I am on vacation and broke down need some help

[hawkeye213]

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

[ISX]

I'd say you need to find a tranny shop. If the clutch works, that just leaves the transmission which you say sounds like its full of bolts chinging around. I don't know what happened, but I would have someone tear into it to see what the deal is. Sure doesn't sound good.

[hawkeye213]

I know just trying to figure out what to do. I am only 4 hrs from home.a) get home and get a trailer and haul it back b) call a tranny shop here in town and hope I don't get hosed and move on. c) rent a car and leave the truck and carry on my vacation and pick it up on the way home If it is trashed I just wonder how much time and money it would take to fix itThanks Rob

[smokeythedodge]

I know just trying to figure out what to do. I am only 4 hrs from home.

a) get home and get a trailer and haul it back

b) call a tranny shop here in town and hope I don't get hosed and move on.

c) rent a car and leave the truck and carry on my vacation and pick it up on the way home

If it is trashed I just wonder how much time and money it would take to fix it

Thanks Rob

OH man... you are not going to like what I have to say... I lost 3rd and 6th gear all of a sudden in my old 2002 6 speed truck 2 years ago, had it towed to Blumenthals in OKC, $3,900 dollars later, I was back on the road.... The nv5600 6 speed in these trucks are very expensive to get worked on i hate to hear of another one breaking....

---------- Post added at 12:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 AM ----------

But yeah, it is really difficult to find a tranny shop that will work on the 6 speed... i called about a dozen in my area and none of them were able to work on it because it is an obsolete unit and much too heavy and complicated to touch. Better call around wherever you are broke down near and find out if any local shops can work on the nv5600.

[hawkeye213]

ok sorry to keep bugging everybody. Just took a hot shower and had some other thoughts. Ok was going 70mph forward down the highway, tranny posssibly blows up, the truck now is stuck in reverse, this can't be good. I am wondering what else I might need to have looked at. Rear differential ? The transfer case? front differential? If it is blown up what will a tranny place do. Rebuild it ? If so is this like a one day job or 2, 3, 4, 5. Then I wonder about the warranty work if needed. I'll be 4hrs away from my warranty. The truck has 100,000 miles while I am in there I should have new clutch put in right ? Anything else you would have them do. Stock clutch or what. rear main seal. Any ideas on a ball park for new clutch and complete rebuild. The clutch I could do myself if I was at home but the tranny is way over my head. I thought I would call a shop in the morning and get a ball park from them was just looking for some Ideas from ya'll on what I should tell them or what I might expect to hear as a quote from him.thanks again for your help Rob

[guinnessbrewer]

I would think your clutch and rear main would still be ok, but ya know you might as well do the clutch if you can while you are there. I'd figure $1000 on a clutch. Best of luck... I am a few hours south of you, I will try and call around and see if I can find a recommendation for you or maybe a tranny. I 25 is not too nice to our 6 speed trucks. I blew out a dana 80 in castle rock a few months ago on my first run in mine. I would definitly check all your gearboxes...just to be sure they are ok. I found this 2001 on craigslist for 4500...just a thought.http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/1838937397.html or this http://waco.craigslist.org/pts/1821185449.html or this http://spokane.craigslist.org/pts/1829306518.html If you just leave your truck and get a rental, I can probably find a trans for you in Denver, since you will be thru there on your way back. I wish I were going to MT!! Good Luck! Chris

ok sorry to keep bugging everybody. Just took a hot shower and had some other thoughts. Ok was going 70mph forward down the highway, tranny posssibly blows up, the truck now is stuck in reverse, this can't be good. I am wondering what else I might need to have looked at. Rear differential ? The transfer case? front differential? If it is blown up what will a tranny place do. Rebuild it ? If so is this like a one day job or 2, 3, 4, 5. Then I wonder about the warranty work if needed. I'll be 4hrs away from my warranty. The truck has 100,000 miles while I am in there I should have new clutch put in right ? Anything else you would have them do. Stock clutch or what. rear main seal. Any ideas on a ball park for new clutch and complete rebuild. The clutch I could do myself if I was at home but the tranny is way over my head. I thought I would call a shop in the morning and get a ball park from them was just looking for some Ideas from ya'll on what I should tell them or what I might expect to hear as a quote from him. thanks again for your help Rob

[hawkeye213]

Thanks guiness. checked out the waco craigslist. It is a rebuild shop. $2250 + tax with exchange and free shipping both ways in Texas.12 month warranty. Would you feel better about a rebuild than a used one coming out of used truck?Thanks Rob

[Mopar1973Man]

At least rebuilt you know the Trans was taken apart and full looked over and clean out internally. Where a use trans might be full of debris, might not ever had the fluid changed and part damaged inside that you won't know till driven under load... Just my

[guinnessbrewer]

I second that... especially since the cost seems to be about the same.

At least rebuilt you know the Trans was taken apart and full looked over and clean out internally. Where a use trans might be full of debris, might not ever had the fluid changed and part damaged inside that you won't know till driven under load... Just my

[AH64ID]

I'm not sure if it will even tell you anything, but they are pretty easy to drain and pull the PTO covers on, and take a peek inside?

[hawkeye213]

ok update The guy here in albuquerque came back at 7150.00 new clutch, remanufactured tranny by dodge that has 3 yr 100,000 mile warranty. Can use the warranty at any dodge dealership on the tranny.I said thanks but no. Now plan B get me and GF and truck home from albuquerque and deal with it when I get home. I am stupid about this tranny so just a couple of questions. The guy in albuquerque said he could get a remanufactured by Dodge out of denver from the dodge house with the above warranty. I haven't called the dodge house but does that sound right ? If I order it from the guy in Waco is there any specific thing I need to tell him other make model year 4 wheel drive that I might not now about. How about the clutch any preferences as to what might be a could one. Thanks to everyone for your help I really appreciate it. I know poop happens but ya got to just deal with it. Mopar is there a write up for the clutch?Thanks Rob

[ISX]

Clutch Write Up.

[guinnessbrewer]

Wow, that is pretty steep! Sounds like the place out of Waco is the way to go... I think that you may need to tell them your axle ratio too as well as what you mentioned. I would recommend this for your new tranny. http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo.asp?number=K1444-0060-FLTR%20KIT It bolts on in place of your passenger side pto cover, plus you can place a magnet in there to pick up any ferrous material. GB

ok update The guy here in albuquerque came back at 7150.00 new clutch, remanufactured tranny by dodge that has 3 yr 100,000 mile warranty. Can use the warranty at any dodge dealership on the tranny. I said thanks but no. Now plan B get me and GF and truck home from albuquerque and deal with it when I get home. I am stupid about this tranny so just a couple of questions. The guy in albuquerque said he could get a remanufactured by Dodge out of denver from the dodge house with the above warranty. I haven't called the dodge house but does that sound right ? If I order it from the guy in Waco is there any specific thing I need to tell him other make model year 4 wheel drive that I might not now about. How about the clutch any preferences as to what might be a could one. Thanks to everyone for your help I really appreciate it. I know poop happens but ya got to just deal with it. Mopar is there a write up for the clutch? Thanks Rob

[hawkeye213]

Well I made it home about 5:30 this morning. My friend Mikel and his wife Kayla came and got us with his dad's trailer and we loaded it up and drove home. Man it's nice to have friends who you can count on in when you get in a bind. Anyway have been looking around on the net for tranny's and found these guys http://www.bestrebuilttransmissions.com/ for this 3319.00. Has a 3 year or 100,000 mile warranty. Or the guy on craigslist http://waco.craigslist.org/pts/1821185449.html 2200.00 one year warranty. Just wondering about the the price difference. Is the 2 extra years worth a 1000.00? Anybody know of another good rebuild place.

While I was searching the net I came across several interesting items in different forums and was wondering what ya'll think about them. After reading these I got to thinking and looking back at what happened to me. I had just put a cabover camper on the truck for the trip. It weighs about 1700 lbs? When the truck broke I had been driving for about 5 hours @ 70mph mostly in sixth gear.The terrain was up and down but nothing really steep that I had to shift out of 6th gear. When it broke and I got out and looked underneath the truck there was some thin fluid leaking from above the tranny like the brake fluid for the hydraulic clutch. But I also noticed the tar or whatever the underside of the truck cab is coated with was just melting off (liquified) and hitting the ground and then returning to its tarry state. I remember thinking man that tranny is smoking hot. I had not had any probs with this tranny at all. It shifted just fine before this. After thinking about this I really believe the heat buildup had alot to do with the failure. I would welcome any thoughts or opinions on this. I did check the fluid levels on everything before I left on the trip. Looking back I wish I had changed all the fluids in the tranny and differentials. I read in another forum somewhere that the sixth gear in the nv5600 and the fifth gear on the nv4500 OD gears sit out of the fluid in the tranny and our only lubricated or cooled by splashing or lapping up of the fluid onto the gear. I am not stating this as a fact but just adding that I had read this. I would welcome any thoughts or opinions on this.

"I've just rebuilt my NV5600 (295K) and since have had 3 OD gear failures, last one lasted 2 days and my Ram is now in the shade until I can come up with a OEM parts source Seems parts are now coming from India and are NOT the quality the OEM parts."

"Guys.. I really think I have this Dodge transmission figured out. I blew my nv4500 5th gear once and then again under warranty.. Since then I have decided that the over drive gear in these trucks is NOT what you should be pulling with.. the only strong gear in the NV 4500 or 5600 for that matter is the 1 to 1 ratio gear (4th in the 4500 and 5the 5600). Its direct drive.. so you aren't rattling the gears.. My fuel mileage is actually a little better and the truck runs much stronger up hills now. Granted I do not have a 4.10 rear end... so I am not sure if that messes things up for you guys or not..

When I brought my trans to the 2nd Aamco repair shop they guy said "you aren't pulling anything in 5th are you?".. Boy did I feel stupid.

He cleaned up the mess, replaced 5th again.. we put it in 4th and havent looked back..

Okay, its only been 10k or so... but it makes perfect sense when you look at how the trans is layed out. Take a look at how the over drive gear is connected to the motor.. it goes thru an intermediate gear.. not good in this case.. in the case of the NV4500.. look at the specs.. its designed for 23,000lbs roughly.. I know all you guys are pulling more than that.. you cant BS a BS'er

If my trans fails running in 4th I'll repost.. I'll also be out of business.. I have decided it.. if it goes I am shutting it down. And I MAY install a medium duty trans.. but I WON'T ever run a NV 4500 or 5600 again.. $3k to rebuild.. screw that. OUCH that hurt man."

"worst part is the manufacturer went under and there are NO, ZERO, ZIP, new NV5600's left. only rebuilt units, and even those run about $3k. also its starting to get hard to find parts for them.

Also, for those who've never read about it...overfill the NV5600 by about a quart. there were many reports that when running alot of miles/towing heavy loads the stock capacity level was not enough oil to cool the bearings...thus causing bearing failures. since then i think even dodge put out the TSB to overfill the 5600 by a quart to add extra cooling and lubing for the bearings"

"there are aluminum cooler add-ons that bolt in between the PTO cover plates and the transmission case. with one on each side, you get a lot more cooling ability and 2 quarts of fluid capacity."

"I heard this too and have since added a quart of Redline MTL through the shifter boot. I'm kind of pissed because the 5600 was supposed to be the cat's ___. It shifts like a damn dumptruck, so you would think it would be a little heavier duty than your average truck transmission."

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks Rob

[Mopar1973Man]

Sad to hear that you having such a bad time with 5th Gear... But its true that New Venture is gone... The NV5600 trans where short lived so parts are really tought to find... But the NV4500 series was common so there is aftermarket companies getting parts for them yet... Strange... I do a lot of firwood hauling in the summer time 1 cord in the bed and 1 cord on the trailer and use 5th gear all the time... But never had a issue. Still using the Factory (Mopar Gear lube) and no issues.

[AH64ID]

Being a NV5600 owner I had read some of the threads on them. To me it seem the no towing in 6th gear was a holdover from the NV4500 5th gear nut issues. The NV5600 seems to be a very stout trans. As for the fluid on the top, I had a friend have his shifter housing come loose and start to leak on him (NV4500), so I wonder if that happened? I would guess you got a leak of sorts and it ran low on fluid to get that hot. I have the FAST coolers on mine and think they make a difference, but have never had a temp gauge in it, and have never ran without them. Cheap insurance, and the extra capacity should allow for longer fluid life.

[hawkeye213]

LOL I am not having probs with 5th gear those were all just quotes of other people from other forums with the probs they had with the nv5600 and nv4500. I am not saying any of that is fact. It was just some things I read and it just got me to wondering. I think alot of them were hauling cars or heavy machinery. Some where even switching out the NV tranny's for fullers. I did find the adding an exta quart of tranny fluid interesting and I think they said that dodge had issued at TSB about it. But I agree AH64 something happened and the tranny just got to hot. Thanks to everyone for your help.Rob

[AH64ID]

I realize most those were quotes from other folks, just wanted to put my opinion out there. Best of luck... A fuller 10 speed would be SWEET!

[guinnessbrewer]

You might call Dan at Quad 4x4 and ask for his recommendations... He seems to know these trannies pretty well. http://quad4x4.com/ GB

LOL I am not having probs with 5th gear those were all just quotes of other people from other forums with the probs they had with the nv5600 and nv4500. I am not saying any of that is fact. It was just some things I read and it just got me to wondering. I think alot of them were hauling cars or heavy machinery. Some where even switching out the NV tranny's for fullers. I did find the adding an exta quart of tranny fluid interesting and I think they said that dodge had issued at TSB about it. But I agree AH64 something happened and the tranny just got to hot. Thanks to everyone for your help. Rob

[white01]

You might call Dan at Quad 4x4 and ask for his recommendations... He seems to know these trannies pretty well. http://quad4x4.com/ GB

i see that he has alot of nv5600 parts.