Archived 5 speed grind with acceleration, shift rails rubbing gears??

[Jff24Gordn]

boy, I hate posting here.



My transmission has a rattle for a while. It got worse. When I give it some power in gear, 5psi in 2nd gear, or 15-20psi on the others, it gets a real bad grinding sound. Like missed a shift grind. I can feel it in the shifter when it does it. It is by far worst in 2nd gear. There are no metal shavings showing up in the oil yet, but it just started and I parked the truck. The oil wasnt hot, and it didnt do anything out of the ordinary when it wasnt making those noises. It shifts just like normal. the transfer case was normal too.

Could a shifter rail or something associated with getting it in 2nd gear be wore out and hitting a gear? If it was a bearing, it should have fell apart by now, because I babied it back to work for 20 miles.

wayne

 

[DodgeSales]

Sounds just like mine did when the snap ring broke in the transfer case. It was an easy fix the snap ring was 8. 00 I think and it took me about an hour to install. you do not have to pull the transfer case. The snap ring is in the rear of the case.

 

[Jff24Gordn]

the snap ring only made noise when you gave it throttle in gear?

 

[Bob Horrell]

I have had a similar noise for some time now. I think it is in the transfer case because that is where it is most noticeable if I put a mechanics stethascope on the shift levers. I have temp guages and the tx and transfer case temps are normal. I have checked the snap ring and it is OK (isolated by my GV overdrive). Drained oil in both and checked magnets etc. and all like new. Replaced carrier bearing and checked all U-joints. I'll be damned if I can find the cause. For as much noise as it makes, you would think it would be easy to find. I tow heavy every day and sometimes I just get pi$$ed and nail it with a load hoping something would break, but it never does. The more I push it the louder it is and it is usually noticeable above 10 lbs boost. It is driving me crazy. I hope you can find yours and it will lead me to mine.

I have had a good transmission guy ride with me and after having me do a bunch of driving tests he said the transmission was OK and that he thought it was the transfer case. That is when I took the rear housing off the transfer case and inspected what I could. The fluid was like new and I scraped the magnet and it was clean, and snap ring OK. The transfer case works fine. I use 4X4 several times a week while towing heavy to get my tractor or bobcat to job sites up steep hills etc and it works fine.

Good luck with your problem. Sorry I couldn't be any help.

 

[Jff24Gordn]

this is not the usual grunt in high gears that is on most bombed 5 speeds. I've had that for 3 years. This is a high pitched grind. A friend of mine who used to work at a semi transmission shop said that it sounds like either the shift fork is wore out and letting the driver move, or the driver is wore out and moving, or the teeth on the gear the the driver graps are wore. But he mainly did clutches and tore apart the trannies, he wasnt good enough to put them back together. Either way, I think it's gonna hafta come out.

 

[GOODE11]

Can a guy troubleshoot the snap ring in the t-case with the cover on or does it have to be pulled? I too experience this growl/grind when accellerating while loaded heavy.



Bob, I do the same thing every time when loaded. Hammer down hoping something will break. Does yours also give off a slight vibration when cruising unloaded or loaded light?



Jf24Gordn, how many miles are on your transmission? If your up around 150-200k it may be a shift rail. It should be a pretty easy troubleshoot when on the ground.

 

[bighammer]

I think the snap ring they're talking about is in the output housing of the transfer case. There is a collar that replaces it to prevent any further snap ring problems. Find it here

 

[Jff24Gordn]

well, odometer says 124,000. It has been on 285/75 for the last 35,000. And to start off with, the odometer is off from the speedo. the speedo is 7% slow and the odometer is 12% slow with the larger tires. so it might have 140,000 to 150,000 on the truck.

it seems like its in the rail or driver on the 1-2 gears. It is by far worst in 2nd and hasnt grinded in 1st. But it might be in the 3-4 because it will not always catch the stop on the shift to 3rd and go past the gear into the radio.

I dont know, I think everything but the case is wore out. Cant be me, I drive like a grandma on her way to church on sunday in a 1970 coupe de ville.

 

[Bob Horrell]

GOODE11,

I also have noticed a mild vibration at times. It doesn't seem consistant and I haven't been able to determine what causes it or exactly when it will occur. It is easy to inspect the transfer case snap ring. Just pull off the rear output shaft cover and you will find it inside on the output shaft.

It is interesting what you can listen to while driving with a mechanics stethascope. I got one at Harbor Freight for less than $5. While driving you can place it on the shift levers for the transmission and the transfer case and listen to the gears inside. While doing this you can mash the throttle and listen for changes. My transmission only emits normal gear sounds which get slightly louder under a load. My transfer case is normal sounding until I put it under a load and then it gets noticeably louder. I listened to a friends transfer case while he accelerated and it sounded much quieter than mine. This isn't foolproof because a noise in the drivetrain behind the transfer case could could be transmitted to the transfer case which in turn could isolate the noise from the transmission. Gear train noises tend to travel and are sometimes very hard to pinpoint.

They make electronic stethascopes that have 6 to 8 sensors that can be placed at various points on the drivetrain and you can listen to each one individually. This really helps at pinpointing drivetrain noise. I haven't tried this yet, but I found one at Napa for just under $200 bucks. Haven't convinced myself to fork over the money for it just yet.

 

[Jff24Gordn]

well, got it out, and the gears can move maybe 1/8" front and back on the main shaft. that cant be good.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Remember when I told you to check the end play on the shafts?

 

[bighammer]

I can't believe you drove all the way to Lansing with hardly any brakes and a track bar ready to separate. Now you worry about a little grinding? Just drive it till it locks up.

 

[Jff24Gordn]

Wel any redneck who has drove old worn out tractors ca drive on a little steering play, it was only 1/2 turn. And I had power brakes for about 1/2 second before I lost vaccume. All of that is cosmetic stuff. And if i had a major problem, thats what insurance is for, but insurance wont cover worn out bearings or a synchro comming apart in the transmission. And steve, endplay in the main shft wasnt the problem, the shaft is tight. Just my hard foot and shifting and only losing 3 psi boost is what the problem was. Also, did i mention that i had broke off the stop on the synchro on 3rd that keeps the driver from going too far. Did that last year at muncie.