The shift tower on yours is the same as mine and it hits the dash. And I Called them and asked them bc I know they dyno them before sending them out and hr said to run it for couple hundred miles and see what it is doing. I still have some slop coming from my drivetrain which I believe has to do with backlash in the rear end. Like if I was trying to shift fast there would be some clunking going on for sure. This tranny does shift better than my previous ax15 though for sure. Idk hot warm these trannys get and I'm not familiar with them so idk what's normal and not normal.

 

Okay guys I did some more driving and well I've noticed that apparently all the slop and rattling wasnt just coming from the old transmission.

The whining is still there mostly with 1st through 3rd. Not getting worse or better I've got 75 miles on the tranny now. I would like to hear from anybody with an nv3500 and 4x4 that is currently driving one and how tight does your drivetrain feel over all. Because mine personally I feel is all clunky by alot it seems when shifting and everything. And then once everything is hot and I go to put a load on the drivetrain in reverse it grinds as it's starting to move and then stops. Still seems clunky too. And then when going 50 in like 4th mainly and letting off the gas and letting the truck coast while its hot causes alot of rattle. All of these besides the louder whining from the tranny which I'm wondering if it's normal were present and sounded exactly the same with the ax15.

 

Is rag89 on here I have got some questions for him.

 

Sorry I thought I had responded about the noises you're hearing previously, but I see I never did. Believe 93 Ragtop mentioned this, but I've also heard that pre-'97 NV3500's are noisy, mostly from gear tooth design. Changes were made beginning in '97 to quiet the noise, and mine does seem pretty quiet (it came out of '97 Dakota). I don't seem to have much slop in the drive train either, despite my old diff and drive shaft. I can get a clunk out of it in certain situations, but it doesn't seem excessive.

I'm really surprised to hear that your shifter is hitting the dash. It does sound like a Ram trans, but maybe it's something else going on. Is your shifter (the gear shift shaft) straight or curved? Mine came off my old NV2500 and it's straight. It doesn't come anywhere near hitting the dash, plenty of knuckle room.

 

Well this transmission I would think would have all the gear tooth updates on it I believe is what's advertised on there website. Maybe it is just break in noise? I've drove it a little more and it has either gotten quieter or I am getting used to it.

The slop that I am talking about seems way excessive to me and honestly it feels like it comes from the front of the transmission. I noticed it just as bad on my old tranny and I thought it was probably that tranny since it was having other problems as well but apparently not. I also hear it like if I have the truck in first just idling and I push in the clutch to disconnect motor from the tranny I get a very noticeable clunk towards the front of the tranny. I've also noticed that if I have the truck under a heavy load and I go to back up or go forward with it. If I don't let the clutch out like immediately it starts to jerk under there violently. I've videoed underneath and it doesn't appear to be a mount problem so I checked that. Also with the slop when going down the highway if I don't take it very easy letting the clutch out I will get a good clunk towards the front as well.

One more thing I still haven't found is once the truck gets good and hot everywhere if I'm running like 50 in 4th and let of the gas I hear like a gear rattle still under the trans tunnel. U don't hear it that much if u don't let off the gas. When the truck is also this warm I get kind of a grinding noise under the trans tunnel when putting a load on it in reverse.

All of these problems described above I had before I replaced the transmission so we should be able to rule that out. Other than me wondering if the nv3500 is a little noise like whining. And for the shifter hitting the dash the tower assembly bolted to the transmission is curved and that's why it's hitting it should be straight. And it is definitely the Dakota nv3500