wow! i dont know. all i know is that i have a new coat of oil on most of the undercarriage. engine oil is fine and it has so much road grime stuck to it i cant tell what kind of oil it is.

 

The side of the tranny has a 1/2" hex plug you pull out. The oil level is supposed to be just below that plug hole by about 1/8-1/4". Can you tell where the oil film is coming from at all? What is the furthest forward point of oil?

 

You mean you're not supposed to take the shifter off and fill it all the way up from inside the cab????






There was a guy on another diesel website telling people to do this.
Wonder how many folks took his advice?

 

Lol.... Thats funny!
And it would be $$$ Costly!

 

is this the one that is about in the middle of the tranny, on the passenger side just above the plate that also comes off? i started to unscrew, then oil started coming out. i would imagine its near the top? or was mine overfilled? the oil looked kinda metallic like tiny metal flakes when i put a light on it. this is BAD isnt it? and i cant figure out where the heck the oil is coming from because i got leaks everywhere. oil pan, around valve cover, around injectors possible from valve cover or maybe injectors, down the front of the motor, around tranny front ,back. freakin everywhere. bit overwhelming for someone who is a novice. it will be parked untill my mechanic gets back from vacation.

 

A good wash of the entire unit would help. Get a good wash on the engine and tranny if you can and then new leaks should be more visible.

I would let what ever oil drain out of that plug. Alot of guys get confused between the old Getrags in the 89-93 trucks and NV4500 thinking they have to over fill them. The old Getrags took that, but the NV is much more refined and needs just the right amount of the right oil or its toast. Anyhow, that tranny filling tip I remember years ago for the Getrags..

If the oil has never been changed, that would be normal color for the oil.

I am worried that the oil is coming from the front of the engine, from the timing cover area near the water pump... KDP...

 

oil is coming from the timing cover area. it always has. i never worried about it, always just kept up on the oil. what could the kdp have taken out that would cause oil leaking there? and my tranny oil was changed about 5 months ago. are you suggesting that the extra oil in my tranny is coming from the engine? or did i read that wrong.
thanks

 

No, my post was confusing.

Drain out the excess oil from the tranny. it should be as I stated before, below the plug.

The engine oil from the front of the engine always gets me worried as the KDP can fall out and well, do alot of damage to the front gear case that would cause excess oil leakage. Valve covers usually are not a problem as far as making much of a mess unless you have a plugged crankcase vent.

Hope that clarifies.. Who changed the oil in the tranny?

 

I disagree. I've gone thru 6 or 7 transmissions, some of them with not many miles. I have found that an extra half qt or so gives me more miles before wearing out. Adding extra oil was a recommendation from Standard Transmission in Ft. Worth. I change the oil every 50k. I drive the truck up onto ramps under the front and rear tires on the passenger side to tip it slightly, then drain the old oil from the left side. When refilling I pump oil into the fill hole until it spills out.

 

I am going on past reading over the years. I remember the testing the TDR did on the NV with different oils and oil levels for temperature increases on a dyno run for some feel for parasitic loss.

I would agree more fluid in general would make a big difference, but I would add the side cooler caps on the PTO drive to attain that goal. Those cooler add ons were supposed to be good for at least a quart extra.

Good info for sure from field testing of 6+ trannies!!

 

I do have Fast coolers. They add a quart each, so oil changes are 6+ quarts. The extra oil is to submerge the bearings a little more. I remember that article, but I don't remember them overfilling, just using different brands of oil. I'm approaching 100k on the current trans and plan on getting it rebuilt after the holidays. I'm about due for an oil change and twice in the past I have had major failures within 10k, thus wasting the $$ of the oil. To have a major break down is bad enough, but to have it far from home in the winter is something I really don't want.

 

The oil level in trannies, differentials and gears boxes is determined not by the quantity of oil but the level inside the gearbox.
When you overfill a modern gear box the bearings and fluid actually run way hotter leading to an early death.
More is definitely not better, follow the manufacturer's specs, they know exactly what level the device was designed for.

 

I couldn't agree more, well said. Over-fill= Over-heat= Game over.

 

thank you very much for clearing this up. but let me clarify. the hex plug that the oil should come up to is on the passenger side in the middle of tranny? middle as in middle height wise and length? i cant believe someone overfilled my tranny. i am going to check again. my only thought was that maybe i checked it right after i drove and maybe oil was running down the side and when i 1st saw it coming out of the plug, i screwed it back in because i thought i might have the wrong plug. i thought the fill plug would be on the top. but clearly the tranny is not 'full' of oil but looks like half full. thanks

 

There is only one plug as there is NO drain plug. To drain you remove the lower center bolt of the cover.