s cesnick

Hello All, I am a newbie to this site and a newbie to diesel trucks. I wanted a real truck and a diesel was a no brainer, so after some research it was obvious that a CTD was the only diesel for me. I recently bought a 2001 SLT ext. cab short bed with the 6 sp. I LOVE the truck !! My only complaint / question is why do I have a hard time shifting from 2nd. to 3rd. without grinding ? Is this a sign of my tranny going south? I have 81,000 miles on it now and it does it even when it is up to temp. If I wait a second with the clutch in , most of the time it will not grind. but, if I don't wait it will grind every time. Ant thoughts or suggestions would be great. thanks

CJ

s cesnick, you might want to try changing your tranny fluid after 81,000 it probably wouldn't hurt. I personaly havn't changed mine
yet(I only have 30,000) but I have seen others change theirs out to something more high tech than dodge put in it. from what I have read
this helps. also when running empty I start off in 3rd and go straight to 5th then 6th. I know this doesn't help when hauling but it might be
worth a try CJ

sherod

First and most important, a welcome is in order. Now, how are you shifting? Not throwing stones, but as an example, my coworkers 2003 grinds quite often when he is driving. He tries to shift as if he is in his Mustang. When I test drove it and treated it like a truck, no grinds. Maybe you answered your own question about a slight delay.

The idea of a fluid change may help tho. I have a 89 that now has synthetic in the tranny, and it is the smoothest shifting 1 ton pickup I have ever driven.

Enjoy the ride

Ed

F. Flack

I found with my 5sp that if I take it out of gear before depressing the clutch all the way down that the gears will spin and not sync up properly -- thus grinding. Occasionally happens when trying to show some V8 what's what. It just takes practice...

As sherod pointed out, you may need to watch how you are shifting and make adjustments. The first time my wife drove the truck she almost rear-ended a vehicle by reving the engine before letting out the clutch -- also the last time she drove it... guess she couldn't handle the power.

Congratulations on your purchase -- you will have a lot of fun!

s cesnick

sherod, no, I am not shifting quickly. I live up a 2 1/2 mile dirt road which is up on top of a mountain and rough as all get out. So, as you can imagine The rpm's aren't that high and the shifts are slow but it will still do it except when i shift from 2nd to neutral, let the rpm's die, and then lightly push it into 3rd. All other shifts work fine. Is this a normal or better yet a common quirk ??? Thanks.

johnh

the six speed as it came from the factory is a good stong trans. the weak point is the synchro`s, i understand nv had an upgrade in 2002...i had mine rebuilt at 115000 miles at a cost of $1960
my problem was grinding in fifth ...but the rebuild cured all....
john

dodgediesel4x4

As johnh pointed out, I also can get a grind into 5th gear. I just take it easy on that shift and sometimes double clutch it.

zulusafari

Not rally on topic, but I have never had proper clutch instruction -- I taught myself how to drive a manual purely on mechanical principal, but I do not understand "double clutching?" How is it done, and why? Is that why my auto switches back to 1st gear right before transitioning to 3rd? (same principle only -- I know it is an auto and not a manual )

duner

instead of trying to shift to third at a low rpm try taking the engine to governor speed in second and then take your time shifting to third, in about a three count. i think you'll find it falls right into place every time. it's a truck, it thinks like a truck and responds like a truck. a little practice is all it takes. good luck and welcome to the site.

s cesnick

Thanks for the advice guys. I have experimented with different methods and found that double clutching works pretty good but just taching out 2nd. a little more and like duner said a three count usually does the trick. Just wondering why it doesn't do it in other gears though ? Anyhoo, all is better. Now if I could just quit trying to put it in reverse when going from 4th to 5th. I will be all set. my other 2 vehicles are 5 speeds I guess that has something to do with it. thanks again...

F. Flack

cesnick,

Glad you found the "sweet spot" for shifting. With over 80k miles, you may need to start saving up for a new clutch and tranny rebuild kit (as johnh pointed out). If I'm not mistaken, the syncros work harder in the lower gears, which causes them to wear out quicker (the experts can correct me on this...). Double clutching and slowing down will prolong the inevitable...


zulusafari,

"Double clutching" is when you depress the clutch to take the tranny out of gear, lift up on the clutch to "spin the gears", and depress the clutch a second time to put the tranny into the next gear. I grew up driving an old '48 Ford which was converted into a wrecker. The syncros were non-existent so double clutching was the only way to shift gears. Once you get the hang of it, you can move through the gears fairly fast.

Franklin

gamiller31

I have found that If I move the lever slowly, and not think about a direction, just move it up or down, it slides right where it should. Especially from 4th to 5th, do not try to move it to the right at all.

gamiller31

I hit submit on accident. I also want to know why ya'll are talking a rebuild on a tranny that should last the life of the engine. Just put in some Redline MTL, and it should last a long time. Mine will grind going in to 6th if I go too fast, but I never have to double clutch it.

Rattletrap1

Make sure you're trans is filled to proper level. Some of these trannies leak pretty bad. Pennzoil Synchromesh to top off...redline MTL to replace with synthetic.