NV4500 rebuild

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woody

eternal noobie
Staff member
Oct 12, 2010
1,848
56
Toquerville UT
Today's progress on rebuilding my 98 Dodge NV4500...never a good sign with disassembling the mainshaft involved the torch...

Simply put, the reverse idler gear roller bearing is junk, so a set of roller bearings, a new thrust washer and a new reverse gear are on order. Yay.

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Cleaned up the top cover and case.... not perfect, but I was SURE the cover was black and not clean aluminum...lol
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Still deciding if I should just reuse the old mainshaft.... a little Emory cloth should clean it up, right?!?
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At some point, all of this stuff needs to end up inside the case.... in order... Should be fun!!
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Ordered my rebuild kit from Allstate Gear...overall very complete....also ordered the replacement reverse gear AND their shim kit (BTW: order that shim kit right away...)



 
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Reassembly in progress...
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FYI, do NOT, under any circumstances, let this set of four synchro struts/springs fly out....it sucks....you then get to do this zip tie trick - of course, the springs are tiny and finding them can be a challenge too. I got lucky and nothing flew too far.
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Starting to look like it might actually work....maybe....
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FYI, every good mechanics project should have a stack of extra stuff you didn't need....this is my pile thus far...
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The new mainshaft and 5th gear includes a new 3 piece washer to lock 5th from wandering out. Install both half moons into the slot, then the outer ring traps them.

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Then, jam the trans into BOTH 1st and 3rd....locking the rear output on the mainshaft. Strap that baby to your workbench, and it's torque wrench time....325 ftlbs (Factory is 270-280, my torque wrench caps at 300, so I got 'er close)

The wrench:
Amazon product ASIN B0811CTX71
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The locking nut has two small brass inserts and two set screws....AND includes this nifty tabbed/splined cap to prevent it from turning. Ideally, this is THE permanent fix for the Dodge NV4500 5th gear issues.
Amazon product ASIN B01M707LD9
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The locking sleeve in place...the transfer case input will ALMOST touch this, and keep it from backing away.
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Harbor Freight engine hoist....to a Harbor Freight tranny jack....worked perfectly :)

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Get in there!!
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Fully expected an hour or more of wrestling....still took some cursing, but 20 minutes of wiggling and adjusting and it dropped right in.
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And, it lives!! A few trips around the block (even used 5th a few times!!)....still need to button up the interior and double check fluid levels, but success!!
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