1997 Dodge Ram Transmission

[rlb245]

First and for most I like to thank every individual on this board for there sharing. Joining this forum has been an eye opener to the wealth of knowledge that I am sorely missing. That being said, on to the post.

I have a good friend in the great state of Wyoming, were I hope to return and live out my days of retirement. He has a 1997 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton that needs a transmission. Now he's still driving this truck and doing a great job of shifting with no synchronize r between 2nd and 3rd. Don't no how he does it but he does. He is not a mechanic so rebuilding that one is out of the question. I am mechanic so I plan to by a transmission and rebuild it and ship it to him for a birthday present.

My problem I had him look for the ID tag on the housing but no luck. The truck 3/4 ton and has the 5.9 engine he pull a horse trailer with 6 horses and the truck loaded with all there gear. Given the knowledge bass here what manual transmission would you use and why? I'm thinking the NM4500.

PS: I told he he needs a good diesel engine to pull that trailer. (grin)

My father quote (My Ford a thing of beauty)

 

[icanfixall]

Sorry I can't tell you what the trans is but I can suggest taking it to a dodge shop and having them tell you what it is. Then find an independant shop and ask the same thing to verify.

 

[snicklas]

If it is a 5 speed, I believe it should be the NV4500. Argve here on the site had a 95, and it was definitely the NV4500, he lost 5th gear more than once in his transmission. I know at some point, the changed to a 6 speed, NV5600, but I believe that was later than 97 though.....

 

[trackspeeder]

97 would be a 4500.

 

[argve]

yep... nv4500...

 

[argve]

wrong button....

ok they are easy to rebuild. simple hand tools is all you need. most complicated thing is getting the snap rings off - they are the style that has NO HOLES so something that type that looks like a piston ring spreader works great for getting the snap rings off. There are updates to the transmission because the 5th gear likes to come off - well not really come off the nut holding it will rattle off and allow the gear to slide back on the main shaft. this happens because the 5th gear is a slip fit on the splines not a press fit so it allows just a hint of movement side to side and as the transmission ages these splines get more and more slop. Some after the thought updates just used a different nut that had set screws in the outer edge of the nut that pressed down on brass pads - these work but not for all that long if the splines are worn badly. I even went so far as to use double nuts - still no joy.... then welded it once but because the heat damaged from heating the main shaft up it twisted the main shaft in half.... so then replaced it with a new hardened shaft and used a new 5th gear and new nut.... never a problem after that.... i think I had around $500 bucks in rebuilding mine start to finish. that was including the new shaft, new 5th gear and two new nuts.... yes I went ahead upon installing new shaft and just installed two brand new nuts from the get go in the hopes it would last longer.

 

[The Warden]

The truck 3/4 ton and has the 5.9 engine...

...PS: I told he he needs a good diesel engine to pull that trailer. (grin)

This last comment raises a dumb question, but which 5.9l are you talking about? Does he have a Cummins 12 valve 6BT, or does he have a 360 ci V-8 g@$$er? They're both 5.9l displacement (the 6BT is 359 ci displacement)...and the g@$$er MIGHT have used a different transmission. A buddy of mine has a '99 Dakota with a 5.2l V8 (same block as the 5.9l), and the factory manual transmission behind that engine was the NV3500...I would imagine the 360 would have used an NV4500, especially in a 3/4 ton, but it may still use different gear ratios than the 6BT...

 

[NO_SPRK]

there are 5.9 gassers with nv4500.. rare but they made em. only in 3/4-1ton

 

[rlb245]

It's the 360 ci V-8 Warden. I emailed him today and asked to take a picture from the side for me. Should be able to tell with a good pic. I'm thinking it's the NV3500 in this 3/4 ton truck. Isn't the NV4500 use in the 1 ton series. I no the NV3500 and NV4500 use the same bolt up pattern that's why I was going with the heavier tranny.

 

[The Warden]

It's the 360 ci V-8 Warden. I emailed him today and asked to take a picture from the side for me. Should be able to tell with a good pic. I'm thinking it's the NV3500 in this 3/4 ton truck. Isn't the NV4500 use in the 1 ton series. I no the NV3500 and NV4500 use the same bolt up pattern that's why I was going with the heavier tranny.

If the 4500'll bolt in place, I don't see why not! I would check gear ratios, though...on the Ford ZF5, the g@$ engines got one ratio set and the diesels got a different ratio set, more in tune with the power band on the engine. I don't know if Dodge did the same, but IMHO it's worth looking into...if the gear ratio's different enough, he might not be very happy with the diesel gear ratio behind a g@$ engine...

 

[rlb245]

I here ya on that one Warden. One of my first up grades to my baby was to swap out the T18 for a ZF5. Top speed at 2000 rpm was 50 mph. I bought the wrong ZF5 first time from the junk yard but they let me exchange it at no extra cost. It runs at 65 at 2200 rpm now. Going to install a new 3.55 ring and pinion as soon as I get my next SS check. All I need is the master install kit. $278.00 US. Then rebuild that ZF5. Then rebuild the engine over the winter. Life will be good. The truck game of a ranch in Wyoming. It was bought in Indiana buy a guy how moved to Cody Wyoming and sold the truck to the rancher. He used it for about 6 years for ranch work. Then put it on cinder blocks and it set there for 2 or 3 years before I bought it. 4 new tires, 2 new batteries, Oil change, New fuel filter, 2 5 gallon cans of #2 diesel and prime the new filter, 25 minuets of cranking and she fired right up and has been running sense. I done some electrical work and some repairs to his combine in exchange for the truck. I got to say it was a sweet deal in my eyes anyway. I love my old girl. It is a labor of love youngman.