ok I was driving I had criuse control on 65 and all of a sudden it starts to rev up like it wasn't in gear well I took it out of criuse control and I took it out of gear and I put it back into gear then I tried again but it didn't work well I had to drive about 1 hour on a 60 mph highway going 50 and below in 4th gear.......WHAT THE HECK HAPPEND???? can anyone tell me please????

 

Common problem, the nut that holds the gear on the tailshaft backed off. There are various fixes including welding the nut back on, replacing it with a locknut or replacing the tailshaft with an updated piece. not too bad a job unless it's 4WD in which case the transfer case has to be removed.

 

I just fixed my 96. The nut was off and the threads were stripped. I got a new nut from Dodge for $ 68. It was split with a clamp screw. The whole job took about 5 hours and mine is 4wd. Not fun, but not hard.

Cole

 

i drove mine in 4th for 1200 miles at 65 mph.......got good mpg too....i feel your pain

 

Ditto with Contractor, I also welded the nut on so I would not have to do it again. I learned a lot about my truck with this fix. Good Luck and let us know how everything works out.

 

Well thanks guys for letting me know. I mechcanic told me the same things ya'll all said haha. I truck is going to be done on monday afternoon thanks again guys!

AP

 

If you can get this

apparantly the newer five speed transmissions are a little less prone to fifth gear nut failure, it aint happened to me (knock on wood) but im sure it will one day. The best way to avoid it happenin again after you fix it, is just dont lug the engine..... or let it run below 1500 rpms in fifth gear.

Tx