apwatson50

I just started to notice a faint whine in 5th gear, cold or warm doesn't matter. Is this a sign of doom? I have 5 qts of synchromesh tranny fluid in it.

thanks, Aaron

spunbearing

Some guys have had a whining getrag that lasted for years. Mine has been whining and growling for over a year. It's getting bad now though. Maybe yours is a problem maybe it's not. Some of them just seem to make noise.

wannadiesel

Mine's always been quiet in 5th. Keep listening and see if it gets worse.

apwatson50

What would cause it to whine? the counter-shaft bearings going bad? Or just the counter shaft bearing pre-load being out of spec? It just started after i've been towing a lot the past month or so, some of it in 5th gear.

andyr354

Mine whines alittle under load in 5th when pulling. Didn't start until I put in Redline MTL so I took it out but still does it now.

Not necessarilly blaming the fluid. I was towing 5500lbs through colorado and UT on I70 when it started doing it.

apwatson50

Well just wanted to give an update as to how the trans is doing.

I actually rebuilt a spare trans I had obtained a few years ago so I had it waiting to get swapped out. Which I finished this last weekend.

The whining in the trans got progressively worse the more I drove it and was whining in 3rd 4th and 5th, I finally figured out it even whined while coasting from highway speed. So with that info I figured the output bearing was toast. Well this last weekend I removed the trans and found that the output shaft did not turn easily. I think pulling my TT in 5th at 80 in the mountains must have overheated that bearing. I was running 5 qts of either syncromesh or mobil synthetic.

A side note a couple weeks ago I took a 1200 mile round trip with the truck pulling my trailer with the trans whining and it didn't fail!! I did run the whole trip in 4th gear though, so I think thats how I made it.

So I installed my fresh trans along with a pair of the "fast coolers", that another member "ACE" also installed. I really don't think they are worth what they sell for, but there really aren't any other options so I bought them. So I guess that means they were worth the cost.

I also added a mechanical temp gauge into the original fill plug and after an hour of driving on the highway the gauge just barely moved off of 100deg. Now I wish I had the temp gauge on before the addition of the coolers but I never put it on so I have no before or after temps. Ace however did do this and has some data to show they do work.

So now i've got my fresh trans with 7 qts of cheap oil for break-in. So at my next oil change i'll put some good synthetic in, not sure if i'll go syncromesh or engine oil though?

andyr354

Good to hear.

Mine goes in on Monday for different noises.
I also picked up a set of the fastcoolers. The shop I am taking mine to told me they had built some of their own. They buy rectangular tubing and sandwich it in there.

I think the added capacity alone helps quite a bit. We have gone from 3.5qts of oil stock to now running 7qts, a 100% increase.

Andy

Ace

AP, you won't see the temp gauge move at all after it gets cold unless you are towing. That's what really generates the heat. I'd go with a synthetic synchromesh. RP synchromax is great, but a little on the thin side, great for winter, tho. I heard Pennzoil synchromesh doesn't seem to last long. Mine has Synchromax in it and liked a little more FM with addition of a pint of Lucas stop slip. 3rd gear don't complain hardly at all anymore with the RP/Lucas fluid mix.

apwatson50

I had the pensoil sychromesh in the trans when it started to whine, so i'm not too inclined to go that route again. I liked it for how it shifted. Even with new synchros this trans doesn't really like to go into gear all the time. So i'd like synchromesh that has a higher viscosity.

So far this week the needle barely moved on my one hour of continuous driving. I'll be interested to see what it does this weekend on a 3 hour highway drive, and while towing next summer.

I agree that the added fluid capacity probably helps more than anything. There's more oil in the trans now than in most car engines!!

ez_lle71

I put a temp gauge on my getrag too, i think it was last january.I thought the needle was never going to move! haha It replaced the fill plug. In june I drove 6 hours and only stopped 3 times, My getrag was running around 180*to 200* running empty. It got alittle over 210* when it was 105* here this summer, and i would push it pretty hard on I-70. For my tranny to get to 160* it takes about an hour to and hour and a half of solid driving. I have just 5w-30 synthetic in it right now and no coolers, Im planning on switching to amsoil syncromesh soon. Just thought you guys would like to hear some numbers to compare. take care
ez

BearKiller

I had my Getrag completely rebuilt by an expert, before I swapped in the Cummins/Getrag in my F-350.

I have since always used five quarts of Mobil One full synthetic.

Many many miles of real heavy gooseneck towing, using fifth gear any time speed will allow, and almost constantly on any decent road.

No coolers, just the five quart over-fill.

So far, I have not experienced any noises, whines, grinds, growls, or whatever; everything has been smooth as silk.

Down-shifting, I always double-clutch.

Up-shifting, I shift it like a 5-speed Maxidyne = no clutch into neutral, then clutch and slide into next higher gear.

I believe the demise of many Getrags has been pre-ordained by previous owners neglect and not knowing to add the extra oil, only filling with the factory standard 3-1/2 qts.

Once someone that knows better gets ahold of one of these trucks, it already has a couple hundred thousand miles of abuse on the transmission.

Even though we over-fill with a good oil, the damage has already been done.

Once a good complete rebuild has been done, and proper over-fill of the oil thereafter, with good sensible driving habits, I believe the Getrag is good for the long haul.

At least that is my theory.

farmer0_1

thanks for the idea about a home built add on oil capacity cooler i have some old pto covers i could use . hmmmmmmm wheels are spinning be up have the nite . thinking

BearKiller

Yeah, that sort of got the gears in my head to grinding, also.

I was sort of thinking along the lines of possibly stacking two or three layers of aluminum that had been cut to shape, then possibly welding them into a thicker stack, or maybe just stacking them with gaskets/RTV in between.

Plenty of ports for cooler-pump lines, gauges, oil-filler tubes, dip-sticks, and the like.

Which reminds me, I already have drawn the pattern of my rear differential cover, with intentions of doing likewise with the rear-end.

I am just waiting for the right chunk of aluminum to come along, cheap or free.

Let me know what you come up with.

farmer0_1

mine will be lite mild steel. i know aluminum is better but i don't tig weld and i hate to impose on my buddies that do unless it is life or death. it will happen when i do my ccab conversion ( the list is getting longer)

apwatson50

I just wanted to see if anyone else hears the trans gears rattling when you start and shut down the engine?

I don't hear any noises from the trans except during start and stopping of the engine and only when its warm.

I did setup the preload on the loose side of around .006", maybe a little less. But I basically ended up using the same shims that were in there before.

I also think that some home-made pto extension covers would work great! Even if they are mild steel, the extra oil capacity would be well worth it.

Thanks, Aaron