what can a getrag really handle?I can't seem to kepp mine feeling the way it should. My truck works and plays it makes a little extra power and would love to make more but I am tired of tearing down the getrag. I have had it out 3 times in 25,000 miles. I put it back together the first 2 times and I had a shop do it the last time but didn't seem to hold up any better than my own work. I think I am making roughly 200-220 hp and I tow 5k to 14klbs a few times a month. but I always seem to end up with excessive "backlash" feeling in the trans. Am I just over working the trans? do I need something heavier?

 

Is there anything I can put in this truck that will be bullet proof without loosing my final gear ratio or spending too much cash?

 

Look up a guy in the members list that goes by "mysteryman". He is supposed to be an engineer that worked on the original Getrag project when it first went into production. I'm pretty sure that I read that on here or one of the other forums. He seemed extremely knowledgeable "should be being one of the original engineers" on the Getrag. If I remember right it's all in the setup of the backlash/endplay at build/rebuild time. Some of the foreign bearings used can cause you to have many problems.

 

It may be a driving style issue. Do you keep the RPM up or do you use that mountain of Cummins torque to move the load? As cool as all that torque feels, it is rough on the trans. Try to keep the RPM up over 2000 when the truck is working hard.

 

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...6&page=5&pp=15

 

Just don't tell mystery man you have mods done to your truck.

Word of advice.

Overfill the getrag by a qt of fluid and supposedly its a stout trans.

 

sdstriper that's the one I was thinking about. He seems to have a pretty good grip on the ole Getrags. As wannadiesel said maybe a driving style. You don't want the high torque low rpm to rattle and shake the trans apart. On our big trucks if the trans starts the gear rattle at low rpms drop a gear or it will self destruct over a short period of time. I've rebuilt a few and had several rebuilt, at $2500 to $5000 a pop rebuilds you will change old habits quick or hit the road without a job. I just don't believe the Getrag is all that bad vs the NV4500. The last 4500 I had in a 96 the 5th gear nut backed off twice, so weigh out the options. Is it broad or is it long.

 

I think a trans rated for 360ft/lbs won't last long behind a modded Cummins. No matter the driving style. I'm sure there are exceptions though.

 

bgilbert runs about 900 ft lbs. through his. not to mention the 500 HP

 

I don't want to speak for him, but I doubt that his truck is a daily driver. Trucks with the 14mm H/R are usually either dyno queens or pullers. The 14mm H/R requires a lot of fuel to keep it cool, and in daily driving conditions, it won't stay cool, causing the failures.

 

Do you have the specs to back this up or is this your assumption? By this thinking is the NV4500 rated for 4500ft/lbs. then? I doubt it. And for the benefit of the doubt, I doubt it was rated for 450ft/lbs.

The engines were rated and sold with more torque than that. You know this...

Here's something to think about that I have not read on any of the popular diesel sites over the years... When the Dodge CTD first came out with the Getrag, Chrysler would not allow rebuilds of the Getrag and most warranty type work on them were replacments rather than repairs. They were unsure of how they would hold up. I believe the story Terry Elders wrote about the Getrag mfg. building them to the wrong specs contributed to this somewhat, this is just my opinion of course. It wasn't until later in the 1st Gen run that they allowed repairs and rebuilds and even put the service info into the FSM's. This was after they proved the thing in production and worked the bugs out. It was cost driven to implement the NV4500, cheaper along with cheaper smaller etc clutch, they figured out they could get thru warranty with the cheaper units.

It is my personal opinion that those first few years of no repair rebuild recommendation gave the Getrag it's bad reputation. It's really the band-wagon type thinking along with repair shops seeing an opportunity to cash in on a replacement that has continued the myth. If it had been the NV4500 in the first production runs, they complaining would be equal to or greater than that of the Getrag, the 5th gear issues, oil leaks and failures because of said oil leaks, and the needle bearing/imput shaft failures.

Everything made in production quantity is going to have know issues, educate yourself and address these and more than likely you'll get a true decent value from the thing. Jumping ship everytime it springs a leak is foolish.

 

No, it is not an assumption. The 'Rag is rated for 360ft/lbs. By my thinking, I would research a tranny, and learn the facts about it, so by my thinking the NV4500 is not rated for 4500ft/lbs of torque.

 

I don't know what it is rated for, either of them. They both have issues. The "only" one that i've never heard bad things about is the NV5600 6sp.. Maybe they have issues too, just haven't heard it. Wish I had one. Rated torque means what??? Was it rated because a certain percentage failed at 360lb/ft or was it a computer generated rating from some formula? I can tear up an anvil with a rubber mallet given enough time, but also can run a truck for many miles with a badly slipping clutch. This debate is kinda like which turbo is best!!, which torque converter is best!! If you go into it not liking it, it will probably will fail. So as I said is it broad or wide. Go with what you like and all will be good.

 

The NV has 10% more rated torque capacity than the G360.

 

In my case, the problem is that the engine is revving way too high in third by 30 or 35 mph. Under 40 mph, fourth makes those disturbing groaning noises.

In my neighborhood, I am forced to do a lot of driving right in that range, where 3rd revs too high and 4th groans.

I'm swapping turbo housings tonight and replacing the gov spring sometime in the next week or two, maybe that will help.

If not, I guess I'm driving around a ticking time bomb...strongest engine ever put in a truck attached to a fragile transmission not rated to handle what the engine puts out ?

What do Chrysler and Getrag themselves have to say, in print, about what the G 360 is rated at ?