nv-5600 a little stiff on shifting

[muddyduck]

I have about 9800 miles on my 3500 and it has the nv-5600 in it. At 1800 miles the second gear went out on it along with the syncronizer rings and had to be overhauled. I was without the truck for a week and a half. Now at 9800 miles its starting to feel a little stiff and won't go into reverse or fourth without some effort. The fluid has not been changed since the overhaul, so i feel like its not the problem. Could it be the clutch or something else? I have not towed anything with it yet, but will be soon. I sure do hate to go round and round with the dealer on this issue again, but need to do something. If anybody out there has any ideas, please post a reply... thanks in advance

 

[bombero]

If that was me I would have fought tooth and nail not to have them rebuild the trans the first time. You didnt buy a NEW truck to have rebuilt parts installed while it was still new. Now I would really talk to the guy incharge. No rebuilt- new trans!!!

 

[DPKetchum]

Fixing the orignal trans or replacing it is not goverend by the dealer,Its by D. C. I bet its a STAR part and they have to auth. a replacement.

 

[muddyduck]

I did fight hard to get a new transmission, but the buyer loses out the decision. The cost of the repair has to be more than 50% of the cost of a new transmission before they will replace. With the g-56 out now maybe they will swap and put one of those in especially if parts for the 5600 are near drying up or hard to get. I'm hoping that there is nothing wrong with mine now with it being hard to shift, but thats the way it acted when it had to be rebuilt the last time...

 

[DPKetchum]

They'll never swap a Nv5600 for a G56. Epa/flywheel/deviates from build sheet etc. They won't do that even in 7 years or 69k on it. Parts and new Nv5600s will be available for many years to come.

 

[bombero]

That sucks. Go get the biggest meanest baddest load mouth guy you know and pay him $100 to get your truck fixed right. Let him go in to the dealer and start yelling and screeming. To bad we are so far apart, I would be Happy to help!!

 

[DPKetchum]

I'm sure that would help a lot.

 

[Fireman]

muddy,



Change your gear oil, it seemed to help mine when I changed it the first time. I change it every year now.



Fireman

 

[JohnnyH]

What are you guys running in your 5600. I switched to Redline MTL and cant say I noticed a big improvement in shift quality. Not worse either. I am seriously considering going back to the OEM fluid, or the penzoil syncromesh. What is everyones take on the Redline Product in the 5600.

 

[klenger]

What is everyones take on the Redline Product in the 5600.

My take is that it does not meet the specification for the NV5600. I'm pretty conservative about that kind of stuff. I use Penzoil.



I've never had any problems with either of the two NV5600's I've had. The topic of this thread is: "nv-5600 a little stiff on shifting". My comment is: "Yes, they are".

 

[daveshoe]

Mine is and always has been hard to get into 1st or reverse when shifting from a stop ,engine idling. It makes for some dirty looks at stoplights. However,once it is moving,even a little,it shifts easily if you don't rush it.

Sometimes,I have to shift it into some other gear first before starting out or backing up. Any ideas?

 

[klenger]

Any ideas?

Don't use 1st if you are empty.

 

[DPKetchum]

Thats kinda normal on manual trans vehicles in general. At least the reverse is. Even in the days of old three speeds on the column you went from low to reverse to line up the gear etc.

 

[Hokey]

I changed the oil on mine at 5000 miles with a different oil which I won't mention. Drastically improved, I am not sure if it was the oil or If maybe it was a little low on oil or what but, it did improve quite noticeably. next change I'll go back to the factory oil and see what happens.

 

[Cattletrkr]

I'm closing in on 200K combined on 2 NV5600. They do not ever loosen up like a car will. My current truck is boatloads looser than when it was new, but it's still stiffer and more of a PITA than dad's Freightliner. Just a guess, but I think the synchros are the "problem". Try double clutching. I know it's absolute overkill, but it slows your right hand down enough that most of the time the lever will almost fall into place. If that helps, just shift slower, allowing the synchros to do their thing.

 

[nickleinonen]

Just a guess, but I think the synchros are the "problem". Try double clutching.

how about trying to float the trans into neutral without the clutch then clutch into gear... sorta works like double clutching with one less clutching step

 

[rbattelle]

My take is that it does not meet the specification for the NV5600. I'm pretty conservative about that kind of stuff. I use Penzoil.

My take is I agree with Klenger. Except on not using 1st when empty. I still do.



It is frequently quite difficult to get the NV5600 to engage 1st gear when at a stop. I've grown used to it over time. I figure it's a giant transmission... not meant to be "easy" to do anything. If the splines/dogs/lugs don't line up with their counterparts where the gears have stopped, it's just not going to go into 1st gear. There's only 4 BIG lugs on the synchro for 1st gear (if I understand the diagrams right), so it's very easy for them to be misaligned.



I've driven the large (class 7?) International trucks with Spicer and International transmissions in them. They made my NV5600 look like a Ferrari transmission. They were very hard to get into 1st gear at a stop... and shifting on the road was basically the same as rowing a boat. In fact, those trucks (which we bought brand new in 1998) were so hard to get into 1st gear at a stop that I'd frequently have to put them in neutral, release the clutch, depress the clutch and throw them into 1st gear while the geartrain was still spooling down. Just like double clutching, but at a standstill.



-Ryan

 

[Cattletrkr]

how about trying to float the trans into neutral without the clutch then clutch into gear... sorta works like double clutching with one less clutching step

I make a point not to recommend to guys to not use the clutch. It's too easy to do it wrong and really foul things up. I usually end up "popping" it out of gear or grinding it back in. Funny thing is I can shift a big rig transmission all day long w/o the clutch, but this one gives me fits (the old '01 did too). Go figure.



I almost always double clutch when down shifting. It just got to be such a habit from driving bigger stuff that now it's easier for me to line things up that way. Up-shifting I only do it when I'm bored and trying to stay awake.

 

[Cigar John]

[QUOTE Funny thing is I can shift a big rig transmission all day long w/o the clutch, but this one gives me fits (the old '01 did too). Go figure. [/QUOTE]



Other than using a lever to change gears the two don't have much in common.

A big rig trans is twin counter shaft,constant mesh,

all gears are engaged at all times and you lock them to the main shaft with a sliding clutch collar.

 

[nickleinonen]

A big rig trans is twin counter shaft,constant mesh,

all gears are engaged at all times and you lock them to the main shaft with a sliding clutch collar.

ours are not that different... ours single countershaft [#1major diff. ]. our gears are constent mesh, our sliding collars have synchronizers[#2major diff] on them that engage on the main shaft. .



here you can see #2 gear and #1 gear and the shift collars w/synchros on the main shaft on the 5600 [pic taken from drivers side pto cover]



they syncros are what make it hard to shift with no clutch.