Hello, first off my name is John and im new to this site, so my apologies if I post a thread under a wrong topic.
That said, iv got a 01 ram3500 dually, 24v 5.9 cummins & 5 speed w/ 4wd & 4:10 rearend.
Just simple addons, edge juice w/ add., 4" pipe. Afe intake. Southbend DD clutch. W/ bigger input shaft. 245K miles, just started runnin Amsoil in everything.

2 weeks ago I lost 5th gear and reverse. Expected the nut came off and somethin biund up the reverse gear so I ordered a 5th gear kit from quad4x4. I was Wrong, rear counter shaft bearing pretty much exploded and has been eaten. Sooo since this is my first diesel and iv never touched a tranny, my lack of $$$ has me rebuilding. What looks like a pain in the a$$. Tryin to save some $ I only bought the parts I knew I need instead of a. Complete rebuild kit. Basically im missing synchros & new lock rings cuz (may be a mistake idk) my synchros looked like they were in great condition and iv never had issues shifting or slipping out.
Now my question is, Im replacing 5th gear & nut cuz I know its a common problem, but I keep reading about problem s with 3rd gear?? Anything I can do while its apart. Now to save myself a hassle later?? Also my main shaft looks great but most of the kits iv seen included a new mainshaft?? Any difference or reason to upgrade? Always figure if it aint broke dont fix it, but any suggestions for this non-mechanic would b greatly appreciated!!

 

The new upgraded main shaft will have the fifth gear fully splined. Also has a groove in it for a locking ring to keep the fifth gear nut from backing off. Where as the factory only has about 1" of splines then smooth. I replaced mine with a main shaft from Anaheim gear. also bought several other parts from them. and they don't cost a fortune. Biggest thing with that transmission is make sure everything is nice and snug. When I rebuilt mine for the first time I didn't tighten up the cluster gear where 5th gear is, It wasn't long before I was having problems. Took it back apart, had to add some shims to tighten everything back up, and has been doing fine since. The video from quad doesn't tell you that.

 

Thanks Barry! Im almost ready to press on the taper bearings and put the shafts back in the case but I noticed today what could be a problem... my initial reason for the rebuild was my rear countershaft bearing spit out all the bearings and was floppin around. This in turn caused some damage to the wall of the case where the bearing cap goes in. Now theres not really any play or movement of it but I can press the cup in place with my fingers. Is that normal? I assumed i should have to press it in w/ a hydraulic press but it pushed in fairly easily... since it wasnt "sloppy" just wasnt tight I am planning to put a little bit of JBweld around the inside between the cup & housing. Is this a bad idea???

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Also.... when I bought my parts I didn't realize I needed a shim kit, im really kickin myself now but does anyone know of any place to buy one locally? (Im from st louis) iv gotten all my parts from quad 4x4 but I REALLY hate havin my truck down another week waitin on parts. Guessin that aint something I can just pickup @ NAPA? Or has anyone ever cut some thin steel & just made thier own?

 

Are you calling the cup, the bearing race? If so I don't remember having to press those in. I have some shims left over out in the garage but those are for the main shaft. The fifth gear takes a smaller diameter if i remember correctly its been a couple years since I did it last.
Give Anaheim gear a look. anaheimgear.com or just give them a call. I ordered some stuff from quad but when i found out about anaheim gear I haven't went back to quad. I did buy a couple of his special tools he had made for rebuilding these transmissions. but thats about it. They do make the job easier. for example the fifth gear nut needs torqued to 250 ft lbs. I bought that socket for the splined nut that holds it in place. if you have a welder throw a couple tack welds on that nut to keep it from backing off.
I know what you mean about having to wait on parts. Its a P.I.T.A but unless you find a local trans shop that rebuilds manual trans. your pretty much stuck with ordering parts.

 

yea thats what i meant, i didnt use JBweld cuz after i read some more in the manual it didnt show "pressing" it in on that bearing, and i cant feel any play atall. i got everything back in the case today and checked my depth, im at about .034" and the only spacer i have is torn up from the old bearing so i bucked up and placed another order (faster shipping cost blows) an just got the whole shim kit and thrust washer. cant wait to try this damn thing out, Im almost there! i will say i did buy the $50 shop manual from Quad4x4 and dont think i couldve done it without it. im used to vague b&w pics from a chiltons manual and thier book is step by step color pictures, worth every penny if you're like me and aint sure what ur doing.

 

How hard is the rebuild overall ? What special tool s do you need ? I got an NV in the shed that need synchros.

 

well it aint somethin id start for fun, but if you have a good clear manual to go by it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be honestly. could prolly do it in less than a day if you have all the tools and know wth ur doing, has taken me about 2-3days to dismantle, clean thoroughly and reassymble. only tools i bought were a 29 spline socket to hold the rear mainshaft, and a "wrench" to hold the 5th gear nut. deffinately need a good 3 prong puller or bearing splitter preferably. (and i used a torch a couple times) you can buy special tools to press the new bearings on, but save urself a bunch of $ and save the old bearing races, and use the old race and a pc of pipe to press on the new bearings. also, there is one big lock ring on the mainshaft, took two of us about 1/2 hr to get off and get back on without damaging it, its really tight and need a pretty big and heavy duty set so u dont bend em up. also: the fluid that thing takes from Chrystler is about $25/ qt... i just went to AmsOil and bought thier equivalent for about $11/ qt.

 

Oh yeah I forgot about the snap ring, I bought special pair of pliers for that off the mac tool trick. That thing is a PITA without them. I don't think I've used it since I rebuilt mine.

 

Lol yea I ground down a pair of needle nose but sprung the ring out too far and it wouldn't seat right till I remove it again, squeezed it tight, then put ut back very detieously... needless to say a royal pain!

 

So I put my transmission back in today and its runnin fine, but once the input shaft was lined up I took mefme forever to get it bolted tight. Something was binding up and I could only tighten the bolts with about a match book sized gap between the input side abd the clutch housing. Also I ran through all the gears after it was in and 1st was tight and 5th gear wouldn't go in atall. After a hour I tried starting the truck for a sec and then it fell right into place. Dont know if its normal?? But it seemed to work.