5th gear gone

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It has finally happened.
I was coming home in 5th gear ,about 55mph, when suddenly the truck stopped accelerating and the engine just revved.
I put it into 3rd, as I was now at my turn and was relieved to find that I still had the other 4 gears and I made it safely home.
As far as I know, this trans is original and so still has the bad 5th gear nut.
Assuming that this is actually what failed, how much of a repair is this?
Does it require dropping the trans?
Is it safe to drive the truck with 4 gears until the repair or will damage result?
I will have to get a local shop to do the work as I am recovering from a hand injury.
Thanks,
Andrew

 

Are you 4X4 or 2WD?

Trans does not have to be dropped, but rear housing has to come off, it is right under there. Not a huge deal, unless you decide to do the upgrade, then obviously trans has to come out to put the new shaft in.

I have been driving mine for 10,000 miles, guess one of these days I really do need to fix mine.

 

I drove mine from North Dakota to Texas with 4 gears. A PITA on the highway, but it won't hurt anything. I recommend the fully splined gear and shaft repair. The Dodge locknut and spot welding are only half-assed fixes.

 

Thanks for the feedback
Does the gear just slide around on the shaft and not fall off into the trans and
the nut drops harmlessly into the trans housing?
Is it the luck of the draw, a crapshoot or mechanical logic whether or not there will be trans damage?
I hope to get it looked at sooner than later as it is a necessary vehicle for my business.

 

The nut and the gear both slide down the shaft. The majority of damage is already done. The mating surfaces of the shaft and the gear have wallowed out enough to cause the nut to lose it's tq. That is why installing a new nut is only a temp fix. The gear can wobble on the shft and will eventually cause the nut to back off again. I have heard of cases where spot welding the nut resulted in the nut breaking off and getting jammed in the gears and locking up the transmission.

 

GAmes thanks for that.
Tomorrow I call the trans shop.

 

Picked up my truck yesterday.
The mechanic said the shaft and 5th gear looked ok so he put the updated nut with set screws on, changed the trans fluid and buttoned it back up and I am rolling again.

 

Hey glad all worked out for you It just happend almost identically to me about three hours ago. If you dont mind me asking what was the damage to get fixed.

 

The only permanent fix> http://quad4x4.com/NV4500%205th%20Ge...0Solutions.htm

 

yup do it right or you will be doing it over and over and over
my neighbor did it 3 x before he took my advice and did the fully splined shaft if yor not towing it will stay there longer but tow in O/D and its will come off again

 

These guys say they won't even sell you the best fix if you've tried any other methods since any of the temporary fixes can cause enough damage to require a complete tranny rebuild.