Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 5 Speed whinning noise and slight vibration?

[MoparMark]

I recently installed a jacobs exhaust brake and used it some today while

I hauled a car on my goose neck, it worked well. I noticed on the way home

that I had a whinning noise that I could feel in the shifter while accelerating

in 1st 2nd and 3rd gears, it seems to go away in 4th and 5th. Is this related

to the force applied in the opposite direction on the gears etc. from using the Ebrake?

Do I have a bearing going bad on one of my trans shafts?

Has anyone experienced this before???

 

[SRadke]

I've found they start making noise when the bearings get sloppy. I've had 5 of them apart now ranging from 90k to 130k miles and had to re-bearing 4 of them. They don't have good life expectancy behind the diesels if you don't change the oil.



-Scott

 

[MoparMark]

I was wodering if anyone else has had this happen while using ebrake?

This noise just came on suddenly after using the brake while towing.

It sounds like my best hope is to remove the transmission and rebuild it,

new bearings syncs. etc.

 

[JJ Jackson]

It looks like you are at the exact miles that my 5spd went south and lost third gear. Had the same vibration in the shifter. I used the Jake brake way more in 4th gear then 3rd so I seriously doubt it had anything to do with the revese loading theory. There are a lot of us out here with exhaust brakes and Jacobs is marketed at Dodge dealerships too, so I wouldn't worry about the exhaust brake causing the problem with the NV4500. If you tow heavy, or tow in less than perfect traction conditions and you've bombed, chances are your 5spd is on its way out. I bought a 6spd from Blumenthals in Indiana, cost me $4000 but I wanted my truck to be reliable. This is all assuming that you've checked and are running the correct lube, and that the whining isnt a stuck butterfly valve in the Jake brake.

 

[MoparMark]

I assume from the lack of responses , thank you to those that responded,

that I have an isolated failure with the 5 speed.

Has anyone rebuilt a 5 speed ? Any special tools needed?

Removal suggestions, do's and don'ts???

I sure could use some help here folks!

 

[SRadke]

Like I said, I've rebearinged a couple of them. I just don't know anything about a connection with e-brake related reverse loading.



They're a pretty simple box, just keep track of the pieces and get them back in the same places. A service manual will guide you through it. I've got the NV4500 part of the service manual in pdf format I can send you if you like but it's quite large, it'll take a while to come through on a slow connection. The only special tools you'll need are the socket for the spanner nut (which you could make with a little imagination) and something to hold the imput shaft while you tighten it (a soft jawed pipe wrench would do). Bearing removal is your basic pullers, punches, hammers program. PM me an email if you'd like the pdf.



-Scott

 

[TPlasek]

Think about buying the fully spline mainshaft. You will have to remove the old one to install the new bearings... .



Also, Don't forget to change you rear main seal on the cranshaft. I left mine alone at 104k because it didn't show any signs of weapage, but at 110k it started to leak. I could kick myself for not doing it while the transmission was down.

 

[MoparMark]

Will it cause much more damage if I continue to run the truck with this

new transmission noise?

Or has the major damage been done and I will just need to rebuild soon?



Thanks

 

[TPlasek]

The noise in my truck got very loud just a few days before I couldn't drive it any more. I only had to replace the normal wear parts, plus one bearing retainer plate which got ruined from driving it to long. My only concern about driving it to long would be spinning a bearing race in the transmission housing. They are not pressed in so you can adjust the endplay, and because of this, I would think it would be easy to spin a race when the bearing deteriorates. Then you would have to buy a case. But, with that being said, I did drive mine until all the bearings fell out of the race and it didn't happen to me.



A good set of snapring pliers is a must, and I used a 4ft pipe wrench to tighten the fifth gear nut. But you could always order the special wrench if you like. When I tightened the nut, I placed the transmission in the hydraulic press, lightly squeezed it just to hold it in place, then I manually shifted the transmission into first and fourth at the same time so it would not rotate, and then cranked that nut as tight as I could get it. Funny thing is, after I rebuilt the transmission, it now has a slight fifth gear whine which wasn’t there before. I attribute that to replacing only one of the two fifth gears, but it could be something else. I have about 50 k on it so far.

 

[JAlford]

Don't forget to replace the mainshaft with a fully spined unit if you rebuild. The original design was seriously bad on the 5th gear, coming from the "added on 5th" to a good 4spd trans. The only correction is a full spline to increase the surface area for gear support. If you tow a lot and are going to bomb the truck, you might want to spend the $4000 on a 6spd swap.

Jeff