ok i hope this isnt another mass thread!

the getrag i got has some freeplay in the input shaft. front to back is tight but up and down has a little. my transmission guy said its okay because its a tapered bearing, and its the front to back movement you have to watch out for. the plain ol' bushing in the truck i got it from was toast! i have a new southbend flywheel with ball bearing pilot bearing. i was trying to pay the guy to go through it but he said everything looks good.


any INPUT would be great get it!?

 

Your tranny guy is probably correct. The pilot bearing will keep the shaft aligned.

The tranny itself however is problems waiting to happen.
I was completely satisfied with the Getrag until beginning to tow a fifth wheel trailer.

NEVER, ever, tow a heavy trailer in overdrive with the Getrag, don't use overdrive if hauling heavy loads in bed.
The countershaft is about 3/4" and the countershaft bearings are lawn mower size. Impossible to throw that much torque off onto that size countershaft (and it's rather long also) and not expect problems.
Old 4 speed Muncies for automobiles had more robust countershafts.

Rebuilt the Getrag twice before junking it and installing a NV4500. The nice thing about the NV4500 is an easy swap. The NV4500 will bolt right up to your NP205 transfer case (use a gasket). The length will be right, driveshaft don't need modified. Only custom work is to weld up a fairly simple to do transmission mount adapter.

Have towed heavy many many miles since the swap; now can go on a trip without being concerned about tranny failure, staying out of overdrive or being apprehensive the whole trip.

The best day for the Getrag was the day it went into the ferrous metal rolloff.

 

The inupt shaft on a Getrag should have NO up-down or in-out slack. If you have this, put new bearings in it, or at least re-shim it if the bearings look god. Preload on used bearings is 0; new bearings is .006-.008". DONT go over .008; in fact, I have set up some to .005" and run them just fine, towing, empty, whatever. Time to find a new tranny guy for this one.

As for towing in 5th, just put in 5qts of your favorite oil (factory fill is only 3.5, so it will be "overfilled" but this is one case where it is necessary), change it at 500-800mi, then change it every 20-25K whether it looks clean or not. If set up and lubed properly, they will outlast the NV4500.

 

Okay sweet. A lot of you guys do this yourself right? I heard the getrag is a easy trans to work on

 

Yeah there not too bad. Just take your time and make sure you have it shimmed right. Also be careful when taking the sychros apart not to let the sleeve come off the hub otherwise the springs and little detent ***** will come flying out when your not expecting it.

 

Would my factory dodge manual have info on this?

 

A '93 manual will. If you ask I'm sure somebody will email you the .pdf copy of the Getrag section that's floating around...

 

thanks i got it. but it doesnt tell me how to set up the clearances for the input. only output

 

I believe the one race for the input shaft is inside the input shaft so when you set up the main shaft that pre-loads the input as well. You will see what im talkin about when you get in there.

 

okay thanks. i skipped forward to look at the input so its most likely in there.

 

I just finished rebuilding by Getrag and it was easy.

A couple notes: If it did it again I'd order the front bearing plug #5152 from National Drivetrain in Chicago 800-889-8155 and buy my bearings from a bearing supply house to get good name brand stuff. I ordered a complete rebuild kit and one of the big bearings had NO markings on it saying who made it and where. I won't put that in a transmission.

Also, the bearing cups slide in, not pressed. I used Loctite Bearing mount to glue them in so the cup won't rotate. You want to have all your shimming done first and then apply the Loctite and assemble in one afternoon. It appeared this is how the previous rebuild was done so I followed suit. A rotating bearing cup is death.

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