So, here's the story, friends:

I bought a truck several months ago, a 1991.5 dodge D250 with 191k miles on it. The PO had swapped out the factory slushbox for a manual.. GETRAG of course.

So, I didn't notice anything bad the first few weeks, but then I started to notice a grinding - not a vibration, but an honest-to-God grinding. Not being timid about learning something new, I ordered a bearing kit and I was on my way. Dropped the transmission, took all appropriate shafts to machine shop and replaced all bearings.

Put it back together and voila, the grinding was gone. That was 500 miles ago (not two weeks) and now its back. Yes, I DID shim to the factory preload specs. The only thing I can think of is that the bearing race for the input shaft/output shaft joint is actually a part of the input shaft (as far as I could tell, and the guy at the machine shop (best one in Indy) thought that too)), so I was not able to replace that bearing race. (You who have had this apart know what I'm talking about..)

So, do these transmissions just grind and carry on all the time? Is that just part of owning a Dodge? No Toyota, Honda, or Ford ever made such noise as this thing. Could it possibly be something simple like a throw-out bearing? The noise goes away as soon as I push the clutch, and its more prevalent at lower RPM's.

I was drawn because of the Cummins, but I don't know if dealing with the rest of the junk truck is worth it.. I might go back to a Ford gas-powered rig.

 

does it growl or does it grind?

 

mine growls all the time its just normal i think. the nv4500 in the second gen trucks are alot quieter.

 

I am pretty sure grind.. as in, it sounds harsh and pulsates at a frequency directly related to the rotational speed of the transmission.

 

if you fill the tranny a quart over full it will help a little and will make the tranny last alot longer

 

thanks, done that though with 5w30 full synthetic. Overfilling wouldn't help anything now anyway, if a bearing is already shot.. in just 500 short miles

 

I have my dad's old 92 Cummins that he passed on to me, and he/I have never had any problems with the Getrag. My truck has 440,000 miles on it, and I just had the transmission rebuilt less than 5,000 miles ago with new sychronizers only because the 3rd gear synchronizer was finally starting to go out. All the other synchronizers were still in good shape even after 430,000+ miles. My dad used to pull reasonable-weight equipment with my truck such as a bobcat, etc., and never had any problems at all. It sounds like the previous owner may have been extremely rough with it, or maybe you just got unlucky and came across a poor transmission.

Dawson

 

mine is doin great and had has some little upgrades, kinda custom stuff from a local trans/nascar trans builder along with a custom clutch from southbend. it held whats in the sig and does fine daily driving. getrags rock in my opinion better then my nv4500.

 

mine is quite as long as i dont lug it then it GROWLS at me.

does it do it at idle or at at a certain speed? does it do it in every gear? is it a 4x4?
cheack all bolts i.e bell houseing and anything related to trans and rear end maybe u-joint

 

Not at idle.. only does it while in gear, and low rpms (lugging it i suppose).

Scenario: going 40mph in 4th gear, then just coast down so the engine is quiet, and from 35mph on down it makes a <kchhh kchhhh kchhh> noise. That's as best I can describe it. Then, as soon as I press the clutch the noise completely goes away - that's why I feel like its transmission, and not a ujoint/rearend, etc.

help?

 

PS - looking at used Tundras.. I had an old 87 4runner for 4 years and didn't have half the problems this Dodge has had in 2 months.

 

every 1st gen 5 speed ive been in does the exact same thing i dont think you should worry

 

sounds like a throw out bearing. there are some troublesome spots in the the case, a little interference with shafts and bearings. overfill and keeping the getrag cool is a must.i would ask around and check the sticky for the rebuild, have someone who really knows about the g-rag help you.

 

i guess thats what you get when you got a big motor such as the cummins, it will wear out other things, but to own a big powerful truck like this, you deal with the little odds and sods, but to me it sounds like a throw out bearing, not that big of a job. and a 4 runner dosent put the torque like a cummins has, thats why there drive train lasts longer.. but if you build it right these trucks are a tough truck. and did you replace the throw out bearing when you had the opportunity to change it while it was out? or just leave it to do later?

 

I didn't replace it.. but why would it make noise while the truck is in gear and coasting down, then quit as soon as its out of gear? Also, why would the grinding have gone away for about 500 miles after my bearing job if its a throw-out bearing.

I'm not saying its not that.. just trying to understand if it really is before I go and take this thing apart yet... its a huge pain in the neck to get it in and out of there.