getrag is noisy again

[MMiller]

Friday night while pulling my 32 ft gooseneck hauling my girlfriend's chevy pulling truck going through creston kinda idling in 4th gear started going up a small hill and i rolled into the throttle to keep the momentum going(not full fuel) and the 110,000 mile getrag made that neat noise off gears trying to push each other away and bearings straining. Info to me saying its on its way out. The first one went out a 50,000 under warranty. This time i want to do it differently. I will NOT be using a getrag again. I will probably use a nv4500 but I would really like to use a 6 speed but I don't know if its financially probable. I will also change out the clutch while changing trannys. My truck is slightly tweaked but there will be more changes later, i tow good size loads on my trailer and I also 4wheel and truck pull my cummins too, so i want a better than stock clutch.



What I am asking form you is info on clutches, and people who are reputable to buy from. I also need to know people to talk to about trannys (both nv4500 and nv5600) as I understand there are different applications of it.



Basically I need all the info you guys will give me to help me make desicions on clutches, trannys, adapters and companies that will be glad to answer all kind of questions. If you want feel free to email me directly.

 

[Paychk]

MMiller



Try these guys for the clutch I've read good things in the Forum about them



http://www.southbendclutch.com





And these guys for the conversion for the 6 Speed



http://www.standardtransmission.com/dodge.html



Good luck on the transmission!

 

[dbrimhall]

Getrag woes

Check these guys out. They just did my '93 with a new NV4500 swap. Top notch work. I recommend them highly. They are a long way from you, but also sell all the parts and adapters.



http://www.quad4x4.com/index.html



Ask for Dan.

 

[KEENO]

Hey Guys!



I can also affirm "dbrimhall's" recommendation of QUAD 4X4 In Roberts, Montana, just outside of Red Lodge. Dan is one of the most conscientious, resourceful, hard working individuals that I ever met. Top Notch work! I spent 3 days at his shop while he 'squeezed' my truck into his schedule for the emergency NVG conversion. He also rebuilt my front drive shaft & rebuilt/rebearing the rear Dana 70 while I was there. I know of at least 2 other TDR brothers that have used his services and had the NVG conversion done by Quad 4x4.



Regarding Clutches: I have a SBC assembly in my truck which consist of the 12 1/4" Luk Pressure Plate, Valeo disk, Special throwout bearing (ask SBC) & Kevlar Pilot Bushing for $450. 00 incl. shipping. At first, this package had an annoying 'disk rattle' w/ the GETRAG trans in neutral but this noise has been cured w/ the NVG4500HD.



SBC feels that our OEM Sachs units might of actually been "more" clutch than our First Gens needed which lead to poor drivability charateristics (engagement, chatter in reverse, etc. ). I do enjoy all of the aspects of this clutch now that the rattle is gone. They also sell the genuine Sachs units for our trucks for a few dollars more. It's a tough call!



I can tell you that the Sachs is a substancial unit!



KEENO

 

[MAX A/C]

Hi MMiller-

Just my . 02 worth on the transmission swap. We just bought my wife a new '01 with the six speed, and man, what a great transmission! I can definately see the advantage of the extra gear for hauling heavy loads. Plus, it is built to handle more torque than the 4500. As far as cost of a swap, you're going to pay a little more for a 6- than a 5-speed, but the installation time/cost should be exactly the same. When it's time to change out mine, it'll definately be the sixer!

Scott

 

[mark93]

Hi everyone.



Hey just some info on the Getrag noise.



The noise in fourth is just the gears rattling against each other.



There is no load, other than what it takes to spin the gears, on any of the gear teeth in 4th gear. Also when in 4th the bearings have no side loading as they do in all other gears.



The Getrag is noisy due to the Cummins but this is normal. Dodge has a TSB on growling noise that basically says it's not harmful and don't drive below 1400 rpm.



Interestingly, I read an Internet article about a Getrag trans in a BMW motorcycle which had an irritating rattle in neutral due to the gears slapping each other. The solution: install O-rings on the mainshaft such that the gears were very slighty loaded due to dragging against the stationary O-ring/mainshaft. This cured the rattle but shift quality was not as good.



I believe if you subtract from the Getrag failure rate those that failed due to having 75 or 90 weight oil installed, the ones replaced just because they make noise, and so-called "rebuilt units" that do not have the bearing preload set correctly, the true failure rate would be quite low.



I recently had mine out for a clutch job. The synchro brass rings on gears 3, 4, 5 and Reverse are all the same size. That explains why reverse is so hard to engage when you need the synchro action. The bearings still had their preload and the gear teeth were not visually worn except for 5th gear which had just barely noticeable wear. Despite all this the trans is noisy and has slightly "notchy shifts". The Getrag has the characteristics of a typical heavy duty truck transmission: not smooth shifting and not quiet.

 

[Dieselman359]

Good Trans

I give my Getrag a thumbs up. I know that a few guys have had problems with their units, however my trans hasn't given me any trouble even with the recent power trip. I have to disagree with mark93 one one thing though, with the Amsoil, I can run through the gears easier than on my 5-sp Ford Ranger.

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

My Getrag started grinding going into 3rd then 4th so I had it rebuilt. While it worked OK after the rebuild it was still noisey so I bought a NV4500HD kit from Quad 4X4 in Roberts MT. I felt that there was a fix for the 5th gear nut problem while there was no fix for the Getrag. By the way my Getrag was well cared for with oil changes every 18,000 miles. After every oil change the oil analysis recomended replacing the fluid. There was a lot of yellow metal wear - I was using Amsoil full synthetic 5W30.

The NV4500HD transmission has preformed very well. Right after installation I was coming out of Whitefish MT - trailer in tow. The total weight that my Cummins was pulling was about 12,500 lbs. I got behind an older GM pickup pulling an older trailer. He was going just under 55 in a 65 zone. The first time I could pass him was going up a hill. I went around him in 4th and when I pulled back in I was doing 65 and all I could hear was my Cummins hummin - no transmission noise. The old Getrag would have driven me out of the cab. Just my . 02 worth.

Happy trails