... I know right, I should know better than this! Just want opinions.

So I went back and pulled that nv3500 I had mentioned that was at the junkyard and brought it home. Anyway, while I was pulling it out, I unbolted the shift tower and got a good whiff of... wait for it... GEAR OIL!! Some dumba$$ previous owner must have changed the transmission fluid with gear oil instead of the proper syncromesh fluid that is supposed to go in it. Now I have no way of knowing how many total miles are on the transmission nor how many miles it was ran with gear oil in it. So here is my question... if I keep this thing (until my 2wd is ready for the road) and drain it and refill it with syncromesh, and then drive it for a couple hundred miles and drain it again and refill it with syncromesh to make sure all the gear oil was flushed, what are the chances it will live?

If I get enough people say don't mess with it, I'll go return it, cause I have 30 days, but keep in mind that the thing only cost me $90 plus a few hours of my time to pull it.

 

I would say it will live if it hasn't already been killed. I don't see you doing more damage to it, but you are not going to reverse the damage already done. I wonder if you could buy some cheap syncromesh alternative and flush the trans with that? My trans fluid was super expensive for the NV4500.

 

You must have been talking to a deal who wants to sell a new one. Some cones can't handle synthetic, but an oil change or two will fix it. A standard will run on ATF,low detergent motor oil and gear oil. And yes I have owned one or more of each that showed this in the manual.

 

Gotta be honest here, I have no idea what you're trying to say! The way you worded that is confusing.

 

Think he was saying that you were talking to a dealer who was telling you that the gear oil would blow it so he could sell you a new one.

How does it go into and out of gear? Do the shift gates feel sloppy and wide? If not Id say your probably fine. If I remember right your comment to me was "Ill run it till I blow it".....so I dont really see a problem. If your that concerned rebuild kits for manuals are dirt cheap. Youd have 200 bucks in a freshly rebuilt tranny.

 

Oh ok. Thats not it! The place I got it from was a U-Pull-It junkyard that doesn't even preinventory the vehicles they get, so they have no idea whats out there until you bring it up to the register. As for the gear oil harming the tranmission, that was my call! I smelled the gear oil and know for a fact that it will harm the nv3500... just ask Hahns5.2... he had one die because the PO used gear oil instead of syncromesh!

It shifts great just sitting there, but since I won't have anything to put it in for a while, I have no way of testing it under a load!

 

Normally if the shift gates are clean your ok. If you get side slop when its in or on its way in your hosed. Even if theres no load, the gates are the key.

 

I would say take it apart and use a parts washer and see if there is any visible damage then if it is trash sell it on craigslist.

 

Lol, I like that idea! I guess it is similar to the to the transfer cases I tore into... just a bigger and more complex. Maybe I'll study the FSM for a few days and see if I get comfortable about tearing into it.

 

NV3500s are supposed to be very difficult to rebuild.

I'd throw it in an see how it does..

I hate ignorant mechanics, I see the wrong fluid in manual trannys all the time, manual doesn't automatically=gear oil!!!