TurboRacer

i have a 2001 dodge ram 2500 24valve turbo w/ 6 speed nv5600 trans.

how do i change trans fluid?

wheres the fill and drain plug?

do i drain from pto hook up?

dozer12216

Yep, remove pto cover or believe bottom bolt. fill on side. Use correct fluid.

PourinDiesel

You can remove one of the lower bolts on the PTO cover.

Just make sure that when you put the new bolt in it is covered in a RTV sealant so that it seals up and does not leak.

Autozone sells the fluid you need: Pennzoil Syncromesh

The fill hole is a female 17mm hex/allen (autozone also sells a socket for this).

You might also want to use some rtv on the threads of the fill plug.

Thundercraft

Remove the whole cover as you want to get in there & wipe all of the crud that is on the bottom.... the magnet holds a lot of filings.....

I filled it up through the top bolt hole of the pto cover so that I could get an extra quart in.

stang

we run, 6 qt in mine fill thru the shifter hole. Red Line Oil MTL

totalloser

I would pull the pto plate, too. I think there is a little cup on the side that catches metal shavings. It has been a while since I did this so please correct me if I am wrong. I can't remember which side has the cup, but I think it was the right side. Or maybe I am completely confused.

You MUST use a synthetic oil ABSOLUTELY NO standard gear oil. I know you weren't but in case anyone else sees this. NO MOTOR oil. The internet wisdom on these issues is completely false. Motor oil will corrode the "yellow metals" and standard gear oil will gum up the synchros so bad it wont shift over time. I bought a truck with this problem and the correct oil in it it took over a year to shift correctly as the gunk from the gear oil loosened up.

The extra quart is a very good idea for a couple reasons. The first is that this transmission gets toasty due to the power run through it, and the iron case holds heat (aluminum is much more conductive). The second reason is that there is some bearing that gets starved for oil. Can't remember which one. You can get the extra quart in from the shift tower, or by pulling the top pto bolt as mentioned above.

Personally I would run a full synthetic due to heat resistance.

SIXSLUG

The rear most bearing isn't fully bathed in fluid and is the one that gets starved. Run an extra qt of whatever you choose, but the Redline MTL mentioned really improves shifting. Pulling the PTO cover to clean out the gunk is a good idea.

I used gas line approved (the yellow stuff) teflon tape for the plug. It hasn't leaked yet.

Be sure and get an extra qt in there. It doesn't hurt.

Kurt

brianpgriset

I'll echo this post; I switched from whatever the PO ran (probably the original fill) to Redline MTL and noticed an immediate improvement in the shifts. Also, to overfill mine I bought one of the little squirt bottles like this:



pulled out the top PTO cover bolt, and squeezed in the extra quart. I just used a dab of RTV for th bolts. No leaks after another 5,ooo miles and shifts great.

TurboRacer

I love this site... thanks for the input Everybody. I've only owned my truck for 6 months now, so I'm learning as I go along!

I'm going to use Amsoil Syncromesh 5w-30. I know in Automatic trans., more fluid is bad. Why is more, okay with manual trans? The fluid specs for the NV5600 is 4.75 qts. So your saying you can add 6 qts. and it's okay? If I can get something to fit in the top pto cover bolt hole, I will. If not, I will fill at the 17mm fem. plug. I'll use Red RTV silicone for the pto cover gasket, and a couple dabs on the fill plug if I have to take it out.

I just changed my [B]rear-diff. fluid with Amsoil 75w-140. (Around 5qts) The specs for the Dana-80H say to to add 10 oz of a Friction Modifier for the posi-traction to hook up. I put in 7 oz cause that's how big the bottle was. Should I take the fill plug back off and add the 3 more oz. I definately notice more grip now with both tires. I don't think the previous owner ever added friction modifier to the rear-diff.


Has anyone tried the Opti-Lube Oil fortifier or the XPD fuel additive? I put the oil fortifier in my engine and I'm going to add it to my manual transmission too. I heard it's pretty good. You Cannot put it in automatic's or limited-slip differentials.

totalloser

Thanks Kurt. I was hoping someone would fill in the gaps, but couldn't keep my mouth shut in case no one mentioned those issues.

I believe the issue with an auto being overfilled is the torque converter gets overfilled causing less slip. This makes for hard shifts. REALLY hard in some cases. Manual transmissions are just a bunch of spinning gears. No pump, no torque converter. The only issue would be more fluid friction, which would be difficult to even measure. Insignificant, really. This is basically just a quirk with this transmission, but I have heard the five speed likes the extra quart, too.

I would ABSOLUTELY NOT put any random oils in these transmissions. DON'T DO IT. When I was looking at rebuilding mine, and found NO PARTS availability and was researching my options, I found many a tale of problems using random oils. That's how I found out I didn't need an overhaul. It barely shifted at all. Had to come to a stop to go down a gear. It was THAT bad. that was from the previous owner putting 80w90 non synthetic in it. It took a LONG time to smooth out. Nearly a year to get normal. For a long time it would get sticky to shift when the transmission got warm.

PS another reason to worry about an addative that says no use in LSD's or autos, is that some nv4500's used fiber cone synchros. I heard that there were nv5600's that got them too, but I think that was wrong, but beware.

dodge250

so 6 qts of redline mtl can be filled through the top of the tranny (shifter) for my 6 speed? where do you guys buy this product? redline offers 4 different oil wieghts, MTL is a 70W80, MT-90 is a 75W90, then they have the 75W90NS and 75W140NS i found this information at http://www.redlineoil.com/products_g...7&categoryID=7 the 75W140NS discription states :A heavier product what works well over a wide range of loads and temperatures, This GL-5-type geal oil doesn't contain the friction modifiers for limited-slip hypoid differentials. This makes the transmission synchronizers come to equal speeds more quickly, allowing faster shifting and much easier low-temperature shifting. has anyone tried these other products or should i just stick with the standard MTL?

brianpgriset

NV5600's have brass synchro's. Because of this, you need to use an API GL-5 (I believe) rated lube so the yellow metals will not degrade. I would not add any additives to the NV5600. I did alot of reading here when I changed out the lube in my tranny and almost everyone went with either OEM fluid or MTL (mostly MTL). It seems the MTL works very will with these trannys.

Use the regular MTL for your NV5600. I purchased mine at the local Jegs retail store back when I lived in Ohio. I think Redline's site has a bunch of places where you can buy it, or you can order off Jegs' or others' websites.

As for friction modifier in the LSD's, you only need as much as to keep the tires from chirping around corners. Go to a big parking lot and do some tight figure 8's. If you hear a tire chirp, ad a little squirt of fric mod and try again, until it no longer chirps.

I used Mobil 1 when I did mine and couldn't get the tires to chirp for the life of me without any friction mod, but I put in 4 ounces for piece of mind. Then, to make sure I still had both tires hooking up, I did a good burnout. There were two tracks of rubber.

PourinDiesel

Friction modifier actually reduces friction it actually reduces lock up capabilities.

nkennedy

The shifter is easier to pull & get the 6 quarts in than you think. It took me about 1/2 hour the first time to pull it apart without breaking anything.

brianpgriset

I know. My concern was that I would chip a tooth of the ring gear, which has happened to a few people on here who didn't run FM.