Another One Bites The Dust

[Old Smoky]

Well, my Getrag finally died yesterday. I will tear into it tomorrow, or turkey day, to see what the damage is. Dad had to tow me 150 miles with a tow strap. :--) That was an interesting 4 hours. I wouldn’t have rather been towed by anything else ('97 Dodge/Cummins). Everything but direct went, and it wasn't in good shape. I know that the NV4500 would be the best choice, but I don’t know if the funds are available. So, I may be stuck with a rebuild, if it's not too bad. I guess I will have to see what it looks like.



Mike

 

[Mgrant]

Opps! I guess I should take it easy on mine. I would like to go for a NV4500 or 5600 too when mine decides to take a dump, but has anyone ever been successfull in stuffing an Eaton Fuller into a 1st generation? Cheaper to buy than the New Ventures and a lot tougher, but the cost of the install could get hairy and not to mention hooking it up to the transfer case. There is a TDR member on here that has put a RTO6610 into a 2 gen 4x4, I'll PM him and see what he has to say.



Mike

 

[AlK]

Old Smoky,

Sorry to hear about the transmission failure - that's a bummer.

Keep us posted!

---

Al

 

[nascar mark]

Hey Mike,



Sorry to hear that. And here I was going to ask you if you were going to make DDP on the 7th. Hope you can get the transmission fixed in time to drop by. A few of us are heading down.



Later

 

[Mgrant]

Hey Mike,

Once you get into the transmission, let me know what's wrong. The dealer I bought my Ram in Cottonwood from has real good luck locating parts. If it's a catastrophic failure, he might even find a NV4500 cheaper than the parts to fix the Getrag. He might also have a runable Getrag around, since he took it out and replaced it with a NV4500 in his car W350 carhauler when he replaced the clutch. I'll give him a ring tomarrow and PM you if he has anything useful.



Mike

 

[JFitzgerald]

Nervous...

Sorry to hear about that. How many miles? You're making me nervous Mike. I'm hoping mine keeps going.



For comparison's sake, a friend of mine's Getrag died and he got a replacement locally. The prices he was quoted were $1300 for a used one, and $1900 for a rebuilt. His was trashed to the point that the parts to fix it were supposedly going to cost more than a complete replacement.

 

[justduneit]

Sorry to hear about the death of your Getrag - I had some bad noises coming out of mine last week; after pulling the trans and transfer back I found that the throwout bearing was toast. I did learn a great trick from a heavy line tech here at work. He suggested that I rent a heavy duty trans jack (semi truck style). Rented a 2200 lb capacity jack for $33. 00 a day and pulled the Getrag and transfer together. We pulled the trans, replaced the t/o bearing and put it back together in 2 1/2 hours - the monster transmission jack is definately the way to go.

 

[dwalker151]

Sorry to hear about your transmission.



If you get a chance let the guy in Cottonwood do some searching for you. I bought my 93 from him and he's kind of the gen 1 expert. Plus he's a really nice fellow.



How are you coming on the BHAF mounts? It looks like I'll be headed your way possibly on Friday was wondering if I could just pick it up?





Dean

 

[Old Smoky]

At 110,000 miles, it doesn't look too good. The input shaft gear had gotten extremely hot, and is also badly worn. The input shaft bearing is shot. The front bearing on the countershaft is all torn up, and many of the teeth on the first gear have been stripped. I think it would be worth the extra money and go with a remanufactured NV4500. Thanks for all the info guys. If your transmission starts sounding like a 6. 5 Chevy, you might want to check it out. I will try to post pics tomorrow.



I don't think I will make to DDP, Mark. I wish I could.



Dean. I am going hunting Friday morning, but could meet you latter in the day if that would work for you.



Mike

 

[dwalker151]

Sounds Good. Just name a time and place.





Dean

 

[BCaldwell]

Mike sounds like the same type of damage that mine had ended up replacing counter shaft and all it's gears as well as input shaft bearing and main shaft gears etc. check out -- email address removed -- for a 4500 kit if you decide to go that route. bill

 

[Old Smoky]

I PMed you Dean.

 

[Old Smoky]

These aren’t the best pictures, but its easy to see what happened.



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Mike

 

[nascar mark]

Ugly,



mark

PDR - Black Sheep Racing

 

[Desperado]

Thats not good. Standard Transmission has NV 4500 with the fith gear fixed.

 

[DieselBuzz]

Smokey,

I voted you a perfect 10 on the input bearing picture. Wow, I imagine you must have literally ground to a halt. Best wishes on your repairs.

Art

 

[Old Smoky]

Thanks for the vote, Art. Yeah, there were some real unhappy sounds coming from the gut bag, I mean Getrag. I will be sure the NV4500 has the splined 5th gear, MrBlue. I am looking at all of the possible sources for the transmission, and adapter kit. I will let you guys know what I find.



Mike

 

[Old Smoky]

I ordered the parts last night. I ended up getting the complete kit from Quad 4X4, and a South Bend Con O clutch from PDR. The kit includes everything needed for the job, as I understand it. The transmission is a NEW NV4500. It doesn't have the fully splined shaft, but includes the updated nut. This transmission has been used by Quad 4X4 for a while now, and has had no reported problems. The installation video will arrive sooner so that I will be able to watch it before I start the conversion.



I removed my seat and carpet to make cutting the new shifter hole, and welding up the old one, easier. I found some surface rust under where the floor mats set. There was some on the driver’s side, and just a spot or two on the passenger’s side. I removed all of the rust, sealed up everything, and sprayed the floor with a sound deadening rust inhibitor. I will let you guys know what else I find.



Mike

 

[KEENO]

Dan's the Man!

Hey Old Smoky!



The Quad 4x4 kit is top notch stuff & Dan's an awesome fellow! He did my truck last year for me when I was out West.



The Advanced Adapter kit has a flimsy crossmember that sags. The Quad 4x4 stuff is totally stout. You'll be pleased..... It's really a Blessing whne the Getrag finally blows.



KEENO



KEENO's Ride

 

[Old Smoky]

I just finished watching the installation video that Dan sent me. It doesn't look too bad. I will watch it again before the install. The parts should be here Wednesday or Thursday. I really am glad that I got the kit from Quad 4X4. All of the mods that need to be done to the transmission are already done, so I don't need to worry about that. All of the brackets look good. There is some minor cutting, grinding, and welding to do, but it is nothing to worry about.



Mike