Driving home today went to shift to 5th and no one was home.I am going to tear it apart in the morning.How much work is this going to be,I am doing it while in the truck.It is a 98.5 24v 3500 2wd.I pull a 6,200lb 4 car trailer daily when loaded it weighs 21,500lb give or take 1,000lbs or so.I replace the clutch about every 6-8 weeks the friction surface is good it blows the center out I have been using a sachs clutch.I thinh i will upgrade to a centerforce or zoom any one have any input. Thanks

98.5 24v 3500 2wd k&n cold air,edge comp,kelderman air ride,autometer pyro,trans,boost,fuel, fass fuel pump, 100hp injectors, 4" turbo back w/packer exaust brake

 

5th gear fix should be a breeze for you since it is a 2wd. No transfer case to worry about. Dodge sells an upgraded 5th gear nut that has a set screw you tighten once you get it in that helps it hold.

 

get a fully splined main shaft to fix your fifth gear problem. and look into buying a quality pulling clutch like a southbend. a little pricey but just about nuke proof.

 

Would I be better off swaping out the NV4500 for a NV5600? I removed the housing extender this morning gear seams to be in good shape only slight wear on the splines nut will thread onto shaft. But with my heavy hauling it hurts the wallet every time that it is down.

 

Someone posted this a in a different thread and I thought it was very interesting. http://quad4x4.com/NV4500%205th%20Ge...0Solutions.htm
What ever you do for a clutch, your going to have to go to an upgraded one with a larger center section. Thats what I did, Southbend ConOFE with the larger flywheel.


Can you find a 5600 at a reasonable price? From what I've heard and understand there are no more new ones aviable, hardparts are hard to get, but bearings, seals and syncronizers are aviable in limited supply.

 

If you are just wanting to patch it up atleast put the new updated nut and gear in it use lots of lock tight red and lok up the torq for the nut i beleve it 300lbs but look it up also if you are using the truck as hard as you say may want to invest in a new gear box with an up graded shaft try looking at quad 4x4 and put one of the southbend clutchs in it use the 13 in model.

 

i tow and have had similar problems in my trucks . get the southbend clutch with the flywheel it will help a lot then get the bigger shaft with the updated gear. then do not tow with it in 5th slower then 65 that will also make a difference . mine had the habbit of ripping the center out of the clutch after i broke the gears on the input shaft. i believe their also is an upgrade for that and i would go ahead and do it while its down. also put a set of trans coolers on it to keep the heat down and change the fluid every 40k or 6 months which ever comes first. the nv5600 has its own problems plus they arent cheap or easy to find

 

repaired shaft and gear today.Went to order clutch from southbend web site.They have sevaral diffrent ones.Whitch would you use Do I need a double disc.They have one with the fly wheel that uses the 1 1/4 input shaft.
Thanks

 

how much power do you have in your truck. a 13" con FE will handle up to 550hp and 1100 ft. trq. but with your heavy towing you might want to jump up to a duel disc

 

All the single disc clutches can be had with a 1-1/4" input. A dual disc will require the input shaft upgrade.

 

Call south bend ask to talk to Peter tell him what you have and what you want it to do he will help you out.

 

Southbend wont warranty the 1 1/4" input disc if the center is torn out. If I was going to invest in one of their clutches I'd definitely upgrade to the
1 3/8" input shaft and a 13" clutch. While your changing the input you can put in one of the updated main shafts and kill the fifth gear for good.

 

If I was to up grade the trans to a 1 3/8 shaft to use the better clutch.To my undersanding a 4x4 5 speed has the larger shaft and if I go with a 99 or newwer trans the 5th gear issue would be fixed as well.My truck was dynoed and peaked at 486hp/1067ft

 

Unless they were changed I think all 5 speeds have the 1 1/4" input. If it was changed it was around 2000-01. I just pulled my 98 4x4 5 speed and its an 1 1/4" input. I did a six speed NV 5600 conversion out of a 2001 with a Southbend Con-OFE with a new flywheel with the oversized pilot bearing. I have the stock six speed flywheel and clutch left over, might possibly sell it.

 

Paul good news ! 4th gear will be next, followed shortly by, It do not move!

nv4500's are famous for this!! Find a transmission shop who you can trust to do the job and get a hot rod clutch while you are at it!!

Sorry for your troubles!

Rick