i rebuilt mine once myself, then when it went out again i took it to a shop in springfield and they rebuilt it for 2800. It was Bayless Auto in missouri. thumper, "calls it as you sees it" but i'm not affilated with them, and just because valv linked to here from a shop near him dosnt mean he is either.

 

Hey everyone, been following this one for while. Thumper 549 as interested as i am in your meredes conversion the more i look into it the more i find that people do have part for these NV5600 trannies.

I want to caution you because Valve has been around here for a long time and if he was a vendor others who have been here a long time would have already found him out or he would have already told us. I tell people about quadzilla stuff all the time but in no way am i a vendor, same things with valve.

Alright so everyone calm down a little.
Rob

 

I apologize if I've got out of hands. Sometimes it gets to be a debate, then later in the day after a couple of "barley pops" or more I get too mouthy and...
Whatever...me and Thumper see it different, we are like most of people, just share different opinions. No hard feelings here, in fact, if he comes on over this area let me know, we can find some place to share some cold ones...

Now, how about that Obama, McCain issue......

 

I love my 5600, and it is the small input shaft because of being in a 99. I have over 150K and tow pretty heavy sometimes. All I have done to is was put in a SB clutch since adding some power mods. Couldn't be happier with its performance and durability.

 

Hay no hard feelings either (as noted ) If I did not have a opinion and you did not ,this board would be..................boring !!

 

One correction guys. I think you are referring to the NV4500 five speed in the earlier Chevy trucks. I am unaware of any 90's era Chevs/GMC's with a 6 speed manual. By the way, the GM delivered trans are said to not have the 5th gear nut problem, just the chrysler ones, don't know why though.

My experience with the nv5600 was annoying to say the least until I got a rebuilt one a few months ago. What a difference. Mine shifted like breaking sticks and was difficult in the cold weather. I found out the wrong fluid had been in it before I bought it or it was possibly towed w/o disconnecting the driveline. Both are nv5600 killers.

I found that the scarcity of parts or complete tranys is a myth and my trans guy says he's rebuilt /replaced a few and never had any parts locating issues.

My new one shifts like a dream and a word of advice is to not bog the engine, shifts over 1700 rpm are really smooth and effortless but it a little finicky when going to reverse, but its pretty massive and the gears need to mesh after a forward run and everything is fine.

Just my .02, Kurt

 

The thing I hate most about the NV 4500 is the way Over drive is not designed...The gear that will see the most use is hanging out there in the air with no support on the other end. Just bad engmineering LOL.
I know the patch kit with a new Main shaft will maybe cure it for awhile...Hope it does for te sake of all those people that still own one.

 

I think they stated putting the NV5600 in around 1999? I think the larger shaft came for 2001, as well as better lube cahnnels.

 

I know everybody has their favorites, but you can't run fast enough to give me a NV 5600. Repair parts can be had, but the majority of them are now made in China, and are inferior in quality to the US made parts. This info was passed to me by a rebuilder located in Indianapolis, In. My 02 dually had 6 NV 5600's, 1 new, 5 rebuilt, in less than 220k miles. One of them only ran 800 miles . Some of them were still under warranty, but when your truck makes your living the downtime can bankrupt you. And we can't forget the labor for R&R and towing. All died from bearing failure. In one instance, I was towing a 40' trailer, running down the interstate doing 65 mph when my transmission locked up. It took out my clutch, tranny, driveshaft, and broke my pinion flange. I am currently in the process of obtaining and installing a Fuller FSO 8406A, 6 speed overdrive capable of handling 800 lb/ft of torque. Imho, the tranny is the weakest link in a Dodge, and I think the Fuller transplant will solve this problem. I realize lots of Dodge owners have gotten good service out of their NV 4500 and NV 5600's, so I won't knock them, but I don't want anymore of them .

 

well now that dodge and gm are gonna merge are we all gonna be having issues with other parts as well?? is a NV5600 a total deal breaker for a used CTD? how do they hold up if you don't tow very much??

 

Yep POS trans... cant even handle handle loads like this:


or this:


or even a lowly broen down ford and his trailer:


and a couple sled pulls and probably 30-40 trips down the drag strip in 4x4 launching in 3rd..


Come on guys... It is a pretty proven strong trans, has some issues, but overall very strong. knock on wood I guess... 151,000miles and counting.. oh ya going to load up another 10-12k this weekend and not even think of my trans giving up!

You think I would have been better off with an auto!

 

i fixed it i think
http://www.sanco-bg.com/Conversion_NV5600.htm

 

I guess I'm a 5600 fan. I've had no trouble. Just changed the fluid is all. Gears and synchros work very smoothly. I notice some of the detractors above are all bombed or hauling loads way in excess of the intended use and load limit. I love the thread here with folks touting their max load, for however short a time: 30K lbs.? 40K lbs.? 48K lbs. and my fave, 54K lbs. with a one ton Dodge!
Mine's a stock engine (245HP/505TQ) with a better air intake and Vulcan big line relocation kit.
I think the fact that it's stock has added to the trannie's life span. Also, it has a cast iron case which adds to the stability. I'm not a fan of aluminum transmission cases.
some load limits:'
NV4500: 20,000 lbs.
NV5600: 26,000 lbs.
My usual CGVW is just under 17,000 lbs. when I'm hauling my camper and jeep on trailer. The limit in the owner's manual is 19,500 lbs.; still within the limits.
I would submit also that the certain early demise of the 5600 can be had by lugging in 6th (below 1600 rpm) under lots of power.
regards, as always, jefe

 

Johnh,
I think we agree !!! LOL For those that have no need to switch ..dont....but if you use the thing like a TRK.......just switch, less novocaine needed

 

The NV5600 has been a nightmare for me as well and I absolutely refused to replace it again after three (3) failures.

added pics to web site at NV5600 Conversion to Fuller Tran and updated the parts list.

Cross Member & FSO6406A


Actuator Bracket & Volvo Slave Clutch Actuator



I have pictures and a parts list at http://www.sanco-bg.com/Conversion_NV5600.htm on the process. I will be using the truck in 2WD until I can work out the attachment of the transfer case. I was going to fabricate an adapter until I found a rear bearing retainer that had a mating surface that had been used by Fuller to mount an emergency driveline brake. Some fab is still required, but not the precision required to preload the main output shaft bearing.

I had purchased a new unused FO-8406ASW on Ebay for $152.50 that was intended for a 2006 Navistar. It has a 2" X 14 tooth input shaft and was unable to locate a clutch. I will be converting this trans into a FSO-8406A by replacing the input shaft and counter shaft mating gear. I will use this trans as the mockup for the 4 X 4 version since I have the FSO-6406A and the FO-8406ASW to work with. Total cost is $2,698.00 for two complete transmission conversion packages (need a 5.9 flywheel to be complete on FO unit)

This is the unit I finally selected as having the most potential for mating the transfer case on the 4 X 4 version. The retainer cost $176 plus freight. Still have to work out the spline and flange drive for this beast.



When mated, it will require a transfer case cross member support and drive shaft modifications.

The yoke on the Fuller is a 38 tooth 1710 series and there are splined flange yokes that will fit the Fuller and adapt to the 1550 series driveline on the Dodge. When this is all worked out, I will post the parts on Conversion Parts List

Everything so far has been off the shelf parts. If anyone is planning the 4 X 4 conversion, I suggest that you try and locate the bearing retainer. It was used with the driveline emergency brake on Sterling, Ford and Kodiac, late 1980's to mid 90's. The application was for the FS-6106 and FS-8206. Spicer could have also used this retainer. There have to be some laying around in tranny shops and junk yards. :hyper::hyper: