SB clutch going out with only 8K on it????

[Money Maker]

I'm on the road and last night when I came to a stop I heard a odd gurgeling kinda grinding sound coming from the gear shifter. I got out stuck my head under the truck and heard it louder and coming from the bell housing area.



Got back in pushed clutch in and sound went away. I figured SB sent a bad throw out bearing. I just put it in 8K ago. The stock clutch was fine when I took it out. Only reason I swaped the SB in was because of the power upgrades I put on at the same time.



Today I start out and with the truck cold could barely hear what I had the night before. By the time I put another 400K on it though I am grinding with every shift into 5th. Pedal feels a little soft. I have to feather the go pedal from a stop to get into 1st.



Anyone got a clue what happened? I just can't figure out why the stocker lived so long and this supposed badass with all the hype died so fast.

 

[jwilliams3]

It could be a clutch issue. But it can also be something else like a hydraulic or transmission issue.

 

[jmorse]

You said the noise went away with the clutch disengaged, that is when a failing throw out bearing would be the noisiest. Seems the noise is only there when the input shaft is turning ,may have a trans. problem . Pilot bearing failure can cause the input shaft to continue to rotate even though clutch is released. Just my thoughts. Jim

 

[BTighe]

is it hard to shift in and out of gear with the clutch pedal pushed to the floor?

i had an ofe in my 97 and after i got it i had a hard time shifting in and out of gear. i upgraded 2 months later to the FE clutch and also got the flywheel with the huge bearing. problem gone. i believe the issue was the pilot bearing.

 

[Money Maker]

To be honest I'm not sure if the clutch is the problem at this point.



1st and 2nd are both making grinding noises when rolling even with light throttle. Heavy throttle is louder grinding.



2nd is difficult to get into and shifter feels strange when it finally gets into gear. I was skipping second earlier because I couldn't get it in there fast enough before I lost to much speed.



5th gear pulls hard and seems to work ok but I cannot get it in there with out grinding gears. Even with trying to match rpms and using the clutch.



3rd & 4th seem to pull real well and they have to because right now I'm skipping 2nd & 5th as much as I can.



6th is hanging in there but I wonder for how long. I have the edge on 5 just so I can pull the mild hills without going into 5th or slowing down enough to use 4th.



I placed a sheet of paper over the shifter and held it in place with my palm so that I could hear the noises the transmission was making while pulling hills and running down the road at speed. It sounds sick, paticularly when pulling hills and the boost starts coming up.



Anyone build a better NV5600???



What does a rebuild cost?

 

[MMeier]

Have you serviced the trans lately? Whe a "well known" rebiulder did mine, they supposedly used the wrong type of fluid. Going into 4th, 5th, or 6th when warmed up was getting next to impossible. When I had my original rebuilt locally, they told me to get rid of the fluid that was in there and go back to the Pennzoil Synchromesh fluid, I did, and 4-500 miles later it was shifting good again. Something with the paper lined synchro rings. Rebuild around here can get pricey depending on what it needs, I have another $3000 into mine, going to install later this month to make sure all is good and keep the other one as a spare.

 

[Money Maker]

I started running amsoil in it at 60k and last changed it at 180k that was 28k ago.





What do you mean you put another $3k into yours? How much do you have into it? What all has been done to it?



Just curious because if I have to rebuild/change the transmission it would be nice to know what I'm up against.



Thanks

 

[MMeier]

I started running amsoil in it at 60k and last changed it at 180k that was 28k ago.





What do you mean you put another $3k into yours? How much do you have into it? What all has been done to it?



Just curious because if I have to rebuild/change the transmission it would be nice to know what I'm up against.



Thanks

28k, might be time for a service, probably cheapest thing to do at this time. Paid $3k to replace my grenaded one, then instead of turning it in for a core, I elected to have it rebuilt also, in case I need it down the line, seeing as how they are hard to find nowadays, whats it going to be like in another 2-3 years? Where are you located?

 

[Money Maker]

right now I'm in seattle. I'l be headed home(so cal) in a couple a days. hoping it will make it there. But then I'm supposed to be in NC for christmas... we'll see

 

[Money Maker]

update

Today I had time to disconnect the trailer so I could run by a Jiffy Lube and have the transmission serviced to see if that fixed the problem.



As soon as I came to my first stop sign without the trailer I noticed that while sitting there in 1st gear with the clutch pedal fully depressed the truck was still trying to surge forward. To me that could only be a problem with the clutch... . or is there another explination?



Had the guy that serviced the transmission drain the amsoil into an empty one gallon jug so I could examine the oil. Nearly filled the jug so at least the transmission wasn't running low on fluid (tech didn't catch it all). Bad news is the fluid that came out is black.



After reinstalling penzoil synchromesh I drove back to the trailer. The grinding noises are much less noticable and the shifter moves more smoothly. The problems with 2nd and 5th are still there though.



So I'd like to know...



What do you guys think is wrong?



If the transmission needs to changed/rebuilt what will it cost?



Is anybody building a better 5600?



I need this back on the road as fast as possible, it puts the food on my families table so it needs to be done right. Any thoughts or input is appreciated.

 

[BTighe]

could you clutch hydrolics be going out? maybe a leak or low on fluid keeping it from fully disengaging the clutch?

 

[Money Maker]

fluid is not low and I haven't been adding any

 

[MMeier]

Guys that did my last one are here in Vegas, if that does anything for you, let me know.

 

[JJ Jackson]

From what you describe, it sounds like something in the clutch disk came apart. Maybe those spring thingys are bouncing around in the bell housing.



When my stock cluch went away, those were the exact symptoms. Truck would start to lurch forward at a stop light and make a bunch of grinding noise once moving in gear.



Lurching forward is also a symptom of a failing clutch slave, but you said there is also a grinding sound so I would think it was defitnitely the clutch disk.



... ... ... ... ... ..... Jim

 

[Money Maker]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess there is no way to be totally sure what is going on without removing it. If I were sure it was clutch I do it myself but if it is the transmission then I am going to take it to somebody. Just wish I could be sure... oh well.



Thanks again for the help.



MMeier thanks for the referance, I'll let ya know if I need it

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

If your on the original hydraulics there's a good chance that they may be failing. I'm on my third set of clutch hydraulics with 200k on my truck - probably because I have a much stiffer pressure plate installed in my truck than stock, as your SB may be as well. There's two places they generally leak, where the rods go into the cylinders. Go under your dash and you'll see the rod from the clutch pedal going to the master cylinder. There's a switch (clutch safety switch) around that rod that you can slide back on the rod and there's a small piece of foam between that switch and the master body. Feel that sponge and see if it's wet - if it is your master cylinder is leaking. Mine has been the master leaking each time. If it's not leaking there you an unbolt the slave cylinder real easily (it slides into the back of the bell housing and is held in with two bolts) - check around that rod and see if there's hydraulic fluid there too. It only takes a very small hydraulic leak to cause a problem. You can also pump your clutch up - give if 5 or six pumps - and see if it shifts better then.



That doesn't explain the noise when depressing the clutch, etc but might explain the problems shifting.

 

[Money Maker]

Update for those that care



transmission took a big dump. Most major problem was the main bearing on the input shaft just inside the transmission was completely destroyed along with that there was some excessive wear in a few other locations.



So SB looks like your clutch was not the problem.



I had the transmission replaced with a rebuilt transmission. Within 200 miles the 5th gear synchro went out and caused a grind just about everytime I shifted into 5th all the way to the eastcoast and back.



Took truck in and they rebuilt the transmission. I put about 8,000 more miles on the truck since then and now I am grinding goint into 5th about 25% of the time. Also the transmission got hung up between 2nd and neutral once and 3rd and neutral once as well. By hung up I mean that when I attempted to shift out of gear I couldn't get it all the way back into neutral and it was not still in gear but the shifter wouldn't move in any direction. I managed to get it into neutral on both occasions but only after coming to a complete stop and clutching and shacking the stick in all directions until I was able to start over.



Took the truck back to the transmission shop today and I'm hoping they can fix it right this time. I also ordered the fast coolers today, I figure it can't hurt

 

[JApol]

So, transmission #1 basically grenaded

transmission#2 is on its second trip to the rebuild shop to get the same work done plus some

Have you gone to the same transmission shop all three times? If so I would find myself another one. Maybe your new one has a clue as to what he/she is doing

 

[Money Maker]

That would be the way to do it if I was paying for it each time. I paid $3000 for the first time in the shop and it has been warranty work since then. We'll see how it goes, I can't afford another transmission or to keep doing this.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Sure sounds like a mis-alignment between the flywheel and transmission - placing the input shaft (and all the internals!) in a bind - or else the nose of the transmission input shaft doesn't have proper clearance into the pilot bearing, also causing binding - but you'd think that would be pretty obvious by inspecting the pilot bearing and input shaft nose...