NV5600 In Extreme Cold - Synchro Problem?

[rbattelle]

Same here! I push her into gear after the first engagement. I always wait to make sure I feel the first engagement otherwise she gets mad and grinds a little.

Ah well, I'll just accept it as normal. I'm already learning to work around it.



-Ryan

 

[Harrismeh9]

ok in cold for me

I have been running in the cold (around the 0 mark) and have had no shifting problems. Heard some other wierd sounds from the rear end but nothing wrong with transmission.

 

[nickleinonen]

mine too is a little sluggish when it gets cold, but i have factory fluids in the box too [same price as the quakerstate stuff so why not] mine when cold is hard to get into gear [1 or 2] but once rolling it goes in fairly well... i find when it is real cold out and the trans is cold, i float the gears into neutral then use the clutch to go into gear again. it takes a bit longer, but they go in very nicely at that point. .

 

[Buffalo]

Granted, I do live in Phoenix with low AM temps in the 35-45 deg. area. My NV-5600 does not like going into the lower gears, especially 1 & 2 but, after a short bit of driving it does get better with easier engagement. It, especially, does not like downshifting when cold.



Earlier this year, I tried a boutique gear oil (Specialty Formulations MTL) that I had been reading a lot about on Bob Is The Oil Guy. com. SF's products are considered to be of exceptional high quality using only the best base oils & additives. This product did help the notchy shifting, ever so slightly. Nothing dramatic, at all, though.



I've read of substantial shifting improvements with the use of RedLine, Amsoil & Torco's products.



I'm beginning to think that this transmission, like some folks have said, is a heavy-duty, massively geared unit that was not designed to be smooth shifting rather, an industrial strength transmission that takes time to go from gear to gear.



I have over 40,000 miles on my trans. & it shifts, pretty much, as it did when new. The shift quality has not deteriorated in that time. So, my guess is that it shifts the way it's supposed to.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[Grizzly]

My 2-3rd is rough at times also, I'm not going to worry about unless something happens. . like something falling out from underneath.

My nv5600 is the same going into 3rd gear. What works for me is make sure I have the clutch depressed as far down as it will go.

 

[JCleary]

I was messing around with it this morning, and at least for me, if I push the shifter lever more quickly from gear to gear the little "bumps" in the shifter disappear. It's almost as if the synchros have to be pushed harder together to work properly. Maybe it squeezes the oil out allowing them to work better?

 

[Hohn]

This is no doubt temperature dependent. When the temp went above 20 today shifting was fine. This morning, it was "skipping" into 2nd again. Definetly not a grinding noise, but it feels like the dogs for 2nd gear are being "rejected" by the corresponding notches on the shaft it's trying to link with... know what I mean?

I've tried being careful and going slow, but so far have had little success. I'm beginning to think it's not actually synchros, but something else after the synchro has done it's job.

Since new, I typically feel two distinct "notches" on the way into a gear. The first one I assume is when the syncrho gets the gear up to speed. I've never figured out what the second one is. It's that second engagement that's "skipping" on me when cold. It's like the two gears are properly aligned and rotating at the same speed, but the dogs (teeth) are not quite lined up.

That's a stinky description, but anyone else with a notchy NV5600 might know what I'm talking about...

-Ryan

I have the exact same condition, almost exclusively when cold.

Double clutching seems to help.

When I feel it "skipping" I RAM it into gear. I figure if I just let it sit there and skip, it's machining my gears in a way I'd rather not have them machined. If it in gear or in neutral, no such problem. .

Maybe I should neutral-ize it instead of ram into gear? haha.

My truck sees mostly commuter duty, and I have to shift over 30 times in a 4 mile drive to work. No major problems yet-- just the occasional hiccup.


Using Redline MTL.


My next lube will be the 5600-spec stuff from www.specialtyformulations.com

That guy is AKA MolaKule on BITOG.

 

[Cattletrkr]

If your NV5600 doesn't get better once it's warm, you might have a problem. Cold shifts are nothing to worry about. Both of the ones I've had were exactly the same. I even ran straight 50weight Mobile synthetic trans fluid in my '01 for a while and it was no worse. These things just take time to shift when cold. GO SLOW!! If I get in a hurry it's a bear. If I go so slow that I could just about put it back in the same gear, if shifts fine. Once warm all is well.



Last night I changed out the "old" amsoil 5w-30 motor oil w/Lucas I had in it and put in Amsoil's new 5w-30 Synchromesh MTF. Shifts much easier. Of course I'm sure that has nothing to do with the temps being 40*F warmer today than they have been for the last 3 weeks. :-laf We'll see what happens when it cools off again.