Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Help! Lost 5th gear

[rnolen]

I need help. I was traveling to my house at about 55 mph and all of a sudden I heard pop and lost 5th gear. I have all the other gears but I need the 5th gear because we live about 20 miles from anything else and it is highway between here and there. I know this is a common problem, but I need to know what broke and how do I fix it. It is my daily driver and having my own vehicle is a must. Can someone please help me? Is it going to be costly?



Thanks for the help

Russell Nolen

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

You can get going again by going back with the updated nut but its a lot of work and just a temperary fix. Its about 30 bucks for the nut from Standard Transmission. I replaced mine about 7 k miles ago and its still hanging tough. If (when)it comes loose again , think I'll get a rebuild with the fully splined mainshaft. I hate doing things twice..... When you pull the transfer case off ,there is an adapter on the back of the transmission. Remove that and you're looking at a loose nut and your fifth gear spinning free. I did some heavy duty staking on the updated nut with a 3/16 punch. Fingers still crossed though. Good luck with it.

 

[Deezul1]

You can drive it a looong time with no 5th gear and it wont hurt anything. I drove mine 600 miles before i could get it fixed and found no metal debris at all in it. I also staked the nut on and it came off again after 7000 miles but others have had good luck with that fix. The second time it came off i had the full splined mainshaft installed.

 

[RT66DOC]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, Russell.



I lost 5th gear over a month ago and have been driving daily with no problems (so far). When I heard that pop and saw the tach wind up I thought Holy Crap! Whoopee! Oo. Now I can finally have an excuse to change to a 6 spd.



Actually, it did tick me off because that was only the SECOND TIME I've ever pulled anything with my truck. First was a small U-Haul trailer 5 years ago and this time was a 3600 lb. car on a flatbed. All the rest of its 100K miles this truck has led a very sheltered life. Jeez, I still have about 33% left on the original brakes.



Anyway, I'll just keep driving it like this until I collect all the parts to do the 6pd swap. I still get 17. 6 mpg without 5th gear - that's running mostly around 60 mph/ 22-2400 rpm.



5th Gear and that STUPID dowel pin deal. Somebody oughtta lay a class action lawsuit on them for those two screwups. Probably not big enough bucks in it for the lawyers, otherwise it would've happened by now. $. 02

 

[C. Harlan]

mine kept falling off, transmission was getting old, so I said what the hell... why not get a 6'er!



-Chris-

 

[plongson]

How much do you figure it costs to swap out to a 6spd if you do all the work yourself (4x4)??? I also see all the time 12 valve owners looking for used NV4500's.

 

[rnolen]

Thanks

All this is great. I would like to make the truck to a 6spd but how much would that cost? What kind of parts do I need? So would you guys suggest droping the T-Case leaving the Trany in place and then replacing the nut? Or would it be better to take the transmission out and then repace it. I might have to run it thru the shop and was wondering if it will be a long process or just a couple of hours of labor. I hate running down that highway with it rapped like that, I just want to shift all the time. Is there an internet site or number that I can get the replacement nut. I think I will put the replacement nut on and then look at changing over to a six speed when I can afford it. I am not the most experienced with mechanicing, but hopefully I can get help from a friend and we can do it. My problem is that I still need step by step instructions for something like this. Your help is greatly appreciated guys, and hopefully more to come.

Thanks

Russell Nolen

 

[Kalaehina]

I have a 96 5 speed, third owner, is it recomended to fix the 5th gear to prevent it from coming out or should I just wait til it does?

 

[Deezul1]

Kalaehina

It doesnt cost anymore to fix after it comes off than before. If you dont travel a long way from help then leave it till it comes off which may never happen. You can still drive it with it off so you wont be stranded somewhere anyway.

 

[Kalaehina]

Sounds good to me! Thanks.....

 

[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 part 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 110,000 miles ago with no problems, even with 300+ hp and towing 7,000 lbs in 5th gear. I'm hope that posting this will not jinx me, probably 5th will go out tomorrow, but I am glad I checked it and did what I did.

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