Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 6 speed transmission

[LFarrar]

Hey guys,

I have 01 with the 6 speed and for a couple months now it seems to be harder to put in gear. When I am at a stop light I try not to keep clutch in and use up throwout bearing, so I kick it out of gear. When I see light ready to change I dip the clutch in to engage and it is stiff and does not want to go in, I have tryed to let clutch out to get things moving but it still is hard to get in. If I shift just prior to coming to a stop it goes in. When I run through the gears up to 6th it shifts finein every gear. But when standing still it does not like to go into most all of the gears, reverse included. This is warm or cold days. The ony things changed in this area was I had south bend clutch installed and dealer changed trans oil few months ago. Truck has 32K miles on it. Could dealer put differant fluid than original? weight of the fluid? As most of you I start in 2nd gear first only if I am pulling the 5'er. I was looking to get the BD short shifter but until this is figured out I do not want to have another varable to deal with.

Is this something that is inhearant to the 6spd or something to ***** at dealer about?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice

Lou

 

[Mad Bomber]

Alot of the times a fresh fill of new oil might help. BTW the Redline MTL is what I use. For me it works better than the OEM oil.

 

[LFarrar]

Thanks for the reply Mad, I am a super Redline oil fan to start with used for years in the race car with no problems. I am thinking of the change. What weight oil do you use? what is your climate like, pardon I did not look where you were located. Have you used any additives like lucas? or other snake oils?

 

[Mad Bomber]

The Redline MTL is a weight oil for the 6 speed. I'm from the Pac NW. Seattle WA. The Redline was sugested by Peter @ South Bend. He also said to use something with it but I do not works good by it self.

 

[DAAguiar]

Pennzoil Synchromesh fluid works for me. It is recommended in NV 5600 trans.

Mopar pn 4874464.

More info www.pennzoil.com/penn/products/car_truck/gearoil.htlm

One alternative to DC.

 

[LFarrar]

Got a case of MTL on Thursday, But will have to wait. I want my hy-brid turbo and ats manifold to put on this weekend. Wow the PDR hx-35 gets er up pretty good :--) Oo. Oo.

 

[PC12Driver]

I just put a SBC OFE in my truck a couple of weeks ago and noticed the same thing. My theory is that the SBC disk weighs more, therefore the synchros have more rotating mass to speed up/slow down. When you push in the clutch from a standstill to put the truck back in gear, the synchro acts as a brake to stop the rotating mass of the input shaft and clutch disk. More mass = more effort to stop. If you push in the clutch and count to three before selecting a gear you'll give the clutch some time to spin down and it will be easier to put into gear.



I literally just got back in the house after taking my truck for a test run after changing the transmission oil to Red Line MTL. The shifts are noticeably smoother, but they're not as nice as they were pre-SBC and the hard-to-get-into-gear is still there.



Anybody have a SBC OFE clutch disk lying around that they could put on the scale?

 

[Texas Diesel]

Originally posted by PC12Driver

If you push in the clutch and count to three before selecting a gear you'll give the clutch some time to spin down and it will be easier to put into gear.

Excellent advice!!

 

[Sticks]

Originally posted by PC12Driver

I just put a SBC OFE in my truck a couple of weeks ago and noticed the same thing.

Ditto here. Glad I am not the only one. I thought maybe my clutch was not holding, meaning I screwed up the install somehow. I'm due for my yearly transmission change anyhow.



Anybody remember the OEM fluid capacity of the NV5600?

 

[jstyer]

Fill amount

According to the service manual it's 9. 5 pints or about 4. 25 quarts. When I just changed mine it only took about 4 quarts until it stsrted coming out the fill/level check opening.

Hope this helps.

 

[Texas Diesel]

Do you have any tendency to "creep" while in gear with the clutch pedal pressed down?



Sounds like a dragging pilot bearing.

 

[mules4me]

What is this Redline MTL and where do you go to find it.



Thanks

 

[LFarrar]

Now that has merit on the mass and slowing it down. I have seen even with truck not running also little stiff. As soon as I get the MTL in I will report back. I got my Redline from the local speed shop owner/builder.

 

[Mad Bomber]

Originally posted by mules4me

What is this Redline MTL and where do you go to find it.



Thanks

You can find it at http://www.summitracing.com/ or at any local speed shop.

 

[PC12Driver]

At first I thought that it might have been a tight pilot bearing or a dragging clutch. To check, I put the truck in gear at a standstill to stop the rotation of the clutch disk, then shifted back to neutral without letting out the clutch. After waiting for 15 seconds or so, keeping the clutch depressed, I was able to drop right back into gear without any resistance. If the bearing or clutch was dragging, the disk would have spooled back up and it would have been difficult to get back into gear again.

 

[RichardFerrell]

Originally posted by mules4me

What is this Redline MTL and where do you go to find it.



Thanks

Call Redline at 1 800 624 7958 and they will give you the closest dealer to you. took me about three minutes!