my truck was working fine and then all of a sudden i hear a dim knock sound comin from the transmission it got louder and louder the more i drove it. i have a NV4500 5speed manual transmission. i think its 5th gear but 5th gear still works there's 130k miles, the fluid was changed twice sense 75k miles when i got the truck. i have a 2003 dodge 3500 DSL 5.9L. does anybody have any insight on this? and is it safe to drive?

 

also when you push the clutch pedal to the floor the knocking stops but the noise only comes from the transmission.

 

Does the noise change in any way with increase or decrease in speed? Does it make any difference on which gear you are in?
Does it make the same noise in reverse? What happens if while driving you knock it into neutral? When you say the noise stops when you push the clutch in, is this while not in gear and not moving? Does the noise change in any way? Is there any vibration? Just maybe it could be a bad u-joint and not the tranni.

 

the noise gets louder with increase of speed, no it does not matter what gear I'm in. yes it makes the same noise in reverse. noise stays the same while driving in neutral. when push the clutch in while sitting still (not moving) the noise goes away. no vibration. U-Joints were replaced 6 months ago and yes i did check them yes their still good. also under a load (towing) the noise is twice as loud.

 

Imput shaft bearing it sounds like to me.

 

Sorry to say, but I strongly suspect that you are going to need to pull the tranni. The above post by nothingbutdarts could be right.
Hope others with more experience on the 5 speed chime in.

 

They are known for troubles with 5th gear coming off the shaft, but this is not your problem.

 

could possibly be the throwout bearing going bad since it goes away when pushing in the clutch. I just recently rebuilt my whole tranny main shaft and all, 5 th gear found its way free

 

Pedal released=noise
Pedal depressed=no noise


Sounds just like a throwout bearing gone bad.

 

well this weekend i will be removing the transmission i will let you all know what it is once i figure it out thank you all for your help

 

my vote is for checking the throw out bearing before tearing into the trans.

 

we found out today that we cant use third gear. if we do it goes clunk clunk clunk very fast and loud. also at slow speeds (5mph) in 2nd gear it gives one loud clunk moving the truck forward and then another loud clunk moving the whole truck back of course this is only once in a while.

 

Ouch.....that just doesn't sound good at all!!!

 

we will know for sure whats wrong with the old transmission as soon as we get our new transmission this weekend

 

I have a tech that works for me, he has taken out 3rd gear twice now. you should be able to open up the side cover and look inside, See if your missing some teeth on the big main gear shaft. That will explain it .
PS, Nice to see another diesel female out here! Where abouts in CA are you located?