Busted shifter? (NV3500)

[SouthernGorilla]

As if I didn't have enough excitement in my life already, got home from work and almost couldn't get into reverse to back into the driveway. I'd had some trouble on the way getting into second as well. It's like no matter how far I pull the stick I just can't get it to engage.

I had another thread where I asked about the shifter being sloppy. I'm assuming this is the same problem getting worse. I'm really hoping it's just the shifter and not the trans internals. I can't afford major repairs right now and I definitely am not in the mood for the discussion that would happen if my "new" truck was busted already.

 

[McBroom]

Yep time to take some time and take it apart. I’m thinking the trans tunnel is removable from the top. You’ll probably have to remove the carpet to get to it.
Send me some pictures and I’ll help ya as best as I can.
Which according to my son is a lot.


The Blue Mule

 

[SouthernGorilla]

As soon as I can manage it. Hoping I can at least get to work and back tomorrow. It isn't a huge problem to skip second... but if I can't get fourth I'm screwed. Pushing forward is no big deal, it's only the "pull" gears that don't want to work. Those are different forks inside, so I'm pretty confident it's the shifter itself. But could still be trouble.

I have to figure out how to get the console out. I'm betting the rubber mat isn't quite as much trouble as carpet is though. There's a reason I bought as base a model as I could find.

 

[McBroom]

If you need some help with the truck I’m in Denison about an hour or north of you. My son a great mechanic is in ft worth. I can drive down there and help you get it fixed. I know how important it is to get to n from work.


The Blue Mule

 

[SouthernGorilla]

If you need some help with the truck I’m in Denison about an hour or north of you. My son a great mechanic is in ft worth. I can drive down there and help you get it fixed. I know how important it is to get to n from work.


The Blue Mule

I appreciate that. Your son have a shop of his own or work somewhere? I got a shop I've been very pleased with, but I'd prefer right now to see if I can get this fixed myself. That was one huge reason I had for getting rid of the FWD junk I've been driving, it always cost too much to fix.

Checked Rockauto… they are confused. Put in my truck info and they brought up parts for the NV5600 and T56... neither of which are right for the year/engine combo. But they will sell me a whole new trans for $1,600 including the core charge.

Too late to call Allstate Gear. I can buy a new shift tower, and bushings I assume, but they only list the NV3500 under GM... so I don't know if they have the parts for a Dodge NV3500. And people seem confused about Dodge even having an NV3500.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

$329 will get me a brand new "Hurst" short-throw shifter. That's sexy AF. I would hope that comes with a new bushing as well. Or whatever that cup thing that rides in the shift rails is called.

 

[McBroom]

$329 will get me a brand new "Hurst" short-throw shifter. That's sexy AF. I would hope that comes with a new bushing as well. Or whatever that cup thing that rides in the shift rails is called.

Yeah that’s the shifter ball it will come with it.
If ya want me to come help you send me a pm n I’ll give you my number


The Blue Mule

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Yeah that’s the shifter ball it will come with it.
If ya want me to come help you send me a pm n I’ll give you my number


The Blue Mule

PM sent.

 

[McBroom]

Hit Benny up @allmoparparts
Send him the vin and trans info n see what he says. He’s a preferred vendor here


The Blue Mule

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Hit Benny up @allmoparparts
Send him the vin and trans info n see what he says. He’s a preferred vendor here


The Blue Mule

I'll do that when I get home. Already off work, getting ready to tear into it right after I finish breakfast.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

So I got the console out, lifted the boots up out the way, and found this;




I'm thinking, problem solved. Although it does give me reason to worry why there's a bolt missing from the shift tower and whether a new bolt will go back in.

Then I go around to the passenger side and find this:



Suddenly, $300 for an aftermarket shifter doesn't seem so bad.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

This is getting frustrating. The dealer can't get the part anymore. Called Allstate Gear and the part number he gave me was for an NV4500 shifter, not the NV3500. Searching by the official Chrysler part number the dealer gave me seems to bring up just the lever, not the entire assembly. About to get some JBWeld and a hose clamp.

 

[McBroom]

Replace the trans mount too.
It looks like P.O. used to let their hand ride/rest on the shifter. That’s no bueno.
Have you looked at pick a part or some of the other junk yards down there?


The Blue Mule

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Haven't gotten to the junkyard stage yet. Not terribly optimistic about that, but it's definitely on the to-do list. Also considering having this one welded if that's even possible.

The other concern is whether that missing bolt is actually missing or broken off in the housing. That could be a nasty can of worms.

It could be a month or more before that Hurst shifter is back in stock. Sent an email asking about it... then saw the FAQ saying not to email asking about out of stock items. Oops. So that's probably a dead end.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Filled out a part request form at a site that supposedly forwards it to local junkyards. We'll see if anything comes from that.

The parts guy in the vendor forum says he can't get it and all he could find was the Core/Hurst unit I've already seen.

Probably going to have to order it from Allstate and hope I get it right the first time. Worries me that they told me the wrong part number though.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Guy at Cobra transmission wasn't much help either. Asked him how I could identify which shifter was right, he just pointed me to the only Dodge shifter he offers... which isn't the right one.

Is it possible they got a GM shifter on there? The Dodge one everybody keeps trying to sell me is only listed for up to '02 and it doesn't look like mine. So apparently Dodge didn't put shifters on the '04 trucks.

I'm honestly starting to wonder what a machine shop would charge to fab a new housing.

 

[McBroom]

Guy at Cobra transmission wasn't much help either. Asked him how I could identify which shifter was right, he just pointed me to the only Dodge shifter he offers... which isn't the right one.

Is it possible they got a GM shifter on there? The Dodge one everybody keeps trying to sell me is only listed for up to '02 and it doesn't look like mine. So apparently Dodge didn't put shifters on the '04 trucks.

I'm honestly starting to wonder what a machine shop would charge to fab a new housing.

It is possible that the previous owner put a used trans from an 02

Pm sent


The Blue Mule

 

[SouthernGorilla]

It is possible that the previous owner put a used trans from an 02

Pm sent


The Blue Mule

Anything is possible. Could be a GM trans or a Dakota one. I'll have to find the tag and see if I can decode it.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Okay, reading the fine print paid off. Allstate has the right part, they just don't know it. They have a shifter they say is a direct interchange with Chrysler part number 4886199AB, which is the part number the Dodge dealer gave me for my shifter. That's the one they say only fits up to '02.

 

[SouthernGorilla]

Got the old shifter out. Lots of good news; the gears in the trans look fine, the rest of the shifter looks fine, the missing bolt is not broken off in the housing... I should be able to just bolt the new shifter in place and rock on.

One bit of bad news, I can't get the lever off the shifter. It should just thread on, but I can't break it loose. To be fair, I haven't tried all that hard. I don't have a vise to clamp the shifter down. Might have been best to break it free while it was still in the truck, but with the condition of the housing I was worried about breaking it completely and having debris fall into the trans.

I was going to order the new shifter from Allstate today. But I decided to wait til Monday so I can talk to them and make sure I get a new set of mounting bolts and gasket just in case.

Also thinking once the replacement shifter is in that I'll use the old one as a template to build my own HD shifter. A relatively cheap uniball joint does exactly the same thing as the pivot ball in the shifter. It shouldn't be too complicated to have a mounting flange welded to the joint housing and the get a lever fabricated to work with it.

The other mod I need to work on is cover plates for the shifters. I don't intend to put the console back in since it's pretty useless. So maybe I'll get some aluminum sheet and make trim rings for the trans and t-case levers. I've seen there's a factory housing for the T-case shifter for automatic trucks. Maybe I can find the part number for it.