2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 5th gear job DONE!

[CumminsPower98]

I received my two tools and 5th gear nut kit today so after work I got at it. All went well so I am now on the road again. I brake cleaned everything really well then ran rivers of RED loctite in the threads of both parts. I then put a thin layer of grease on the washer to aid in tightening the nut. I tightened the nut up until I broke my 3/4" to 1/2" adapter and called it good. I installed the setscrews with BLUE loctite and tightened them until my allen wrench started twisting. After all that I staked the outer edge of the nut in 13 places! I hope this holds until I can afford to do the job right. I still have the "bee bee" sound when in 5th gear though. Anyone know what this is coming from? I can hear it only when coasting at lower speeds. I have hardly used 5th yet because I want to give it lots of time for the loctite to cure out. I will post before and after pictures of the job, which my friend Jim S. took for me. I had never seen pictures of this job and always wished I could so I will put some up for anyone else who is curious.



Mark



(edit) Sorry I put this in the wrong forum by accident.

 

[moparguy]

Mark, good luck with the repair. I'll be watching for the photos.



RJR

 

[jsimpson]

Mark, I've had that bee bee sound while unloaded in nearly every stick shift vehicle I've owned in the last 46 years - some louder than others, but always there. I believe it's just from the imperfections of humanly produced machines.

 

[RHARVEY]

TOOLS????

What tools do you need to complete this little project???? And I also want to see the pictures... .



Rick

 

[kchristopher]

Can you do this repair without pulling the transmission?

 

[Got Smoke?]

Originally posted by kchristopher

Can you do this repair without pulling the transmission?

There's no way to do that without pulling the transmission. :{

 

[CumminsPower98]

The job can be done very easily without pulling the trany. All you have to pull is the transfer case and the tail housing on the rear of the transmission. Having never done this before and not rushing at all it took me about 1:45 to get to the problem spot. Now if a person was doing the job right and replacing the main shaft in the transmission then yes you would have to pull it for sure. I will try to get pictures as soon as I can but I'm not sure when. Jim S. was formating his hard drive yesterday and he has the pictures in his camera.



Mark

 

[Got Smoke?]

Originally posted by CumminsPower98

The job can be done very easily without pulling the trany.

:--) :--) I thought there would no way in the world you could do it without pulling the transmission



Guess I better keep my BIG mouth shut from now on about things I don't know for sure.

 

[RHARVEY]

Its a good thing that I dont have a 4X4 transfer case to worry about.....





Rick

 

[CumminsPower98]

Before and after pictures of 5th gear

Ok, here are some photos of my 5th gear, enjoy. This picture shows how things looked right after taking the rear housing off before I touched a thing in there.

 

[CumminsPower98]

Notice the short 5/8" worth of splines, which are not even under most of the gear where all the pressure is. Who ever designed this needs to have their head examined!

 

[CumminsPower98]

This picture shows the new nut installed.

 

[CumminsPower98]

Another angle of the new nut.

 

[Steve Campbell]

Great pictures!!!!

Kind of makes me want to do this "pre-emptively" on my 99. I try not to tow in 5th gear, but have been told and read here that it is "only a matter of when", not "if" it is going to fail. There was a lot of talk about "latest" updated nut and what year it was on. I forgot all of that now, but feel some kind of urge to do something. I do not have the "buzz" yet, but have heard that is not always heard before failure either.



So, should I do something, even if it's wrong?

 

[CumminsPower98]

Steve, I think I would not worry about it. If you have the money to replace the shaft, which is the only right thing to do, then just drive it until it lets go. Some people do go ahead and do the preventive maintenance thing though so I don't really know. It's pretty much up to you I guess.



(edit) I forgot to mention that I didn't hear mine going at all. The sound that I thought was 5th gear getting loose is still there.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Hey Mark



Thanks for the pictures! Did you get the tools from Miller or snap-on or ??



I'm assuming the 2 tools you are talking about is the splined socket and the tool for the nut itself?



How much did they cost?



Where did you get the replacement nut and as well - how much did it cost?



Thanks!

Dan

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

CP98 - I hate to tell you this and hopefully you already know. 5th gear is supposed to be a press fit onto that shaft. Looking at your mainshaft photo you can see where the splines have hammered into the mainshaft - I'm betting you were able to just slide your 5th gear on by hand easily. When I had Enterprise Engine install my clutch a year and a half ago I had them also install the MOPAR split 5th gear nut as a pre-emptive measure (60,000 miles on the truck at the time) and my 5th gear slid off and right back on at that time. I didn't know that it was supposed to be a press fit at the time. At just over 100,000 miles the split nut backed off and I lost 5th. The new gear and mainshaft was DEFINATELY a press fit. The "bee bee" sound you may be hearing could be the gear moving around on the shaft because of the play there. When I pulled the tailhousing off when I lost 5th you could move the gear by hand and feel that there was play (my mainshaft looks just like yours). What happens is the gear can now cock on the shaft and that's what backs the nut off. Hopefully you already knew about this and this isn't new info for you. I now have a fully splined mainshaft in my transmission.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Steve,



Did you notice your trans to be quieter (when in 5th gear) when you installed the new shaft and 5th gear? Supposedly mine was "fixed" before I got the truck - but there is noise when in 5th.



Now the question is - how much borrowed time do I have left?



Dan

 

[CumminsPower98]

Dan, I got my tools from SPX/Miller Corporation. The nut wrench was $25 and the splined socket was $61. 61 plus second day shipping. I got the nut from Standard Transmission in Texas and it cost me 45. 27 plus second day shipping.



Steve, I am fully aware of the fit of the gear. Yes as you can see mine is worn pretty bad and just slides on with ease. I know it should be a press fit but I just don't have the money to shell out right now for an updated shaft/gear nor do I have the time to deal with it. I wish I could have done it right and hope this will hold for a little while. I don't tow or haul. In searching the forums on the 5th gear subject before doing the job I saw your transmission nightmares, what a pain. I hope when I do mine that all goes well.



Mark

 

[Steve Campbell]

After reading SSL's reply...

I have even more of an urge to do... . something



Loc Tite makes a product called "Cylendrical Part Bonding Compound". If a person wer to get in ther before any significan wear occurredf between the shaft and gear, possibly the addition of this product (after meticulous cleaning) an installation of the most current replacement nut would hold up???



A person would want to leave the tail shaft off for a few hours and then maybe wait until the next day to fill with fluid.