KATOOM

First off, thank you for the kind words. I appreciate all the ethical people on this forum. Yes, Quad 4x4 is correct in that a bad pilot will damage the input shaft bearing. But generally speaking, most pilot bearings are NOT oversized sealed roller bearings either. Rather what we see in the automotive industry is either a solid bushing or an exposed needle bearing. Both can easily go bad too from holding the clutch pedal in while the transmission is in gear at stop lights. A BAD HABIT some people have too... Also Quad 4x4 is correct in that a bad thrust bearing will cause the input to push/pull which generally is not a problem for the pilot but rather bad for the counter gear alignment. All that said, I guess an easy way to understand if the pilot could have been the problem all along is to see if the roller pilot bearing still on Mikes input shaft (per the picture posted) is bad. If its still intact and not falling apart then its likely that the movement of the wiggling input shaft drew the pilot out of its position. As for lubrication... Well I cant comment on that since it would take further investigating in the transmission to see how everything else was holding up. If there's a obvious condition on other components which is consistent with inadequate lubrication then you can only conclude that there was a problem. But if the overall condition is good but only that a few components failed then I would lean towards crappy Chinese parts or a poor rebuild...or both.

A few things I dont agree with your assessment are... If the pilot was completely out of the flywheel then the total clutch assembly vibration would have been intense since no pilot support would allow the clutch plate to walk off center. Even though the pilot was not fully in place, it was still keeping the input shaft from wobbling, and you can see that by the grove it made on the flywheel too. And, there's no reason for a pilot to move out of its pressed position...especially if its in working condition. The input shaft is free from the countershaft and would have to be severely out of alignment to place any deflection on the counter shaft. What I'm guessing happened is exactly reverse of what you're thinking... Whereby I bet you find that one of more of your main or counter bearings is toast, which placed pressure on the input shaft. Thats what destroyed the input bearing, which then in its movement caused the pilot to creep towards the wobble. Did excess power do this?...I cant say but more power definitely does place more stress on things. I have no idea what your driving style habits are like so I cant comment, although unless you're towing huge amounts of weight with that transmission, I cant even imagine why it would fail in so little miles unless something gave away. Without attacking the almighty lube...I'm going to say that inferior bearing quality (from China) or a lubrication issue was the cause. I do not believe this was caused by the pilot bearing.

I'd be questioning the Mobil 50 transmission fluid... You dont have very many miles on a transmission that has a bad input shaft bear and counter shaft bearings...and whatever else you havent discovered yet. No matter, its definitely not normal. And you have a temp gauge too which means if this was a temperature related problem then you would have seen it in the gauge. It sounds like components simply fell apart or that lubricity was an issue. I guess we'll see what you find out...

The plastic line is not so much the problem but the compression fittings. Compression fittings on fuel lines is a bad idea. Compression on metal isnt too bad but compression on plastic is never going to make a solid seal and can easily leak. I'd rather deal with a leak in the engine bay long before in the cab because you'll never get the smell of diesel out of there and...its just to be clear that its illegal. Like I mentioned, I did but I use JIC fittings and braided stainless lines. The overflow valve is ALWAYS open as there's a small bypass orifice in the fitting. What the 14 psi overflow setting for the check valve does is maintain a set parameter in the second pressure chamber of the VP. There is always overflow out of the injection pump otherwise it would cook the fuel sitting in the chambers as it waits to be injected. That doesnt mean fuel pressure can be below 10 psi but rather that volume of fuel and fuel lubricity is as equally important as maintaining pressure.

It sounds like the gear walked off the shaft splines. Towing heavy in 5th gear and/or driving with a habit of abrupt ON and OFF throttle in 5th gear will place a lot of pressure on the gear nut and eventually allow the gear to walk off the splines. It must be hanging right off the splines too if it made a grinding sound when you tried to put it into 5th gear. You'll want to pull off the transmission end and pull the nut and gear off. Inspect the shaft for wear on the splines. If they're damaged then you'll need to replace the shaft, but its likely they're fine. The part to fix is supposed to be really great but it only works on 4wd trucks. Also, make sure its from the people who invented the product too because there's copy cat versions which are not the same quality. http://fifthgearrepair.com/nv4500repair.html

I dont have experience with a mechanical fuel pump system but I understand the Fuel Boss is a superior setup. Any electric fuel pump isnt going to reduce reliability as long as a relay is utilized in the wiring to remove amperage draw. But I have to ask...are you running fuel into the cab? If so then I highly suggest you convert your fuel pressure gauge fitting and pressure line to a JIC type and get rid of the compression plastic line. I eliminated the isolator years ago because it would never work right and always caused pressure reading problems, and leaked too.

I made this video years ago. Might help you understand what to expect... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oxp-uIqpMQ

Sorry about the news Mike... I'm curious to see what you find about the 5th gear. I learned years ago that the upgraded fully splinned 5th gear shaft is not really an "upgrade", because all these aftermarket parts come from China and their metallurgy is so bad that most rebuild parts are weaker than OEM. Sad thats all we have to choose from but thats another discussion... Also, I want to know why the pilot walked. There's no reason this should have happened.

Has anyone tried this? I've watched a couple videos about it but I'm still questioning it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAV96QfAyg

Ironically I was just talking to a driveline shop today asking about seals. And without any prompting from me the guy offers his opinion to only use OEM "from the dealer" seals. This is a well known shop up where I live who've specialized in performance diesels for the past 20 years or so, and his reasoning was that there are many versions of OEM but whatever comes from the dealer is what came on the vehicle and those parts tend to be more robust. OEM part numbers from other sources may not be the same and will typically be of a lesser quality, referencing the strength and durability of the seals he uses. His words were, "If I install an aftermarket seal I can guarantee I will be dealing with this vehicle in the future because it will leak, but if I use factory seals then the odds are it will not leak". Thats obviously not to claim that every part they use is factory since they're a "performance" shop but I thought that was particularly interesting given the topic of this thread... Take it with a grain of salt.

You're reinforcing what I was trying to point out many post ago...whereby there are suppliers/sources who carry OEM parts. (Thus Genos) But...when those OEM parts are no longer available from the OEM dealer then whatever those suppliers/sources have available is all there is. When they run out they will no longer carry that OEM part. If they do carry anything it will be an aftermarket version of the same. RockAuto is merely a distributor who gets stuff from suppliers like Standard...who also supplies to other companies as well. Standard didnt manufacture your cruise control switch nor did they have anything to do with the making of that part other than to get what they received from Mopar. To further support what I'm saying, try to search for that switch again in RockAuto and you'll potentially see that Standard isnt their go to for that part anymore. Standard does show it on their website but you cant find it on any OEM Mopar parts website because its discontinued.

If the manufactures name is not stamped anywhere on the component, and who manufactured it is not listed anywhere, and there are no parts store versions which look exactly like the OEM part.....then your question cant be answered.

The OEM manufacture could have been any company who manufactures 3rd party products following proprietary design specifications. It doesnt have to be Hayden or Murray or whomever big name fan clutch manufacture you're thinking... This is common practice in the manufacturing world.

The thermostat you buy at NAPA will not use the same OEM part number as the one you'd find at the dealer, nor will they be the same part. Thats the difference here. No is saying that OEM cant use more than one supplier or different suppliers, as that can and does happen often for many reasons. But the odds are that the parts are extremely close in design and quality because those suppliers are building the part per OEM specs.

Thats not true MM... There are plenty of OEM parts out there in the automotive world which are no longer available. Its been said that auto manufactures have to supply OEM parts for 10 years after the last build date of a vehicle...but I'm not even sure thats fact or just some made up story. Either way, no other manufacture builds a discontinued OEM part using the same OEM part number. If the part is still available from the dealer then its found under that OEM part number. But if an available part is changed for any reason and/or manufactured from another source then the part number can be superseded. So my point is, if the OEM fan clutch for your truck is no longer available from the dealer then its no longer available from OEM and you'll have to find it from a third party company who potentially has them. This is where core charges come into play. If there are no sources who have those discontinued parts then aftermarket is the only option. For some older vehicles there are no parts available whereby custom fabrication or retrofitting from other vehicles are the only choices.

Mopar fan clutch part number appears to be the same part from the same manufacture no matter the source. I also understand that the part is no longer manufactured so whatever is out there is what remains. When they're gone then parts store ones will be the only option.

Just wanted to update the thread that I have determined that the fan clutch is working perfectly fine. I've been towing in some much hotter weather we've been experiencing these past few days and the engine fan is roaring just like it has always at the appropriate times. Thank you everyone for the suggestions and input...

I dont think anyone was claiming that "Mopar" or "Cummins" manufactured any component. Hopefully that point has been beat into the ground by now. OEM is simply Original Equipment Mmanufacturer, a company who manufactures something for another company. So whomever makes Mopars fan clutch does a great job because there are no over the counter parts stores who carry that same exact fan clutch. If you can find out who manufactures it...and its available somewhere else cheaper then I would happily go that route. Until then... As for thermostats, yeah I have a NAPA one and it works just as good as the OEM did for me.

Yes, I fully understand how a fan clutch works, although I'm not about to call it a fan viscous coupler since the only person who would know what I'm talking about would likely be you. And yes, Dodge and Cummins didnt make the starter or fan clutch. Denso built most of the starters and I have no clue who manufactured the fan clutch. I think you guys are missing my point... Let me try to be even more CLEAR than I was before. I am NOT pro-OEM... I'm just pointing out the statistical understanding of what OEM parts tend to be more reliable than aftermarket. I could care less who manufactured for OEM either as that has zero to do with this. You're more than welcome to buy whatever parts you want or use whatever you want...but when someone asks a question on the forum I feel its right to be most honest with the information I give...not just state that because something worked for me that it must be the only way. My information comes from watching and reading what thousands of members have said over the past couple decades, not just what I experienced with my truck. All that said...it seems the OP has discovered that the OEM fan clutch is doing well.

Genius...

wil440, let me clarify... There are few components on these particular trucks whereby OEM is superior. The ones which come to mind right now are 1) The fan clutch and 2) the starter. Other than that, most aftermarket stuff is just as good, or possibly better. I've been around the automotive scene for many decades and was even a part-time mechanic when I was younger, so I am and have been pro-aftermarket since I started wrenching on my own vehicles since "typically" those manufactures have an invested interest in the specific parts they're offering. Thats not to say OEM isnt investing considerably R&D themselves but that there are pro's and con's to both options and knowing which one has the most to offer is key. In this particular situation the OEM fan clutch has been proven repeatedly throughout the years that it will outperform and outlast most aftermarket "lifetime" warranty ones.

The OEM fan clutch is superior to anything else you'll find...period. Anyone who says otherwise is simply proud that they spent half the money for something that "works good enough". Its a well known issue that the parts store fan clutches are not as strong as the OEM ones, nor do they last anywhere as long. If you have an aftermarket parts store fan clutch then you'll likely be replacing is often...or finding that its not working as good as it should. The OEM engine fan pulls some serious CFM and it takes a lot of holding power from the clutch to achieve that much air flow. That said, if the A/C isnt very cold during idling then the fan clutch isnt working right. Yes, the clutch is only partially engaged at idle but its still engaged based on the temperature its reading from the radiator and condenser. For clarification, my A/C feels just as cold idling as it is driving, and its COLD too. I was curious about my OEM fan clutch after my last towing trip this summer due to how it was reacting, but I came to somewhat of a conclusion after much testing and research that my radiator isnt getting hot enough fast enough to for the fan clutch to engage during a hill climb situation while pulling my 5th wheel. I wont go in to it all since this thread isnt about my truck...but just know that I've been all over this topic recently. I would suggest you take it back to the place you had work on your truck and tell them that you want the OEM fan clutch put on there. Its your right to have the parts you want on there. It may cost a little more money but you'll find that it will work better.

I totally agree... And I too have tried looking up what the bushing clearance should be but strangely there's nothing. How are people supposed to know whats "within spec"???

Again, lots of good info. In years past I've set up drivelines on my trucks and I've preferred the stationary yoke instead of a slip yoke. I also used a double cardan joint on a rear driveshaft to offer better u-joint angles on a lifted truck. So I guess I can understand what you mean by the slip yoke absorbing more abuse than that of a two piece shaft. I'm just getting bored of this since its leaked for years. Maybe I should just try replacing the bushing and see if that does anything... I'm guessing it wont but I have no other options at this point. I talked to a tech from Quad 4x4 about allowable movement in the yoke and his response was "there should be no movement". I said I've never seen one have no movement. I had a hard time with his response since it would be very difficult to install a driveshaft inside a bushing with tolerances so tight that there would be zero movement.

Where did you read this? Do you know what the 190* rejection capabilities are?