Biiiig uh-oh.....

[skobylenski]

Yeah, so this evening I was going along, went to downshift on a hill, and the shifter came back, but the trans. stayed in 5th :-{}... ... . as in its now a boat anchor..... I've checked Quad4x4.com, however their site says they are no longer producing the NV4500HD conversion kit As it's currently 16 hours before I can call them, anyone know what the deal is with that? Am I screwed?



Thanks, Scott

 

[PToombs]

Scott, the shifter probably just popped out of the gate. Pull the shifter, reset the gate with a screwdriver or bar, and put it back in. If the tip of the shifter is worn, and you pull it at an angle instead of straight back, this is common.

 

[skobylenski]

Is it common for a HUGE cloud of dark smoke (not exhaust, the smell was much worse) when trying to move, and then one rear wheel turning each direction when being towed?

 

[TWorline]

When trying to take of in 5th gear it requires alot of slipping the clutch that combined with lugging the truck would explain both the stink and the black smoke. Yes if it is locked in gear the tires would turn different ways. It would be like towing a rear wheel drive car that is still in park.

 

[skobylenski]

Ahh, ok. I get it now. Now why when I had the x-fer case in neutral wouldn't the truck roll freely? Shouldn't that completely disconnect everything so the driveshaft and wheels turn but nothing in front of it does?

 

[PToombs]

Did you get it in another gear? If it's stuck in 5th, you can still put it in 2nd, 3rd etc. So it may have been locked in 2 gears when you tried it. On the rear wheel thing, if it's in gear, the trans won't free wheel, thus one goes each way when towing. If you push in the clutch, it should roll.

IE; if you put the stick in neutral, and let out the clutch, will it try to go?

I'd pull the shifter and check the gates, just for the heck of it. If you look in the top, it should look like this;

_I I

I

oI I

I



O being where the stick should be. Ignore that cross line, I couldn't get it to space the way I wanted.

 

[TWorline]

With it being locked in gear you might not have actually gotten it into neutral.

 

[skobylenski]

Nope, the shifter moves between the 1/2 and 3/4 rails from side to side, but is a no-go for a specific gear, and it won't even go as far over as the 5/R rail. It's literally stuck in 5th. Clutch in, it won't roll.

 

[TWorline]

It sounds like you are locked up in between 4th. and 5th. gears. The gear shifter will do nothing, it is time to pull the shifter.

 

[JGrefenstette]

if it wont roll with the clutch disengaged... will it idle with the clutch pedal depressed? does the pedal feel like you have pressure, any hydraulic help? if youre trying to start it in 5th have you attempted putting it in 4low for some lower gearing?

 

[skobylenski]

It never went into 4th as far as I can tell. I clutched, pulled back toward 4th, and *donk*... . *donk donk donk*..... nothing. Tried pushing back to 5th, wouldn't even go over to the right that far, tried every other gear once I got stopped, same *donk*. I'll be able to pull it apart tomorrow and see, but I think it may be worse than a simple shift fork issue.

I know there's been a slow oil leak for a month or so now (slow being I noticed it was juicy around the back of the x-fer case at my last oil change, but wasn't like that 5000 miles prior), so unless it dumped all the oil someplace on the road, it's never left puddles when parked.

 

[skobylenski]

JGref - Sorry, mistype, clutch in, it rolls, you can clutch and start it. Letting clutch out in 4-lo won't even work, it's still too high a ratio to get it moving.

I'm gonna check out for the night. More details as this all unfolds in the coming days.

 

[JGrefenstette]

allrighty then skobylenski, thanks for the response, good luck and Godspeed. keep us posted

 

[dpuckett]

I had the same problem in my 92 when I first bought it, though it would stick in 2nd, with te shifter running everywhere else.



Pull the shifter and put the gates back in neutral. You may only need a top, or just some new bolts to hold the shifter side-to-side.



If the transmission needs rebuilt, you are better off rebuilding the Getrag than getting a NV4500 kit. I think the tide has turned. A few years ago, Getrags were a dime a dozen. Now you cant get a good one for under $500.



Daniel

 

[JGrefenstette]

daniel, you mean that their are good getrags out there for under $500??? is this rebuilt units or used ones needing a rebuild?

 

[dpuckett]

Not anymore. There WERE good ones out there for that, once upon a time. I could have bought a whole pickup bed of them for $4-600 apiece from a junkyard in Colorado Springs a few years back. Cores (likely needing synchros, bearings) were going for scrap prices. I need to get in touch with them... ... . Cousin getting married in May; someone in the family can bring one back to me.



DP

 

[skobylenski]

Well, it turns out that the result of a larger problem was the transmission thinking it could be in 2 gears at once..... my new mechanic (yeah yeah, I know, I should be working on my own truck..... ) tore into it today. I think the problem is being caused by a lack of oil... . maybe it's been leaking longer than I'd realized, who knows. He reset everything, but it locked itself back up as soon as I went to move it this afternoon, thus why I think oil level may be the issue.

 

[dpuckett]

Sounds like it's time for a top rebuild. WHile you have it out, put some bearings and synchros in it. Mine is getting sloppy. ANyone have info on just the top shifter assembly? Need to get ahold of Chris... ...



Daniel

 

[OKish]

i bet you sheared a roll pin in the shifter rail assembly. same thing happened to me, stuck in 5th gear and shifter does nothing.

 

[skobylenski]

Well, the final upshot was nothing more than a worn shift fork. Basically when it goes into 5th, the shifter falls into a sort of "dead area" and the fork falls over. If you don't push the shifter up and away (towards the right-front of the truck), the lever comes back, but everything else stays put..... unless you shove it back and then shift it correctly. Final decision has been that it'll cost WAY too much to drop the transmission and replace the worn fork, assuming one can be located, too... ... So for now I'm just gonna drive it and remember to do the funky shift thing to get it out of 5th.

On another note (to hijack my own thread ), my headlight switch died 2 days ago and I've created a rather nice replacement setup using 3 switches - 1 for headlights alone, 1 for marker lights, 1 for gauges, all lined up in the stock location. If anyone's interested, I can give more details on the whole deal.