Yesterday I parked my truck on an incline and proceeded to fill the big ol' 6spd up to, and slightly above, the factory recommended level of 4.75qts Amsoil MTF. Since Im not a wasteful person, I couldnt stand throwing out that last 25% of the 5th bottle of Amsoil MTF ($2 worth of fluid) , I figured a little extra fluid wouldnt hurt. My transmission now has 5qts of fluid as opposed to the 4 that most shops will put in, and shifts much better(I drove the truck for several days before puttiing in the 5th quart, so I know that the extra fluid has improved the shifting). However, Im a little worried as I just read that too much fluid can damage my trans--So how much is too much? I have a hard time believing that such a small amt of extra fluid would cause any damage, especially when my transmission is shifting so much nicer
Thanks for your time,
Drew Stuart

 

I wouldnt worry about it unless you start leaking fluid.

 

with a manual trans that big you don't stand a chance screwing anything up with just a 1/4 of a quart....I've over-filled my jeep trans and axles for years...(just in case it leaks some when it ends up on it's roof... )

 

I've run a full 6 quarts in mine for a long time. Of course you have to fill it thru the top to get it all in.

Tranny shifts like a dream.

Jeff

 

THanks a lot for the reassurance guys! Hearing this sure was a relief because the extra fluid really helped out!Since you can only fit 4qts through the fill plug when the truck is level (like at any shop or dealership service dept-they're sure as heck not going to take the shifter out and fill it from the top ), I wonder how much of our NV5600's hardshifting reputation is a result of being underfilled by the shop and/or the factory?

 

When I put the RP in mine I squeezed in the recommended 9.5 pints or just over 4.5 quarts. I have'nt noticed any leakage, and just saved the reamaining amount.....didn't feel like opening the top.
I think you'll be fine with 5qts.

 

Good idea, I think I'll do that one of these days...

 

You can also fill the trans thru the top PTO cover bolt. You will get a little more than 5 quarts in. A little more if you park the truck with the drivers side up on a curb to tilt the truck a bit.

As stupid as it may sound, I don't mind filling thru the top when I change out the oil. It gives me a chance to wash all the spilled coffee and crap out of and off of the console. That thing gets a little nasty at times.

Besides, it's only about a 30 minute job to pull the top of the trans off.

All the shops I talked to both in person and online all said that they feel the reason there are shifting problems with the 5600's is because of low lube levels. Mine doesn't shift like the trans in a Viper, but it's way better than it used to be since I started overfilling it.

I'm running Amsoil MTF right now and it is better IMHO than the Redline MTL I used to run. Time will tell as to how long it stays this way before changing it out. I was only getting about 20,000 miles out of the MTL before it started to degrade.

Oil is cheap, new NV5600's are non-exsistent!

Jeff

 

182,000 and my synchro's finally got to the point where I had to do a rebuild found a good mechanic that appears to read what you guys have to say. He put somewhere between 6 and 7 quarts in from the top. I had problems with Synchro's since the day i got it always hard to get from 2nd to 3rd with 7 quarts it shifts perfect too bad it took 7 years to find out what my problem was. Took it back to the dealer when it was new and all I got was that is normal with this transmission. Good info here thanks!

 

The transmission I received came with 8 quarts of Amsoil. They had actually drilled and tapped a new fill hole which was about level with the top PTO bolt. I filled it from the top of the trans and it never ran out the fill plug until a couple of drops short of the eighth bottle. Shifts great with absolutely no leaks. Since they warranty the trans for a year with unlimited mileage, I figured they knew more about what was appropriate than I did.

Just my $.02.

Robbie.

 

Anyone remember the size of allen socket off the top of their head for the fill plug ?????

 

17mm......Autozone has the sockets.

 

I've run 6+ quarts for the lst two years w/ no problems. extra fluid helps lube the rearmost bearing. You've done absolutely no harm and actually helped your trans have better lubrication. Don't worry about overfilling the 5600.

 

Also, the head of an 11/16" bolt IIRC is a 17mm hex. Put two nuts jammed together on it, and you've got your 17mm allen for cheap
How often do you really use a 17mm allen to spend $20 or more on one?

 

Moose10 is right, I spent a few bucks on that 17mm hex and used it twice and probably won't use it again since I fill thru the top cover. Wish I knew/thought of that 11/16 bolt idea! Kurt