OK first off, my truck is a;'95 V10 3500 Series 4WD. I am the original owner. It has about 200,000 miles on it. It's been a plumbing truck, a loggin' truck, a pump pulling truck and lastly....a truck I use in my present fencing business. This truck has been almost bullet proof in its lifetime and paid for itself a couple of time over. I'm sentimental with it and trying to get the utility box off, put on a flat bed with a wood floor and tool boxes on the sides.

I was unlucky to get one with the peeling paint issues like my older GMC. I took it to the dealer to get into the repaint program and the crooked service guy said it looked like "rock chip" damage to him. Sure, all the way up on top of the cab. So, it looks like hell. Good repaint around here is $2,500-$4,500 JUST the cab. I don't think so. I wrote a letter to Chrysler about the paint and some guy called from the Dodge department and left a message that no, they would not repaint my truck. Thank you Dodge.

Anyway, last yr it was kinda sick and I did a lot of stuff on the engine and rebuilt the NV 4500. Got my mileage back, but still won't hold 1st gear which I think is because the detents/springs in the top plate are worn. New style(can't get the original) top plate with forks is about $420 I'm told. I know you can rebuild those top plates with new springs/***** but I'm not finding any info about it on the Web.

Now to the question......using YouTube as a guide, which is always dangerous.....the '95 trucks are supposed to be OBD I. OK so I do the key trick and I get Code 55 which is normal, no bad codes. But....it doesn't start out with Code 12 which is supposed to mean the computer is OK in diagnostic mode. But this YouTube vid was with a Dokota the same yr, not a V10. Do I have anything to worry about in not getting Code 12 at the first?

Kevin

 

Code 12 generally implies the battery has been disconnected in the last 50 key cycles or so, not seeing it isn't bad. The 55 being the only code is definitely good.

Does the trans pop out of gear??

 

Only flips out in first....everything else is golden, upshifts, downshifts etc. And it held a little in 1st after the 4500 rebuild for a few runs....then went back to its old ways. Very little wear inside the trans, but I put about $700 in parts inside. New first gear....all new sync packs, completely new clutch etc. Guy at the transmission place I bought the parts from said I put the syncros in 1st, backwards. I don't think so, I was meticulous. And it did work fine the first few runs. This was a problem before and the reason I rebuilt the 4500 in the first place.

I'd like to find someone who could rebuild the the top plate with detents and springs. According to the transmission outfit, you have to drill out the covers, replace the the *****/springs and then re-weld the end holes.

Thanks for the heads up on the codes. I've got at least 50 starts on it since the battery was disconnected.

Kevin

 

Don't think I would wanna weld anything on the top cover..... would make it fun to repair the next time around.... Aren't they just kinda like the freeze plugs on the block? Just little bits of steel with an interference fit, and maybe staked into place? (I don't do much with transmissions, so, not really sure on that.)

 

Ya know....I remember looking at those ends....but just a cursory glance. They do look like plugs, but I didn't look closely. My focus was on the inside of the tranny and the forks etc.....which had virtually no wear, but replaced the composite 'shoes' which crumbled in my hands.

I hate the idea of spending $400+ for a new style cover and shifter. Especially with all the money into it and not fixing 1st. I'm at a loss to research this further. The tranny shops around here just want to talk you into remans....they won't work on the 4500. I was using a shop up in Minnesota for the parts.

What I'm NOT doing is pulling that tranny again. I'll cut the floor out to remove the lid and rivet the steel back in. If I had access to a shop/lift....it would be different.

Kevin

 

You would have gotten better visibility in 2nd gen (this is 3rd gen)......

 

Indeed.

I had thought I had moved this thread...... Apparently not huh? I will fix that right now.