NV3500 hard to put in gear

[TheMilli]

I'll try to make this as short as possible.. I am not very savvy with transmission internals.

98 Ram 1500, NV3500 5 speed manual 4x4

I got this truck from a guy and it was not running. The transmission had a shattered bellhousing so I sourced a new one and put it on the transmission. While I had the transmission halves split I didn't notice any terrible wear on any of the gears or any chunks of metal so I got it all together and slapped it on the truck.

The problem I have is that when sitting at a light/sign at idle, it can sometimes be very hard to get into gear and I mean any gear at all 1-5 and even reverse. When driving it shifts fine can sometimes be a tiny bit harder to get into next gear. But at idle is the biggest problem I am having.

I just bled the clutch recently to rule out any issues there and the clutch kit is fairly new. I'm assuming synchros but it just seems odd to me that it will shift fine in motion but going into gear from idle can sometimes be impossible and it seems to be intermittent.

I'm looking to get some ideas from anyone more experienced so that I can get a game plan before I just go and start replacing things.

 

[tron67j]

Maybe worn out synchronizing gears? That would be indicative of easy to shift at speed but hard when starting. Not sure how to be sure without tearing it apart.

 

[Rob2gen]

I know this might be a stretch but could it possibly have the wrong fluid in the transmission? I believe it takes a syncromesh fluid type... You might want to verify.

 

[Grams]

First thing that pops into mind is a bent fork. But…

OK…so I’m imagining your symptom…

Firstly,.. are you experiencing “grinding gears” when attempting to engage LoW from a standstill?

When it cannot be placed into LoW gear while staionary:

It’s idling at a stand-still and the shifter is in Neutral… ?
and you attempt to select a gear (probably LoW) …
by depressing the clutch, then moving the shifter towards the LoW detent…??
and yet it will Not enter into the LoW detent…???

If THAT scenario is correct….Try “revving” the engine with the selector in Neutral while the clutch is NOT depressed (to spin-up the gears),
Then quickly depress the clutch whle attempting to move the selector into LoW.

(This should “mimic” the scenario where you are driving-along (in motion) and changing gears.)

IF the suggestion has no change-in-effect … the Final-Drive is likely out-of-alignment. This might be because the bell-housing-to-case/tail-housing is out of align. (Are you absolutely certain you installed the Correct/Proper bell housing from an identical engine/transmission combo ? I.E. You didn’t try to match a JEEP bell housig to a RAM transmission, did you?
They ARE different.