Throwout Bearing

[Rollin' Heavy]

I have a 2005 Ram 2500 Quad Cab with the six speed. I just took it to the shop and had the 45K mile service done. The throwout bearing (clutch release bearing) is making a noise. I have looked throught the search pages to find out if anyone has replaced the throwout bearing themselves or if having the dealer do it is the way to go! $750 is a lot of money! I just want to make sure if it is worth my time or my money!



Thank you for your help and time in this matter. Oh ya! This is my first Dodge and Cummins!:-laf

 

[Slow Six]

You have to pull the transmission to change it. It is a bit of work. I just put a new clutch in my truck last fall and did it myself. I had access to a large transmission jack which made the job a lot easier and quicker as I was able to take transfer case and transmission together. If you have to go that far you should consider doing clutch (upgrade) at the same time as it does not require much more labor. It seems a bit early for the bearing to be gone at 45000 miles. Mine lasted to about 140000 miles and still worked but it was dry and didn't have long to go.

 

[Rollin' Heavy]

That was my thinking as well but I dont have the money for that. I was wondering how long it took to do the clutch in the transmission. I dont have a transmission jack. I wish i did. But did you have to do anything with the motor and turbo? Or was it, pull the transmission and do the work? Just curious!

 

[SRadke]

No need to touch the engine. Just pull the transmission, replace the parts and reinstall. What is the noise the bearing is making? 45k miles is a very premature failure. It could be another issue or possibly just an odd noise. I replaced a throwout bearing in a low miles 06 for a guy because it was making typical failure noises but I found the bearing to be in good shape when I got it out.

-Scott

 

[Rollin' Heavy]

Its making a sound at about 50 mph plus. Its not squelling. Its just making a sound kind of like rollers on roller table/conveyor table. I was just curious about the fix and if there was anything special to do the job.

 

[SRadke]

Nothing special, just hand tools and a stable jack.

A throwout bearing should be hard at idle. The sound usually changes when you push the clutch. If you do not have sound in either of these situations I suggest you start looking for a problem elsewhere.

Which 6 speed do you have? NV5600 (reverse right and up) or G56 (reverse left and down) They switched transmissions mid 05.

 

[SRadke]

Also, at 50 mph is the noise the same whether you're in 5th or 6th gear?

 

[Rollin' Heavy]

I have the NV5600 and I was in 6th. I did not try to change gears and see if the sound moved. I will try that today. Thank you for your help.

 

[RVTRKN]

Don't have the flywheel resurfaced if you see a reason too. The flywheel has a slight taper to it from the factory, if you do, make sure you change out the pressure plate and clutch with non OEM parts. SBC would be a good vendor to contact for clutch assembly's and advise. Whenever you remove a manual trans, it is a good practice to replace the clutch assemby's. The problem with the NV5600's are the tapered flywheels, and replacing with OEM clutch assembly's and resurfacing the flywheel. If your going to use OEM parts, replace the flywheel no matter what the cost is.

 

[GCroyle]

1. The release bearing on these trucks is in constant contact with the spring tips, it never leaves the spring like the old mechanical adjustment trucks did.



2. The load at the bearing is in the 15-20 lb range with your foot off of the pedal, this is from the preload spring in the slave cylinder pushing the fork against the bearing.



3. The typical peak release load on the bearing is in the 400-500 lb range, and reduces to 300-400 lb or less when the pedal is just off of the floor.



4. With the clutch engaged (transmitting torque, foot off of the pedal) the release bearing has no idea what gear the trans is in, it only sees engine RPM and preload.



If during the diagnostic process, it is determined that it is gear specific, then I am sceptical that it is the release bearing.



Good luck.

 

[Rollin' Heavy]

I noticed the sound when I was driving by jersey barriers at I was in 6th gear going with the flow of traffic. I do not notice it is lower gears and slower speeds, maybe because of the truck noise, motor and loud exhaust. It does sound like a big rig. Love it!