Hard to shift in 4HI
#1
09-01-2022, 12:53 AM
Join Date: Sep 2022
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Hard to shift in 4HI
Hello!
My 1st post in this forum. Last year I picked up a 99 Dakota for a song. It's been a great truck for me so far, and I've gotten it for mainly driving around on the FSRs around western BC. The truck is a 4WD, Club Cab, with a V8 and 5spd NV3500HD tranny/NP231HD transfer case and a 9.25 Trac-Loc rear axle.
After doing some substantial FSR climbs with it lately, I've noticed an issue with the transfer case. It'll get to be quite warm as I'm driving uphill, and I feel it through the shifter boot and on my left leg. Usually I climb in 4HI and 1st or 2nd gear depending on the terrain. I use 4LO on the descents for braking. What I've also noticed is that it gets hard to shift the transmission when this happens. At 1st I though this would be a tranny issue. However, I was playing around with the transfer case setting at the top of a climb today and noticed that in 4Hi the tranny is hard to shift into gears while the truck is stationary. 2Hi is a bit better, 4Lo is much easier, and once I throw the t-case into N I can row through the gears with total ease. As soon as I go from N to 4HI, it starts to become hard to shift into any gear again. That being said, it will go into each gear without grinding. When the t-case is cool, rowing through gears in 4HI is no issue.
Recently, I have added ATF+4 fluid to the t-case. I tried to open up the drain plug but that was a no-go. As best as I could try, it wouldn't unscrew and I damaged the internal hex. The fill port opened up fine, so i just filled the t-case with fluid until it start to overflow (while on flat ground).
Any ideas what could be going on? Lubrication issue like a clogged pick up tube?I was thinking of dropping the t-case and rebuilding it, mostly for fun. But as always, time is hard to come by.
Cheers!
My 1st post in this forum. Last year I picked up a 99 Dakota for a song. It's been a great truck for me so far, and I've gotten it for mainly driving around on the FSRs around western BC. The truck is a 4WD, Club Cab, with a V8 and 5spd NV3500HD tranny/NP231HD transfer case and a 9.25 Trac-Loc rear axle.
After doing some substantial FSR climbs with it lately, I've noticed an issue with the transfer case. It'll get to be quite warm as I'm driving uphill, and I feel it through the shifter boot and on my left leg. Usually I climb in 4HI and 1st or 2nd gear depending on the terrain. I use 4LO on the descents for braking. What I've also noticed is that it gets hard to shift the transmission when this happens. At 1st I though this would be a tranny issue. However, I was playing around with the transfer case setting at the top of a climb today and noticed that in 4Hi the tranny is hard to shift into gears while the truck is stationary. 2Hi is a bit better, 4Lo is much easier, and once I throw the t-case into N I can row through the gears with total ease. As soon as I go from N to 4HI, it starts to become hard to shift into any gear again. That being said, it will go into each gear without grinding. When the t-case is cool, rowing through gears in 4HI is no issue.
Recently, I have added ATF+4 fluid to the t-case. I tried to open up the drain plug but that was a no-go. As best as I could try, it wouldn't unscrew and I damaged the internal hex. The fill port opened up fine, so i just filled the t-case with fluid until it start to overflow (while on flat ground).
Any ideas what could be going on? Lubrication issue like a clogged pick up tube?I was thinking of dropping the t-case and rebuilding it, mostly for fun. But as always, time is hard to come by.
Cheers!
#3
09-02-2022, 01:12 AM
Join Date: Sep 2022
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When I refilled fluid, I used Castrol Transmax ATF+4. On the bottle it states it's for Chrysler vehicles and meets/exceed requirement of ATF+3, Type 7176. Would love to drain it out, just gotta mess around and try to get the drain plug out some how.
All tires are the same size, 31x10.5, but that shouldn't really matter with a part time case being driven on loose surfaces, right?
It just seems that there is something on the tranny output side that's causing it to be not want to shift easily into gears. But what in the t-case could be causing this while the vehicle is stationary?
All tires are the same size, 31x10.5, but that shouldn't really matter with a part time case being driven on loose surfaces, right?
It just seems that there is something on the tranny output side that's causing it to be not want to shift easily into gears. But what in the t-case could be causing this while the vehicle is stationary?