Bye bye fifth gear, grr!

[QRTRHRS]

Lost fifth gear in my 97' Dodge again when I left work tonight to come home. (One of those Dodge traits!)

I have a rebuilt five speed with the so called fully splined shaft in for a good 100k so. When I got home, I put it in fifth while sitting in my driveway and when I left the clutch out, started feeling it bog down. I pushed in the clutch again and left it drift forward then left it out and it spun.

One more twelver then I have two days off. I guess I need to hit the Dodge forums then pull the back off the transmission to see what's up.

Just put a front seal in last weekend and my starter is going now this. Need tires and the throwout bearing has been kind of vocal for quite some time now.

Hmmm, just might be time to put this one on line as a parts truck. Still pulls hard though.

 

[Willl]

Have you taken care of that killer dowel pin ?

 

[tommu56]

With the gov't cash for clunkers thing you might get to move to the front of the line.

tom

 

[Renze]

Just put a front seal in last weekend and my starter is going now this. Need tires and the throwout bearing has been kind of vocal for quite some time now.

You can do two things: Fix everything and invest more into the vehicle than its street value, then continue driving it untill you break even, or just trade it off and get another used vehicle for the price of what you'd otherwise pay for just the parts needed on your current vehicle. But spending now and trading next month, would be a waste of money.

With the gov't cash for clunkers thing you might get to move to the front of the line.

Hmm, do you guys get a wrecking premium too ?? They do it in Germany, now Holland too.
We can only get a fee when trading it up for something built before 2005... Because i want Diesel, i could only get a Ford Mondeo for decent money, but the doors on a 2005 mondeo rusts harder than on my 3 times older, 1996 Volvo 850 (still a shiny paint coat like new)
I did trade her up this week, because of numerous minor defects, a turbo seal, engine computer, some dents, a whining wheel bearing, etcetera... which are too costly to fix with Western labour cost...

I got a decent price back for my old 850 with 370.000 km, so i suppose the car dealer will make some Polish, Russian or Bulgarian taxi driver happy with it

 

[QRTRHRS]

Have you taken care of that killer dowel pin ?

Yes, I did the "tab" method over a hundred thou' ago.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Renze,

There is some kind of cash for clunkers thing in the works but I figure I could part out for more unless the incentive was added to any trade in. Even with 225k, the engine still pulls strong and uses very little oil except for some leaks.

I do not feel that the truck owes my anything. If money was no object, I would set it aside for some kind of hobby repower.

 

[RollTideRam]

I can't help with the tranny, but I would invest in this before buying a new starter. JC
STARTER SOLENOID REBUILD KIT (89-03) DODGE-Dodge Cummins Diesel Truck Accessories – Geno’s Garage

 

[DIRTROAD]

Most of them have to be tack welded. My cousin works for NVG in detroit. He said that the lock nut used to remedy the problem is only a quick fix. I tack welded mine and havn't had any problems.

If it is a 4x4 and you are planning on trading or selling please let me know.
I will buy it as is!!!

 

[davo727]

Some of the guys that got tired of blowing up NV4500s have swapped in Eaton fuller road ranger transmissions from medium duty trucks. A lot of those trucks used the cummins engine so you need to get the bellhousing adapter, clutch parts and be real handy with your wrenches

 

[some zilch]

i'd like to see some of these trucks with the road rangers in them. i dont see how they are fitting them under the cab, adapting transfer cases, or controlling the air shifts

 

[WH401]

Lost fifth gear in my 97' Dodge again when I left work tonight to come home. (One of those Dodge traits!)

The NV4500 was made by New Venture, so it's far from a Dodge trait. That transmission was used in GM's as well and they'll experience the same problem.

 

[Willl]

so it's far from a Dodge trait.

I ain't buying that idea.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Thanks for all of the replies. I will address several.

I would state that the general consensus is that modiying the nut that holds fifth on a stock NV4500 will work for awhile depending on the useage but not for long term. As with everything, there are exceptions.

I put in a rebuild with a fully splined shaft roughly 100k ago. It has been flawless up until now. With a little searching, I learned that more than likely, mine has worn to the point that my fifth gear no longer engages and that more than likely I have metal filings/fragments in the oil.

I don't even think that I will open it up. I am pretty sure that it needs to come out and be gone over.

The NV4500 is a good design up to a point. The inherent vibration and torque of the Cummins test push it over it's limit. The reality is that this engine is a medium duty truck engine and is often modified (as mine is) to push out more than stock HP and pull more than anyone imagined way back when.

Air to shift a RR is not the big issue. Weight and the height of the trans are. If I had a shop and better welding skills, a bigger budget and more time, I might go for it.

Along with the trans, my South Bend clutch has the same 100k on it and while the clutch is still strong, my throw out bearing needs some attention. Might as well rebuild the clutch while in there.

Couple all of these things together and factor in my ride to work. This truck has been my daily driver, hauler and hot rod for a long time. Albeit, not cheaply at times. I think it is time to buy a beater for going to work and upgrade the truck to an FL70 Freightshaker or something similar to support my farm endeavors.

By the way, on my starter issue, I had replaced the brushes around 110k ago after it stuck and burned up my shutoff selenoid. I am going to check out the cables because that is a common issue but more than likely, it needs a complete rebuild.

All things considered, I think I am going to post the truck on Ebay as a parts rig.