I purchased a 2004 1500, 4.7L/VIN N with the 5-speed manual (NV3500?) in december with 69.5k miles on the odo. From the young age and good general ORIGINAL conditionof the mechanicals on the truck, I have the feeling the majority of the miles were "highway." Think the tires, shocks, and brake pads were still the originals off the showroom floor.

BTW, let me preface everything with the fact that I've had about a dozen cars in the past 10 years with manual transmissions.

When I bought the truck, I noticed it was not the easiest thing to shift. Among other things, I immediately had the gearbox oil changed. It eased the shifting effort ....for about a day.

Fast forward 4 months and 4,000 hard south florida "city" miles later.Today, on the way to work,the truckwasNOTICEABLY harder to get intogear, especially 1, 2, and even 3. On the way HOME, the truckwasnear IMPOSSIBLE to get into 1 or reverse without turning off the truck.

Other symptoms:
- "Scratchy" noise on lift-off from dead stop, as if something is "scratching" to engage.
- Counterpoint: the belts on this engine are tired, and from the first major rain onward, copous amounts of STP Belt Dressing nonwithstanding, the truck squeals in all but the driest conditions. Rare in humid, tropical Miami.

- This is not my first vehicle with a blown clutch or trans with scattered metal bits within.
Counterpoints:
- Clutch DISK seems to have NO signs of slippage, but the SYNCHROS feel like BRICKS.
-Feels SORTA LIKE a SUPERtrashed motor mount,physically increasing the distance between the input shaftand the flywheel depending on the torsional loads placed on the chassis.
- Forcing it into1st and reverse at the last couple blocks and releasing the clutch resultedin some HUGE gurgling / rejection sounds/motions, as if the input shaft and flywheel were INCHES apart and JELLO was holding them together.
- It even STALLED OUT on a 2-1 downshift in a tight, slow, parking lot situation. Had to start it in gear both to get IN my spot, also to reverse out.
- This thing was never an AISIN-EQUIPPED RX8 or SOLSTICE to shift. However, only TODAY did the difficulty get scary.

Pondering whether to take the bus tomorrow. Two ****ty options. a) Possibly strand the truck, waste tons of $ and time I need to be at work between towing and repair shop. b) Wake up hours early, get to sleep hours late, spendlots of timewaiting for buses in between due a disfunctional pub. trans. system.

Thoughts? We got the usual choices here. MM's? TM's? TOB? PP? synchros?bent shift fork? Clutch adj. quadrant? Just trying to go into the repair shop with an educated guess. Don't want to go insolely with "can't get it into gear" and walk out with a$3500 billon a truck Igot 65 months left to pay off...

 

UPDATE:

Next morning -- decide to take the chance and drive thetruck to work. Shifts fine (maybe even easier than usual), no scratchy noise on take-off. WTF???!!!! Same weather as yesterday (hot/humid/rainy), same exact drive and duration (45 min.). You'd wager a guess that SOME piece of metal in the system was perhaps contracting or expanding just enough to cause problems...

What the hell kind of problem just shows up all of sudden then disappears... ESPECIALLY in duplicate conditions?? We'll see on the way home...

To THINK, I bought this truck SPECIFICALLY to avoid trans problems (while towing, at least).... AND save some $ over my previous truck....

Saturday I guess I'll go over all the linkages and connections I can access, check fluid levels, etc. I don't really know ANY specifics about the shifting or clutch mechanisms of this truck.

 

Sat 4-12: looked around the shifter linkage, engine compartment, clutch pedal, and the underside. Noticed no leaks, aside from what may have been spilled during the apparently "unneccessary" gearbox fluid change, or a loose driveshaft yoke. Shifter is directly linked to trans. Clutch has hydraulic system, but seems only to be comprised of a tiny reservoir tucked next to the huge brake booster and some sort of electric motor on the DS side of the trans bellhousing.

Owners manual no help: it says only 3 things regarding the entire MTS: (1) never replace the gearbox fluid (?!), (2) grease the clutch pedal pivot bushings if they squeak(how do you reach them without removing the dash??), and (3) "the clutch has a sealed hydraulic system. if there are anly leaks or other malfunctions, the entire system should be replaced."

 

I am having the same issue with my 02. I had to change the fluid because my U joints went out and the rear seal of the transmission started leaking when I did it. I am probably going to take my truck to the local stealership and get the expensive stuff put in tuesday. I have had mobil1 5w-30 synthetic in it with pretty good luck for the last 9,000 miles. Good luck.

 

Try running the Factory Manual NV3500 trans fliud. I've changed mine regularly for 15 years, and its always shifted like butter!! I know it's a bit pricy but you only need 2-3 quarts. By the way I 've been abusing my truck since '94 and its stood up well!

Fork