97Dually

Hello gents,

Love my CTD. But, after having some grinding noise in 5Th, I decided to cash in on that aftermarket warranty I bought. The dealer took the transmission apart (actually showed it to me) and found that my 5th gear nut had already been done, but that the noise was the bearings were worn with 165,000 miles on all original. So, he went ahead and removed the 5th gear nut and replaced with the same NEW 5th gear nut, rplaced bearings and he was done. The cost to me was $100 bucks for deductable. GREAT!! Like new trans.....I was excited!!

here in lies the problem, after a 200 mile trip 4 days after rebuild, the tranny sticks in 5TH! Had to be towed off the hway....Anyway, dealer gets it a couple of days later after the weekend and says, "seems to be working fine now". I told him I wasn't taking possesion of that truck until that issue is resolved. What the heck happened to my newly rebuilt trans? Any ideas?

symptoms were: absolutely no way to physically move the gear shift out of 5th. The clutch was indeed disengaging the trans from the engine when depressed.....but still wouldn't let the 5th gear go.....


HELP!!

TJ

gunracer1

my uncle had the same problem, it would hang up in 5th if it was on the cruise for a while or just in 5th for a while. he pulled it out three times and they polished the shaft a few times. he finally said the heck with it and got a new tranny. his tranny guy never figured it out. mike

RCW

This is not an easy issue. The most common problem with 5th gear hanging up is the slider gear gets a wear pattern from the OEM shaft that causes it to stick in 5th when it gets warm and has been pulled fairly hard in overdrive (5th) for an extended period.

The OEM shaft is not fully splined, and when shifted into 5th, the gear is hanging half off the spline.

When the nut was fixed, the shaft that the gear slides on, should have been replaced with the improved aftermarket version with a full spline. If the fix was done by a Dodge dealer, most dealers do not replace the shaft, but use the old shaft with the half spline that will stick.

Other causes of the problem are low transmission oil level, incorrect transmission oil, poorly adjusted shift rails, or a broken detent.

If the problem is 5th gear, the only answer I know of is to go into the transmission and replace the slider, the 5th gear shaft, and re-do the nut one more time. I would recommend finding a transmission shop that your aftermarket extended warranty will work with, and have them do the work. The folks at Transmission Exchange (www.txchange.com) or Anderson Brothers (www.abros.com), just across the river from you in Portland, can point you to a shop that can do the work correctly. But, I suspect you will have to work with your warranty people to find one they approve.

Scubasteve

I dont think the answer can get any better than that.


Hope you get it fixed.


Jason

97Dually

RCW,

Thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for!

My guess is the warranty compant probably won't pay another $1,200 again.....So, I'm going down to the dealer and will discuss this with him. Keep your fingers crossed..... ???

By the way.....I've said this before but IS worth repeating.......THIS SITE ROCKS!!


TJ

97Dually

Here's a quick update.....

I went ahead and bought the fully splined main shaft for 155.60 at a local place in Portland. I was estatic about the price. BUT, the problem is likely to be another part too. I guess that there is a slider gear that can be sticking too. The good thing is that the tranny stuck in 5Th again this time the service manager was driving!! Thank God, now I feel like someone will take me more serious. I guess the slider was an update in 1994 as a TSB.. Of course my truck is a '97. The upgraded kit is $850. We are not confident that Dodge will pick-up that tab. So, hopefully the aftermarket warranty will. Dealer feels confident they will. I HOPE!!

I was jazzed about the updated shaft cost being so low. The name of the company is Transmission Exchange (www.txchange.com) The name of the guy was Phil. Really knowledgable too. Cost was $155.60 for that shaft.

The dealership here in Vancouver, Wa. is doing a great job to remedy the situation too.


TJ