2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Checking 5th gear retaining nut?

[jeepullr]

With a few days off next week I thought I would update my driveline. Plan is to start at the back and change the fluid in the rear diff. Then pull the Driveshaft and replace the carrier bearing and all three u-joints. Since my rear seal on my NV4500 is leaking I'll be replacing it. Then I'll be replacing the fluid in the transmission. Was thinking... while I've got all this apart, would it be a good idea to check the 5th gear retaining nut? Would it be a good idea to tighten it and maybe add a bit of Loc-Tite to it? Any good links to tech pages on this? Haynes and Chilton are pretty silent on anything inside the transmission.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

There's not much you can do to the nut to help, except to call 800-std-tran and get the upgrade kit, fully splined mainshaft, etc. Otherwise, the nut will seem OK until it comes off on its own. Only warning you might find is if you remove the nut and 5th gear and find the shaft is hammered into by the splines on the gear. Likelihood is high that that has happened.

 

[Reb.B]

a customer of mine suggested the other day about double nutting the fifth gear. He wanted to shave the first nut a little and the use the other one. I tried it and it seems to be a good idea. I've welded, spot welded, locktighted, used two after market ones and if your customer pulls too heavy with too much power they have all come off. I'm gonna see if the double nut works now. I have seen customer loose fifth gear 5 different ways.

 

[Bob V]

Here is my 5th gear nut story. At 50,000 miles on my '97 I wanted to check the nut before I went on a 2,000 mi trip towing our travel trailer. I got the Dodge upgrade nut before I started. Left the trans in the truck, just pulled the transfer case and tail housing of the transmission. When I got it all apart it looked fine, the nut hadn't back off, the staking on the nut still in the keyway of the shaft. I thought, what a waste of time. When I checked the tightness of the nut there was only about 10ft lbs of torque on it. Took the nut off, looked like the threads had been "pulled". I personally don't think that the nuts simply back off, the threads are stripped and the nuts pushed off. If the nuts simply back off, the threads would not be wasted. I thought , at least I caught it in time before the gear got loose on the shaft, wrong, the gear slide right off and had been hammering on the none splined of the shaft. Since I didn't have a new gear I used Locketite 680 to secure the gear to the shaft and 277 to secure the new nut. That has been 150,000 miles ago with no problems, even with 300+ hp and towing 7,000 lbs in 5th gear.

The job is not bad, 4-6 hours of work, but I would let the Locktite cure overnight before refilling and driving. Also have a GOOD quality 10mm 12 point wrench and socket before you start, some of those bolts are TIGHT.

Bob V

 

[Reb.B]

i've done about 15 5th gear jobs were the nut came off and only one nut was stripped off, the rest had just backed off. The one i did last was the one that had just stripped rights off. Thats what got me started that maybe more threads from two nuts may help.