NV5600 transmission Oil

[AWierstra]

Question,



I changed the oil in the transmission about 6 months ago (about 9K on this oil change) with Pennzoil Synchromesh isn't that the correct oil to use? My I have 42K on my truck and when the truck is cold it will grind going into 3rd. My dealer (not by choice, I have to go there because of my ext. warranty company) says the only other oil to use is some castrol transmission oil.

I take very good care of my trucks, so I feel they are jerking me around.

The dealer says if it does become a problem they might not cover it because of the oil I used.



thanks, Andre

 

[roperteacher]

Hey there... THe NV5600 does call for the Syncromesh by Penzoil. Not sure if the grinding is related to the fluid or something else. I still have my 2002 with the NV5600 and it was starting to get a little notchy at about 115,000 so I switched it over to AMSOIL MTF and it is now back smooth as glass! I am not an AMSOIL salesman, just reporting my findings.



It is very EASY to change the fluid on the NV5600. There is basically a drain and a fill hole. There is even pictures on this site to help you. Takes about 15 minnutes. You could always drain the current fluid, put some AMSOIL or another brand of your choice in there and see if it fixes the problem. If it does NOT fix the problem worse case scenario is you drain the fluid out, replace it with Syncromesh and take it to the dealer for warranty service.





Hope that helps!

 

[AWierstra]

thanks for the reply,



Where would I be able to find in writing that the Pennzoil Synchromesh is ok to use in the NV5600 so I can show the wonderfull tech at the dealer?

 

[roperteacher]

You must have a really unusual dealer!!! As I understand it, the PenZoil Syncromesh is the fluid that came in it from the factory!!!



Send a IM to Rbatelle on this forum. He has all the necessary links for what your asking. He also has a great picture and procedure for changing the fluid.

 

[MMeier]

thanks for the reply,



Where would I be able to find in writing that the Pennzoil Synchromesh is ok to use in the NV5600 so I can show the wonderfull tech at the dealer?

The Mopar part number for the fluid is right on the bottle.

 

[roperteacher]

Oh, if you need proof that AMSOIL MTF is the correct fluid visit their website



www.amsoil.com and look under transmission fluids and then MTF. It will give all the tech specs as well as list the NV5600 as it's application.

 

[Money Maker]

The manual "recommends" P/N 4874464 which of coarse is Mopar synchromesh fluid. It does not say that that fluid is required to be considered for warranty. Having had many problems with my transmission after it was rebuilt I would recommend you get ready to fight to have yours fixed. They are way to expensive for you to wait until your warranty goes away. If it is grinding into a specific gear than it may be that the syncros for that gear are failing = rebuild.



I am not a transmission expert but my truck has been down so much lately because of transmission problems I would not put this problem off.

 

[klenger]

This might help: http://www.klenger.net/dodge/general-reference/nv5600-fluid/index.html

 

[AWierstra]

Thanks to all for your help sofar.



It sounds like I'll have to start documenting everything I do to my truck to start building a case for when the transmission gets unbearable to shift into third.



I just love dealers that try to find things "wrong" with your truck just so they can charge you to fix what wasn't broken in the first place. I feel I have kept up on the maintenance of this truck very well, even going so far as to change the diffs oil at the rediculous 15K "recommended" d/c interval.

What gives? I love my dodge (first one, kind of a ford guy), but with a buddy working at a ford dealer and 3 fords on the farm, they never gave me this much guff with the extended warranties and fixing the problems.

 

[drewRoberts]

<- another fan of the AMSoil 5w30MTF. changed over at 30K, 42K right now and the difference was surprizing.

 

[MChessick]

Its all a load of DC crap. I called up the manufacturer of the NV5600 to get the " true story " from the horses mouth. The Mopar number given for fluid is the brand that the transmissions were tested with when they were built. They could have tested with any brand they wanted. They told me it was a fluid made by Texaco. They only tested with that ONE fluid and called it a day. As most people have figured out, many types can be used with no issues. I just changed mine 4 days ago at 150k. I added in my own blend of Redline products. 5 quarts of MTL, 1 quart of 80/90 and 2 small bottles of the Mopar LSD friction modifier. I over filled by 1. 5 quarts to take care of the front bearing starving from oil loss during steep climbs under heavy tow loads.

To each his own.



Pitcru

 

[JH8128]

Look up the MOSS ACT. Simply it says if you use the correct type of fluids your warranty cant be voided based on the brand of fluids. it says alot more but that is the simple version

 

[rbattelle]

I added in my own blend of Redline products. 5 quarts of MTL, 1 quart of 80/90 and 2 small bottles of the Mopar LSD friction modifier.

Whoa! How do you know all those are compatible? And why would you add LSD friction modifier?

My truck has experienced some grinding going into 2nd in very cold weather first thing in the morning. I have adjusted my shifting so that it doesn't happen anymore. I found that it's important to pull (or push) the shift lever with a constant force after pausing briefly to allow the synchro to bring the gear up to speed. Once the lever begins to move I continue to press with constant force and quickly move into the gear. Problem solved.

I run the Pennzoil. Always have, always will.

Ryan

 

[steved]

Whoa! How do you know all those are compatible? And why would you add LSD friction modifier?



My truck has experienced some grinding going into 2nd in very cold weather first thing in the morning. I have adjusted my shifting so that it doesn't happen anymore. I found that it's important to pull (or push) the shift lever with a constant force after pausing briefly to allow the synchro to bring the gear up to speed. Once the lever begins to move I continue to press with constant force and quickly move into the gear. Problem solved.



I run the Pennzoil. Always have, always will.



Ryan

I'm running a blend of MTL and MT-90 with very good results so far... shifting is very good. Generally, as long as it's synthetic and within the same brand, blending isn't too much of an issue. I have read some threads about it. I switched to Redline because it was more readily available...



My trans seems to eat fluid... the Amsoil I drained out was sheared and causing difficulty shifting... and it had right about 10k on it...



steved

 

[dclassens]

Amsoil web site talks about NV-4500 when refereing to mtG not mtF. Why are guys choosing mtF over mtG? Any one use mtg with good results? Thanks.

Dave

 

[steved]

Amsoil MTF is the correct fluid for the 5600... MTG is the NV4500 fluid. I have not heard of a single person having good luck with a thicker oil in the NV5600... usually gives a hard shift.



Basically, I'm running a blend of 25% MTG in with my MTF, but I'm running the Redline equivalents... MTL and MT-90.



steved

 

[Buffalo]

Steved,



Did you use a used oil analysis to determine that the Amzoil had 'sheared' in 10,000 miles of use?



Do you think your latest 'brew' will last longer than what the Amzoil did?



How did you know that the Amzoil was deteriorating? Was the transmission giving you any clues (harder shifting, grinding etc. )?



I'm using a product I found that is made by guy on BITOG (bob is the oil guy.com), named 'Molakule'. He is very well thought of for building high-quality, synthetic oils. I tried his MTL-P. Had the Penzoil in it, previously. I think this stuff is a little better but, not that much of a difference. May try the RedLine, next.



Thanks, Steve.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[MChessick]

I changed out the Redline I had in the trans just because of the mileage I had on it. There is no problems with shifting or anything. The batch I just drained had 80k on it. It came out looking very clean. I have 1000 miles on the new custom batch and I have no issues. I am staying with Redline. It is pretty sad that some of you are only getting 10k out of synthetic fluid. I hope you find something that works. ( FYI - friction modifier reduces friction)



Pitcru

 

[steved]

Steved,



Did you use a used oil analysis to determine that the Amzoil had 'sheared' in 10,000 miles of use?



Do you think your latest 'brew' will last longer than what the Amzoil did?



How did you know that the Amzoil was deteriorating? Was the transmission giving you any clues (harder shifting, grinding etc. )?



I'm using a product I found that is made by guy on BITOG (bob is the oil guy.com), named 'Molakule'. He is very well thought of for building high-quality, synthetic oils. I tried his MTL-P. Had the Penzoil in it, previously. I think this stuff is a little better but, not that much of a difference. May try the RedLine, next.



Thanks, Steve.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

I used Blackstone to determine the oil had sheared, so yes, I have a UOA to back up my statements (to keep the Amsoil crowd from flaming me). I installed the Amsoil/Fast Coolers in October, right before my trip to Key West (with the slide in). The oil had one trip to New Mexico also. Roughly 10k later, I noticed the shifting was going downhill.



So I pulled a sample and, while everything looked good as far as wear, the oil had sheared some... and that is what I was told was causing my shifting to deteriorate.



Redline MTL is slightly thicker than Amsoil MTF to begin. Add just a little MT-90 and it increases the viscosity that much more, but not a whole lot... I started with 2 quarts of MT-90 with 7 quarts of MTL... I recently drained some of the blend out right after driving to see if there was any foaming from being overfilled... there was no foaming and the fluid was clear.



I am enjoying much better shifting... probably will change this fluid 2 times per year... once in the spring to this blend and once in the fall to straight MTL (for cold weather). While it hasn't shifted bad in cold weather, it has only gotten down in the 20s with this blend.



And just FYI, of the three "boutique oils", Redline MTL is the thickest and Royal Purple is the thinnest... Amsoil falls somewhere in the middle. I have several emails into Molakule, but never got a response back from them. I really wanted to run their version of the synchromesh fluid...



steved

 

[steved]

( FYI - friction modifier reduces friction)



Pitcru

And you need some friction in order to have the synchronizers work... LSD modifier is strange stuff... it prevents clutch grabbiness, but makes them grab harder at the same time...



steved