MY 5th Gear Experience

[BMcArdle]

Lost 5 th gear while traveling in Canada @ 47,000 miles. I paid for a repair... new "improved nut kit"... and it just failed again @ 57000 miles. Looked at Standard Trans fix at about $900 for repair... . then... .

Phoned my local dealer and asked service for some help with repair and assurance that this repair would actually resolve problem. It is now repaired as follows under TSB 21-20-98 REV A

with these parts; 4741551 Gear-Overdrive Mainshaft... . 5013887AA Nut Pkg..... 4874459 Lube... . 4318031 Adhesive-Lock and Seal... . 4318083 Sealer-Gasket Maker.



Bottom line DC paid for 50%... Even though warantee ended @ 36000miles... My total cost $314. 76... Does this sound like a real fix?

Bernie

 

[Lube Man]

My web page



Can you tell us what year your truck is and if and what you tow? How much if ever did you use 5th gear below 1600 RPM? How did you accomplish the feat of getting DC to pay half the cost? This seems to be an acknowledgement of their problem.

 

[BMcArdle]

LUBE MAN



My truck is a 1999 2500 with 3. 54 2 wheel drive... ... . I have been aware of the 5th gear problem for some time and have avoided driving in 5th at rpm's below 1500 or so... . and usually @ 1800 and up when towing. 90 % of my miles are towing my 26 foot 5th wheel which weighs 9600 when loaded for travel. As far as DC paying part of the repair,

... . I just asked for them to help... and they came back with a 50/50 split.....



Bernie

 

[Lube Man]

My web page



Wow, I also have a 1999 and pull about 9000 lbs. So far no problem at 50K but always worried and waiting after all the publicity about 5th gears. I wonder what percentage of trucks actually have had this problem. I wonder if anyone has done some kind of survey.

 

[BMcArdle]

LUBE MAN



It would be interesting to find out how common this problem really is. When DC agreed to pay part of the repair cost it

was an admission of sorts that a real problem does exist..... at least that is my take on it. In any event I am glad I asked the

service manager for help after being told by 2 service writers

that since the warrantee had expired they could not do anything.

Lesson learned... . go to the top... and keep it friendly.



Bernie

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Generally the mainshaft is in poor shape where hammered by the tips of the splines on 5th gear. Replacing the gear and nut does not heal the shaft. The new nut will wobble under engine torque as it goes into the depressions that were hammered into the mainshaft. This movement will sooner or later spit off the new nut and 5th will again slide back, out of alignment with the gear on the countershaft.



It's time to realize that sometimes stock isn't worth the trouble. Get the real fix, the fully splined mainshaft kit from 1-800-std-tran which has 5th press on instead of being a sloppy slide on fit, and splines under the gear teeth unlike the stock shaft. We can say all we want about what NV or DC should have done, what we have is what we have and if that isn't enough, get the real fix.