It's Begun: Project RANCH TRUCK

[rancherman]

:spend:Got home last night with my '98 (I was misinformed, I originally thought it was a '97) This truck was originally sold new in Littleton Colo, and spent most of it's life in Colorado, and ended up in the Panhandle of Nebraska. Salt wasn't much of a factor on this truck. Doesnt really matter to me though, cause it was rolled on it's side. I got it mainly for donating everything I need (driveline wise) into my '94This truck came with the snow plow option and tow package. It's got the Dana 80 rear with limited slip 3.54's DHD Tc, It was a nv4500 (now missing). Extended cab, long box. I got a good cab and box as part of the deal.... which I won't need... (For sale!!)Options it came with are pw ps ac cc AND, an undeployed air bag!!! Plus, LOL, 3/4 tank of fuel! whoo, that's 75 bucks recouped right there!It's amazing the pile of parts that come out of a dismantled cab..... I'll bet there is an unclaimed lotto ticket in that pile somewhere!!! Thank goodness I have a couple of parts trucks on hand to donate screws, bolts, clips.... etc Soon as wife finds the camera, I'll get some pics before I unload the beast... and LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

[diesel4life]

Bien this is going to be a rach truck are you using 4.10 gears? It seems like someone was trying to find a set of the 3.54s i cant remember if it was on here or not. You should be able to sell them pretty easy if your not using thm lots of people swap there 4.10s out for the taller gears. I had a 2000 with 4.10s and my 98 with 3.54 gets much better mileage. 4.10s would be great if i towed heavy all the time or lived in a mountainous area but i live in farm country and tow up to 13k occasionally with my 3.54s and the rest of the time i only tow between 7 and 9k for the most part and they work well for me. For what i do they are a well balanced choice. I would love to do the 3.73 split but for the money its hard to justify.

[rancherman]

I've been thinking about that too; 3.5 vs. 4.1 gear. In our 3500 ram, it's got 3.5's, and I guess with the 6 speed, low gear has always been adequate. I typically will run that 3500 in 6th unloaded at highway speeds (60-70mph) and 5th when pulling one of our loaded trailers (55-60mph) I'll probably keep the 3.5's for now, and when I need 'crawler' type speed, I'll just shift into 4 wheel low. My plan is to put the 6 speed into this project, and gear spacing is much better than the 4500's...Rolling hills are what i typically run in around here.

[Mopar1973Man]

5 or 6 speeds are nearly the same for ratios.5 speeds have 4th and 5th close. Then 6 speeds have 4th, 5th, and 6th close. 5 Speed in 4th is 1:1 ratio5 Speed in 5th is 0.75:1 ratio6 Speed in 5th is 1:1 ratio6 Speed in 6th is 0.73:1 ratio

[rancherman]

I guess we are a dodge 'family'... '99 neon, '96 stealth, and of course the 'visible' Rams!

The Ram 'train'

and of course:

- - - Updated - - -

5 or 6 speeds are nearly the same for ratios.

5 speeds have 4th and 5th close. Then 6 speeds have 4th, 5th, and 6th close.

5 Speed in 4th is 1:1 ratio

5 Speed in 5th is 0.75:1 ratio

6 Speed in 5th is 1:1 ratio

6 Speed in 6th is 0.73:1 ratio

Thats what I meant to say! LOL,

The 5 speed has a pretty good step in one of the gear changes (what I've read).... the 6 spd fills that gap.

Thinking back, I've never driven a 5 speed!

Ohhh... this thread is gonna be a lot easier if you guys could just READ MY MIND!

[rancherman]

have compiled a couple days searches on manual gearbox "pros and cons"(searching for the best transmission scenario for my Ranch Project).Of course, most things on the 'net will state 'badness' first. No one hardly starts a thread on the good stuff!pretty much decided to go with a 6 speed... just for the more evenly spaced shifts.1. Nv5600.... prone to heat/lack of oiling/burning up.... and lack of parts. There are some things to improve oiling. 2. G56.... prone to breakage. But from what I've read, not prone to 'eating itself' alive.Is it safe to assume, when reading most of the posts on the g56, that these trans are breaking from the tons of burnouts, drag races....etc etc?? (especially with all the 500-1000 hp rigs out there???) 3. Fuller FSO6406a 6 speed syncronized... sigh, yes, it's possible.... but no slick way to marry a TC to the back. Divorced is a possibility. (wife agrees too!) Guy in New Mexico is working that problem.. (Chansey @ CF) but probably not in time for my winter project.I guess if a fresh rebuilt 5600 falls in my lap for less than 2K (highly unlikely) I'd rather buy a core and build it myself, and KNOW what's inside!2K or less for a low mileage G56 is pretty easy to come by around here. ( and parts are still available for now)I have a couple leads on 'cheap' (needing work) 5600's, but need to explore what is needed first! New parts add up fast! It's hard for me to mentally wrap my head around an aluminum case...

[rancherman]

score! just down the road I found a 2003 nv5600, it was pulled because of a front input shaft leak. It's not locked up, and supposedly has less than 150k miles. Missing the shift tower and clutch fork/pushrod/slave...gave 600 for it, and will get it pulled apart to see whats what. it's least worth 1000 as a core for a possible future trade.It does have the large input shaft, and is the 4x4 version.If the case is ok, I'll go ahead and rebuild this unit. I'm thinking at least a bearing set, and syncros will use the cherry picker to snag it out of the back of the 3500!