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I am on vacation and broke down need some help

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2002 dodge ho 6 speed stock I am on my way to montana from amarillo,texas and I am outside albuquerque. I set the cruise and am going about 70 mph down the highway. I start to notice the the truck starts to feel like it is surging. It is pretty hilly up and down and i think it is just the cruise adjusting and then all of the sudden the tranny just feels like the clutch just let go or the tranny locked up. It just starts to decelerate rapidly and just feels like the it is lurching like it does when your in 1st gear when you pull away. I push the clutch in and it just keeps jumping around. I get it pulled over on the side of the road. I get out and notice some fluid coming off the tranny. It is not thick tranny fluid but thin almost like the brake fluid for the hydraulics. It seems to be coming from on top of the tranny. I can see where the hydraulic slave goes for the clutch and no fluid there. The hole unit all the way up to the reservoir is dry and the reservoir is still full. I cannot shift the transmission at all. It feels like it is in nuetral but cannot shift anyway at all. I pushed the clutch in and started the truck and slowly let the clutch out and it started to go back like it is in reverse and it just sounds like every thing is teinging around in the tranny. It sounds so bad I just know the tranny is just trashed. The clutch seems to be working. Any thoughts. Thanks Rob

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Dang it man I thought i had bad luck all the time. Just my :2cents:, to me its less exspensive to put a automatic in it and be done with it! I know alot of guys down here that are doing the conversion, because of all the problems they have with the manuals. Agian just my opinion! Any way wish you the best!!!:thumb1:

You couldn't give me a free built auto to run in place of my 6-speed! Have you considered a G56? http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98-5-02-powertrain/298167-47re-transmission-g56-swap.html http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98-5-02-powertrain/41978-nv5600-fso6406a-6-speed-fuller.html

I am getting to this party kinda late. A lot of reading to do and perhaps I missed something but from what I read, it appears to me that perhaps your slave cylinder and/or lines let go. With no slave cylinder to operate the clutch, the transmission is not going to behave well to say the least. Just on hunch, have you tried replacing the slave cylinder assembly? As already mentioned, I would remove the PTO overs and drain the transmission oil into a clean container and inspect it for metallic particles and contamination. Also check in the bottom of the transmission case for the big donut magnet and any metallic debry or other contamination. You should also be able to get a half way decent look at the transmission gears/rotating assemblies. If they look good, this is no guarantee all is well but about the best you can do at this level. If all looks goods to this point, you might consider replacing the slave cylinder assembly and refill the transmission with the PROPER oil (the dealer ridiculous priced stuff or Pennzoil Syncromesh or other oil that meets Chrysler's MS9224 spec.). When filling the transmssion it is very important to "over fill" by 2 pints. This will ensure better lubrication to the 5th gear shaft bearings. Just my :2cents: worth and if I missed something, sorry about the oversite.

Just remember you can never out shift an automatic,..lol:rolleyes: unless your Big Daddy Don Garlet maybe!!:thumbup2:

Just remember you can never out shift an automatic,..lol:rolleyes: unless your Big Daddy Don Garlet maybe!!:thumbup2:

Althought I think we all appreciate the benefits of have a few extra ponies under the hood up to a point......these are trucks, not race cars. They were built primarily for hauling and pulling stuff. RARELY will you see a class 8 or over the road commercial truck that has an automatic transmission. The manual or gear shift transmission is the most efficient and reliable transmission for this purpose. :smart:
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    Well I pulled the tranny tonite. I did pull the pto covers and got like 1 quart of tranny fluid. It was a lot thinner than what I had expected. Not thick 90 wt gear oil. The fluid actually looked pretty clean kind of green. There was some light metal flaking but no big chunks of metal or anything in the fluid or on the floor of tranny. I did not notice the big donut magnet ? When I pulled the shift tower off where the ball joint meets the cup there was a plastic or metal round clip that was just completely melted to the ball joint. After I took off the transfer case I looked into the back of the tranny where the differential adapter is and you can see what appears to be a chewed up bearing in there. Need to get a gear puller to remove the adapter. And then can get a better idea of whats in there. Put a pry bar in the shift tower and did manage to get it to break free and can now spin the main front shaft and can see the gears moving but it is rough feeling and sounding . The big gears and synchros I can see seem to be intact. It wasn't a bucket of metal that I expected to see laying in the bottom of the tranny. Will get a better look at everyhting in the morning. Thanks RobI started another thread which on hind sight I probably should not have done but was hoping for more info on how to unistall and install of the tranny and clutch and other things. :banghead: Sorry for being stupid

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    Well I pulled the tranny tonite. I did pull the pto covers and got like 1 quart of tranny fluid. It was a lot thinner than what I had expected. Not thick 90 wt gear oil. The fluid actually looked pretty clean kind of green. There was some light metal flaking but no big chunks of metal or anything in the fluid or on the floor of tranny. I did not notice the big donut magnet ? When I pulled the shift tower off where the ball joint meets the cup there was a plastic or metal round clip that was just completely melted to the ball joint. After I took off the transfer case I looked into the back of the tranny where the differential adapter is and you can see what appears to be a chewed up bearing in there. Need to get a gear puller to remove the adapter. And then can get a better idea of whats in there. Put a pry bar in the shift tower and did manage to get it to break free and can now spin the main front shaft and can see the gears moving but it is rough feeling and sounding . The big gears and synchros I can see seem to be intact. It wasn't a bucket of metal that I expected to see laying in the bottom of the tranny. Will get a better look at everyhting in the morning. Thanks Rob I started another thread which on hind sight I probably should not have done but was hoping for more info on how to unistall and install of the tranny and clutch and other things. :banghead: Sorry for being stupid

    I wonder if the oil got so hot that it broke down and became really thin :shrug: As for your 2 threads, that's not a problem. I know what your intent was with the other thread and just because it ended up just like this thread doesn't make it bad. There's good info in both threads that make both worth having. Many of us on here have auto's or 5 speeds and have hardly seen a NV5600, so anything you say, no matter how many separate threads it is on, is very worthwhile to the forum. :thumbup2: I have already learned a ton from your whole ordeal, I'm sure many others have too. If you got a camera and know how to stick pics on here, you should post a few. I'm very interested in how everything looks on it, including just the entire NV5600.
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    It defiantly sounds like you had a low fluid problem. NV5600's use a 5w-30 gear oil, so its going to be thin.

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    Althought I think we all appreciate the benefits of have a few extra ponies under the hood up to a point......these are trucks, not race cars. They were built primarily for hauling and pulling stuff. RARELY will you see a class 8 or over the road commercial truck that has an automatic transmission. The manual or gear shift transmission is the most efficient and reliable transmission for this purpose. :smart:

    You realy dont know what goes on down here where Im from in Florida then. They race anything especially diesels, from 3/4 and up, from mud drags to pulls. I think comparing Commercial trucks to everyday haulers and drivers is like comparing apples to oranges. I, as much of alot of us with duallies, swear by autos for hauling. I haul way over my DOT rating at times, and never have a problem. I do admit i have changed the torque convertor and a few other things in the tranny to better the performance. Again this is just my preference. I too use to love the standards, until i got sick of shifting and throwing more money into them, versus just going to a good auto. Again just my opinion!
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    From everything I have read the auto's take a ton more money to tow heavy with than a standard, plus why have 4 gears instead of 6 :-)Now on the new trucks its 6 or 6, but I will still take a standard anyday. The places I hunt/tow are murder on auto's. Auto's are for racing and wives, standards are for trucks that tow; I think most folks would agree. For guys that haul and tow I have rarely heard a guy with a standard wish they had an auto, but you hear guys with auto's wish they bought sticks all the time.

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    From everything I have read the auto's take a ton more money to tow heavy with than a standard, plus why have 4 gears instead of 6 :-) Now on the new trucks its 6 or 6, but I will still take a standard anyday. The places I hunt/tow are murder on auto's. Auto's are for racing and wives, standards are for trucks that tow; I think most folks would agree. For guys that haul and tow I have rarely heard a guy with a standard wish they had an auto, but you hear guys with auto's wish they bought sticks all the time.

    :iagree::truck:

    Well, for one, I do know a guy who owns an allison dmax, who drove another guys 6spd to the place I worked and told me he wanted his allison back, saying it had twice the power of the manual. So there's one instance :lol:As for which is better, it depends, a LOT. If you have a torque convertor that actually works like it should and doesn't have a stall speed of your redline, I don't see any reason the auto couldn't be just as good if not better than a manual. If the auto gets hot, put on a better trans cooler. I think a lot of the people who hate autos just have never driven a properly set up auto, which are very hard to come by these days. The only truck I have ever driven with one was a dmax, it pulled hard in every gear and this was an 01' (pre allison), it was extremely smooth and got up and went pulling a trailer just like any little car running around town. Down low, a good auto will really shine when you are on a hill at a stoplight with your TT. There is also something to be said for why Cajflynn has 840k on his auto or has an auto at all, when he is doing nothing but pulling boats and other heavy things everywhere constantly.So now that we got that squared away, I drive a manual :lol: I like the firmness it has with power, even though an auto can keep it in the power range better. I like being able to lug it and still be "locked up", auto can't do this and would downshift which I think wastes fuel. I get good mileage in the city and on the highway, I believe the city mileage is because of always being locked in, an auto seems to waste a little bit because of how an automatic works, though a "properly setup" auto should minimize this issue, but I will still win the city mileage :tease: As for towing, this is actually a toss up between what you want to be nicer to. If I am on that same hill with my TT, I have to get near redline so that I can make it to 2nd without being back down to 0mph, so I am being harder on the engine. Of course, this isn't as pronounced as you get higher in speed, though I know everyone notices the big gap between 3rd and 4th. These issues can be coped with but the engine does suffer a bit, where an auto can just unlock the TC and get some torque multiplication going on and go up the hill at lower RPM. Hilly highway TT driving, I think this is better with a manual, if the TC unlocks on an auto then you are compromising more RPM for staying the same speed on the highway, using more fuel, though I doubt it's much more fuel to notice. Having a manual up all the hills would be the good choice since all the work will be transfered to the engine rather than the TC. So they both have their benefits. I never drove that dmax on the highway, but not so hilly highway driving really isn't a comparison since both the manual and auto should be "locked in/up". Oh and if you are wondering what a crappy auto is like, they rev way up to move, hardly go anywhere until the TC locks, they are junk. In theory, you shouldn't be able to even notice it locking up if it is really really good. So auto's cost money, but a good one is so damn nice. :drool:

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    goerend and dtt or even ats with a 5 year//500,000 warranty can build you a tranny to last!:thumbup2:

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    LOL not sure how this auto vs manual got going while I was gone.:lol: But hey I just want to get my stock truck back together with a stock nv5600. So ISX you want to see some pics of the big ol' nv5600. Alrighty then I will do a little write up over on my other thread "clutch and tranny". I really am going to need some help figuring some of this out so bring your thinking caps.:smart:Thanks again Rob.

    Some like chocolate and some like vanilla. Tell my neighbor who hotshots for a living and just spent about $5000 to have his Allison transmission replaces at about 120,000 miles how good these transmissions are and I suspect he will have a few contrary comments. :tongue::spend::whistle: In my opinion, an automatic transmission can INDEED be developed to be durable, long lasting, and suitable for a wide range of tasks but not economically. An automatic trans that has full TQV lockup in all but 1st gear, with a converter clutch pack large and gear drum clutch packs strong enough to easily accomodate an exhaust brake & 850 to 900 ft./lbs. torque and 6 to 7 speeds, and include an fully aircooled oil pan in addition to a radiator mounted electric fan cooler, and lastley and MOST IMPORTANTLY design the transmission to hold a gear upto 90% of engine output if desired would be hugely expensive. I learned my lesson about automatic transmission with the 4L80E heavy duty trans in my last vehicle before this truck. Brand new it would over heat and puke oil all over the bottom of my truck and boat. Even after I added an extra auxilliary air cooler, a Mag-Hytec pan, and Amsoil, is STILL puked trans. oil pulling my boat. It did this with 4.10 14 bolts GM axles. I got fed up with this GM piece of crap and traded it in on my current truck. Now I can pull 3 of these boats if I want and not even know they are hooked up. :smart:

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    Some like chocolate and some like vanilla. Tell my neighbor who hotshots for a living and just spent about $5000 to have his Allison transmission replaces at about 120,000 miles how good these transmissions are and I suspect he will have a few contrary comments. :tongue::spend::whistle: In my opinion, an automatic transmission can INDEED be developed to be durable, long lasting, and suitable for a wide range of tasks but not economically. An automatic trans that has full TQV lockup in all but 1st gear, with a clutch pack large and strong enough to easily accomodate an exhaust brake & 850 to 900 ft./lbs. torque and 6 to 7 speeds, and include an fully aircooled oil pan in addition to a radiator mounted electric fan cooler, and lastley and MOST IMPORTANTLY design the transmission to hold a gear upto 90% of engine output if desired would be hugely expensive. I learned my lesson about automatic transmission with the 4L80E heavy duty trans in my last vehicle before this truck. Brand new it would over heat and puke oil all over the bottom of my truck and boat. Even after I added an extra auxilliary air cooler, a Mag-Hytec pan, and Amsoil, is STILL puked trans. oil pulling my boat. It did this with 4.10 14 bolts GM axles. I got fed up with this GM piece of crap and traded it in on my current truck. Now I can pull 3 of these boats if I want and not even know they are hooked up. :smart:

    The 2001 dmax I drove was not an allison.. It was a 5spd auto, no clue on the brand. Very nice though. I hated driving it but the drivetrain and everything like I said was very nice :lol: I've heard about the allison just being a name tag and still being junk. Someone told me they were made in china and just bought the name, no clue on validity of that. I know a lot of automatics have to have a ton of money dumped into them. It's sad that they don't come out of the factory like that dmax seemed to be. It was so detuned that it couldn't really NOT shift firmly. I mean how hard is it to get a firm shift with a low powered engine. It did pull trailers and everything very nice and effortlessly. I have never driven an automatic cummins, well not one with an automatic worth driving. The point I was trying to make is all the automatics nowadays are junk. You can rarely buy them from the factory and be able to pull said boat everywhere. I think it's a crime they do such a thing, they know we bought the truck to pull, they know the trans will overheat, they know we will be forced to spend thousands to get it to hold... hawkeye, thanks for getting the pics! Just ask what you want on the other thread since it seems to be the technical one :lol:

    The 2001 dmax I drove was not an allison.. It was a 5spd auto, no clue on the brand. Very nice though. I hated driving it but the drivetrain and everything like I said was very nice :lol:

    Dmax's have always had the Allison, they were paired from the start. Stock the Allison is decent, but still takes $$ to hold power and doesn't mod as well as the 48RE for power. The Allison is a lot of name, and people always trash talk everything else since its not an Allison, regardless of performance (Just like some Cummins guys I know :whistle:) Hawkeye: Did you ever have the fluid changed? Just was thinking about how you thought 90wt was in there, you didn't put that in did you?

    hawkeye, I am not sure what level or experience of mechanic skills you have and surely no disrespect intended. I understand dollars are TIGHT and you want to get this fixed RIGHT without another mortgage payment. That having been said, have you looked into the complexity and difficulty of rebuilding this transmission yourself? It can be done but it is not what I would consider an easy task. Have you considered buying a rebuilt NV5600 and installing it. The prices I saw for a rebuilt NV5600 were $2850 and a $1000 core charge. I have a suspicion that a rebuilt trans will be your best option.

    hawkeye, I am not sure what level or experience of mechanic skills you have and surely no disrespect intended. I understand dollars are TIGHT and you want to get this fixed RIGHT without another mortgage payment. That having been said, have you looked into the complexity and difficulty of rebuilding this transmission yourself? It can be done but it is not what I would consider an easy task. Have you considered buying a rebuilt NV5600 and installing it. The prices I saw for a rebuilt NV5600 were $2850 and a $1000 core charge. I have a suspicion that a rebuilt trans will be your best option.

    Have you seen the new thread? I missed it until this morning. http://forum.mopar1973man.com/showthread.php/2029-Clutch-and-tranny
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