i have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2L 5 speed manual tranny. first question how do I figure out what tranny i have? I hear a whinning noise specially when I left off the gas still in gear. i have the Haynes repair manual and I see their is 3 types of trannies NV3500, NV4500, NV5600. I smell a burning smell after I drive it i havent checked the levels yet i wanted to get an ideal of what tranny I have so does anyone have any ideals? i have a feeling I def am low on tranny fluid but I wanna make sure I get the right kind or well does it really matter?

 

oops forgot to add its 4x4

 

I thought the 1500s only came with the NV3500, but I could be mistaken.

 

yeah, nv3500. Check that fluid leve ASAP. Put in the correct fluid if it needs any.

 

yea I seen i do have the NV3500 the fluid was okay I know I need to replace the rear pinion seal and that is that prob the noise I am hearing is from the front pinion bearing anybody changed one of those?

 

yep. We thought the transmission (nv3500) was going out in my fathers truck. Turned out to be the pinion bearings were shot. I could grab the yoke and move it around. Once i got it apart just about every bearing in the differential was bad. Gears were still good.

I doubt your going to find just the front pinion bearing is bad. Now would be a good idea to replace all of the differential bearings, seals and a new crush sleeve.

 

have u been doing any wheelin, or hit something, notice any puddles of fluid on the ground lol, deff check the fluid and get that fixed ASAP, dont burn out the gears.
good luck. post back with the progress

 

Am i going to have to take apart the whole diff to change the rear pinion bearing? if so what sorta tools am I gonna need I have 2 manuals here one is a haynes and the other I got offline which seems to be a lil more detailed so monteC could u give me a basic ideal since you have replaced this problem. and there is what 4 bearings? 2 pinion and the 2 diff bearins correct? i just replaced the rear wheel bearings not to long ago. so if u could give me any tips it would be greatly appreciated

 

The way im going to explain it is not the book way but is the easiest way to just replace the bearings. Since your reusing the same gears you dont need to worry about shimming, pinion depth or backlash.

Ok assuming you have the axles out and the cover off...

You will need a special tool that goes in through the axle tube and loosens the two locknuts that hold the differential in place. Loosen these two nuts and count how many times you turn them. Remove the 4 bolts and 2 caps that hold the differential in the housing. You may need to pry the diff out of the housing with a prybar. Some fall out others need some persuasion. Keep the caps and spacers on their perspective sides, try not to mix them up. Once you have the diff out you can go ahead and press those bearings off, and then press the new ones on. Set the diff aside and move on to the pinion. Remove the pinion nut, spacer and the yolk. Use a brass hammer or rubber mallet to tap the pinion out of the housing. Remove the pinion seal from the housing and take out the front pinion bearing. You will need to remove the bearing races for the pinion from the housing. Use a long punch and a hammer. You may need a race installer to install the new races. Now take the pinion and press off the old bearing. Try not to destroy the old shim, you need to reuse it. If it gets messed up you will need to measure the thickness of it and install a new one the same size. Now press on the new bearing, you can heat it up but i always prefer using a press. Once you have the new bearing on slide a new crush sleeve on the pinion. Put the new front pinion bearing into the housing then install the new seal. (the front pinion bearing will just be sitting there. Now slide the pinion back into the housing and into the front bearing, now install the yolk and the nut. The nut will just barely fit on the pinion and you will have to tighten the nut with a ratchet and i use a pipe wrench to hold the yolk. As you tighten the pinion nut it will press the front bearing onto the pinion. Take off the nut and put that spacer back on and tighten the nut down until it becomes difficult to tighten. Then you may need a large breaker bar and that pipe wrench to crush the crush sleeve to set the pinion bearing preload. I dont know what the exact preload is off the top of my head but you will need to measure it with an inch lbs deflecting beam torque wrench. Once the pinion is set. Install the differential with the races, spacers and the bearings together. Set the whole unit in the housing. Now install the caps and bolts and finger tighten them down. Then tighten those two lock nuts back down, remembering the number of turns you loosened them. Once those are set then tighten down the 4 bolts that hold the diff in.

That should do it. I re read it tomorrow to make sure i didnt forget anything. Its late right now i may have left something out.

 

im going to work on this tom(friday) all the books say check the preload torque before u take the yoke and stuff apart. now on urs I see u say to after u put the new stuff in but shouldnt I get the torque measurement before I take the pinion apart? and also did u have any prob getting the diff locknut tool? you have been a big help MonteC