Welcome! I found the link provided by HankL to be very useful!

 

After realizing my dumbness here, I did some looking around. Turns out the g-56 is a Mercedes-Benz design built by DCX commercial. Go Figure. I had heard they were going to move to a Mercedes diesel in the near future, rather than the Cummins. I have a question into DC right now to find out if the Tranny and Transfer are compatible with Synthetic gear oil rather than the ATF+4 stuff that the FSM lists.

 

I hope they don't get rid of the Cummins. That would be a really big mistake. Then Ford would have the best diesel ever made.

 

ford? arent they having a lot of issiues with these new powerstrokes? chevys new diesel puts down 600ft lbs of torque at the wheels....[sm=drooldude.gif]

 

Yes, Ford did and still does have a few issues with the 6.0L PSD. They are coming out with a new 6.4L PSD next year, I think. Chevy does have a nice diesel, however, you can't beat a bulletproof I-6 Cummins TD.

As a side note, Cummins engines can be had in the Ford F-450+. DC has a contract with Cummins for the 3500 and under trucks.

 

Again there are the potential warranty issues,
but on a manual transmission using the Chrysler ATF as lubricant,
I wonder what the Lubegard Red Bottle additive would do for shift smoothness?

http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/index_trans.html

I have had extremely good results with Lubegard Red Bottle in every Chrysler automatic trans I have used it in and it has a very good reputation at Transmission Rebuild Shops.

If you added a Moly type additive to ATF the black color would certainly give away that an additive was in the ATF, but the Lubegard has a color that could not be detected.

 

HankL, I think I'll stay away from warranty issues for now. Being a 2005, I have the 3yr/36000 mile bumper-to-bumper, and, for the last year (I think they killed it for 2006), I have the 7yr/70000 mile powertrain warranty. I have a feeling that Chrysler may eventually need to go into this tranny and I don't want to take any risk that they won't pay for the work they do...So far, beyond posts stating that the Getrag 238 is not a great tranny, I haven't had anyone else REALLY say "mine shifts rough too".. So, for now, I think I WILL go to the dealership just to "log" my complaint (so it is in the system) and then put some miles on it. I'm hoping (assuming??) that IF it is going to "break in", it will do so within the first few thousand miles, especially given that most of my driving is city. THEN, if I still have the problem, I'll go back to the dealer and see where we go from here. (Remember, the "shop foreman" said "put some miles on it and we'll see what happens".) Looking ahead, I don't know about the expertise of your local dealer service shop folks, but, it has been my experience (over the years, not just with Dodge, but, Ford, Chevy, etc.) that most of the dealer service techs are really not much more than parts replacers and have minimal skill on actually REBUILDING anything.. So, down the road, I'll have to CAREFULLY consider if I really WAN'T anyone tearing into the tranny.. I have a feeling that they would never REPLACE the tranny with a new tranny given that they barely acknowledge the problem exists.. So, we'll see.. Thanks again!

 

Yes its rough, its slow to shift, it rattles, it shakes, go over bumps and the stick jerks your hand around. You did have 3 days to return it if you did not like it. I figure its a truck, not a luxury vehicle. I took it in too due to the rattle, it thought something was loose. They all say the same crap, "its normal for this vehicle". I have 8500 miles and you get used to it. I figure I have the 7/70, its their crap, let them fix it until it becomes my crap.

 

Sure, I know.. It is a truck.. I'm not expecting it to shift like my friend's BMW. I DO expect it to shift from 1st into 2nd without being as rough as it is.. NONE of the other gears are rough, not even first.. I'll just drive it a while..

 

mine shifts awesome, 4000 miles on it, never had a problem with it, in fact i happen to enjoy the long throw into second, but maybe we dont have the same tranny, mine is a 6 speed stick too, but a 1500