual transmission floor shifter have been reported for the 1997 Jeep Wrangler. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While shifting from second to third very quickly the stick becomes loose and falls off completely. The vehicle is not operable . This happened twice. Contacted dealer first time, and they put a pin which broke. Second time, dealer put another pin which also broke.
The gear shift lever pulled out of the transmission.
Consumer was driving at approximately 40-50 mph, went to change gear when stick shift came out onto consumer's hand. Shift pulled right out of transmission. Consumer then had to try to put shift back in and downshifted to regain control of vehicle. Dealer replaced shift lever.