Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) shifting problems NV4500

[djreed]

It seems like my clutch isn't disengaging fully. I had to shut the truck down and put it in gear and then I could go through the gears. It isn't slipping but I noticed it started to shift harder like I said as if it it disengaging completely. Is there a bleed on the slave or is it weak or am I running into another problem. Thanks.

 

[CSnyder]

DJ, First of all welcome to TDR! You will want to fill out your signature to tell us about your truck. Are you running a stock clutch? and if so how many miles on it and how many miles on the truck? Do you hear any odd noises when you fully depress the clutch pedal? It sounds like its either your clutch or slave that is causing trouble if you had to shut down to engage gears, however it may also be in your transmission if it gets alot of abuse and has high mileage.



Chris

 

[djreed]

It is 94' with 210,000 miles and running strong. I bought it used (first diesel and never will go back) with 140,000 miles and was told the clutch was recently replaced. It has never give me any trouble till a couple of days ago when I noticed that When i was taking off from a stop that it pulled into gear funny. Then today it wouldn't go into gear unless I shut it down. Then I could roll through the gears OK. The clutch seems tight yet (I pull a 18ft gooseneck with 3 mules last weekend and made a trip to Houston recently with no problems) and changed the fluid in the transmission recently and brought it to work for analysis and it checked fine with a little brass I asume from the syncros. I guess when I get off work will see what it does. Just trying to feel everybody out for similar problem.

 

[MMoroney]

It could be the pilot bearing in the flywheel has gone bad. It's possible the clutch replacement did not include changing the pilot bearing. If you get into it that far, be sure to check your transmission input shaft for cracks or bends. - Mike

 

[GAmes]

Can you "pump up" the clutch pedal to get it to disengage? If so you need new clutch linkage. Best price I found was at Mopar4less.com

 

[KYOUNG]

I would bet money on the pilot bearing... my 94 had that problem several times... cheap to fix if you catch it early enough. My 94 shelled the 4th gear on the countershaft(early ones pressed on) pretty much trashed the transmission...

 

[djreed]

I replaced the slave and problem still there. I ordered a clutch kit and a pilot bushing from an International/Farmall dealer near my hometown. A heavy duty kit was $300 and will install it next week when it arives. I will post part # and brand as soon as I get it in to update the problem if it persists. They said it was good for 200% of the rated horsepower of the truck.

 

[WDaniels]

Sounds like pilot bearing. I replaced my southbend and the new bearing started sticking after about 2 weeks. I replaced the slave and master and it still didn't fix it. Then I called Peter at SB and said to run for a little while more and if it didn't quit he would send me a new clutch and bearing. It quit after about 3 weeks. Works as advertised ever since.

WD

 

[CEdwards]

My clutch has probably at least 100,000 miles and it just started taking spells of not disengaging the clutch. It's bad enough now I'm going to have to fix it. When you guys say pilot bearing you mean like a needle bearing on the end of the input shaft, then it starts to bind with the crank shaft and input shaft. Besides causing hard shifting even if the pilot bearing was shelled out it shouldn't tear up the trans. or input shaft should it?

 

[MMoroney]

When you guys say pilot bearing you mean like a needle bearing on the end of the input shaft, then it starts to bind with the crank shaft and input shaft. Besides causing hard shifting even if the pilot bearing was shelled out it shouldn't tear up the trans. or input shaft should it?

The pilot bearing is actually lightly pressed into the flywheel on these engines. On my old '99, I had a hard time shifting into 2nd gear for quite sometime. Then, while pulling a heavy load, my clutch disk exploded(123,000 miles). After pulling things apart, I realized the pilot bearing was also trashed(just an outer shell left and the needle bearing were nowhere to be found). I installed a new clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing and pilot bearing. It drove fine like that, even towing heavy loads(over 18,000 lbs loaded trailer, 27,300 GCW), but what I found out 20,000 miles later was that my input shaft was cracked/bent. It sheared off completely while I was driving down the highway, unloaded.



Now, did the cracked/bent input shaft tear up the pilot bearing? Or, did a bad pilot bearing cause the shaft to wobble under load, which could have caused the original clutch failure? Does that make sense? The point I'm trying to make is: Fix it early!



Two mistakes I made were waiting way too long from my original symptoms(hard shift), and not checking that transmission input shaft thoroughly while I had the truck apart. Another thing to check out is the use of a pilot "bushing" vs bearing. Plenty of folks have done this with success. Hope this helps. Mike

 

[cruiser_2]

One more thing to look at is a sealed pilot bearing that is designed to handle the loads that is produced by the CTD. Go to quad4x4 and talk with dan about it. I did it last time I had problems and now have had a wonderful shifting vehicle, and hopefully no more throw out bearing problems.



John