Dodge-diesel no parts trans- and thank you TEXAS

I had a big surprise today. I've been working on my 92 Dodge W250 with a Cummins turbo-intercooled 5.9 and a five-speed 360 Getrag trans. Note I've never had a bit of trouble with it. Great truck.

We might stick a camper on it soon and drive it 6000 miles, so I started checking it over. Doing an oil change in the trans led me to find two broken pins in the shifter. No big deal, right?

I pulled out my 1992 factory service manual to the transmission section and had quite a surprise. NO repair info in the factory manual. Just a page that states - "no repairs can be made to the 360 Getrag and no repair parts are available. If the transmission develops a problem, complete replacement will be necessary." I almost could not believe my eyes. This was written in 1992 when the truck was new.

I was sort of in a panic after reading that. But did a Web-search and found three shops in Texas that stock most of the parts - now being made aftermarket in Korea. So, for $28, the two pins are on their way.

I'm kind of baffled how any car/truck company could sell a heavy-duty truck with a transmission with NO parts available? Maybe that's why Dodge later switched to the New Venture 4500? Also maybe why the Feds bailed it out and then gave Chrysler to Fiat of Italy, almost for free?

All this now has me wondering why most parts I've needed lately. wound up coming from Texas. Last week I needed the best HD torque converter I could find for my 4L60 (in a diesel motorhome). Again, I found a place in Texas that makes them. Texas is also where all my diesel injection parts come from. Now these trans-parts.

Hey, maybe I've living in the wrong place. Sounds like things are king of up-beat in Texas.

Maybe they are refering to the average truck owner on making their own repairs. I know the local transmission repair guy was able to get parts for the Getrags all the time. He was repairing them back when a truck like yours was current and many years afterwards.

I would say post this message on www.turbodieselregister.com and get the answers you need.

Just one more proof that Texas is self sustaining. Glad I live in Texas.

Cadillac catera auto and Chevy corvettes 6 sp are a few more with no parts avail. from dealer.

You know? Years ago when the fuel pump went out on my '96, and I broke a little clip off of something after lowering it down with almost a full tank of diesel, I went to the Dodge dealer and showed him the piece and pointed at it in his parts book and said "Thats what I need right there". Problem is that they were back ordered and it would take a while to get one, after he located a dealer that had one in stock and would UPS it to him. Well, he found two or three dealers in the whole country that ordered but didn't use them, so had them in stock. I live in north central Indiana on the Michigan border, and as luck would have it, the dealer in Dwight, IL had one in stock and it would take a couple of days for it to arrive. What do you think the chances are that I had a job to do in Dwight, IL the very next day? Slim to...I had a job in Dwight, IL the very next day as it worked out. They set it up, next day while in Dwight my first job was to stop at the dealer and pick it up. That night my truck was fixed.

With that kind of rare luck, or devine intervention, I probably should have taken it as a hint and started going to church again. But, I'm one of those that will take my chances on being struck by a bolt of lightning on the brightest, sunniest, otherwise most perfect day of the year, and on my birthday while taking my first bite of cake. One of these days I'm going to get mine, and will deserve it when I do...POOF, BLAM, and ZAP!!!

Mark

When you get it back together, overfill it with an extra qaurt of oil.(Add the last quart through the upper pto bolt hole) This keeps the input bearing (notorious weak point)running in oil all the time.

No doubt about it. I still say the Howells are going to have a lot of unexpected company someday.

I am just speculating, but is it possible Dodge did with their transmissions what Deere did with fuel injection pumps? Maybe they just "farmed it out" to others rather than provide parts support. Mike

Maybe we should go back to being our own country. Another Texan from Centerville Texas.

I gotta say it's a tribute to the quality of the product that it was originally unserviceable, but now has parts available.

Usually, it's the other way around.

Back in '92, so few of these transmissions failed that it was cheaper to replace what few did fail, rather than support a parts and service network... Gotta stock parts, train people to work on them, etc. etc... Instead, just yank a transmission off the line, stuff it in a box with some styrofoam peanuts, and ship it to the dealer. Any schmuck can change a transmission.

I'll bet the guy that designed it probably had no idea that his transmission would still be on the road 19 years later.

I've got a 91 4X4 Dodge Cummins with that trans, I can't imagine driving it 6000 miles for fun. My 02 Ford Super Duty has ruined me.LOL Vic

There is another Dodge manual that you can't get parts for, 5600 maybe? Can't remember the number. A lot of 1 ton's had it.

I'd like a ZF6 for my superduty someday...

my cummins

Reading all your posts about all your campers you SURE must go camping a lot! What a GOOD family man!

If dealing with stuff from the 90's gets your nnalert in a wad you should update and get a 6.0 Dorf diesel or a 2010 Suckamax diesel and deal with the the $$$ problems 2 of my buddies have that own those!

Makes the "old" stuff look pretty good, even at it's worst!

I also have a newer Ford F250- 4WD, extended cab, diesel, E40D trans, power-everything, etc. Yes it rides like a Cadillac, empty or loaded. My Dodge rides like a Sherman tank when empty. But, once the camper is on the back, it rides fine. The Dodge always gets better fuel mileage. Unlike the Ford however, the Dodge extended-cab has no back seat you can legally stick a little kid in. We had to get a special harness to allow him to rid in the middle, in front. On a long trip with a camper, the Dodge will get 17 MPG and the Ford around 14 MPG.

We don't really "camp" much. At least not in one spot. We travel a lot and sleep and use whatever rig we have to sleep in every night. Often it's off-road somewhere. Thus the reason for no-trailer, and the need for 4WD. Much is because we have several properties, 1000 miles apart.

The early Dodge Cummins has been my dream truck for a long time, my son has a '93. I used to check out the Dodge forums when he was having transmission problems. I learned then that they "re shim" those transmissions after a lot of miles. At that time there were shim and bearing kits on ebay for about 100 bucks.

In this area 5sp Dodge Cummins don't seem to go for less than $5000. I like to pay about $2000 for a truck. I jumped on a 86 Ford 6.9 a while back and havn't looked back. It sure doesn't pull like the Dodge.

Time marches on and they get older and older, there may be one in my future if I live long enough.

Tom

I still don't see them go cheap. My neighbor had a 93 since new. It got so rusty the fenders and doors were almost falling off, and not box left in back. Only had around 130K miles on it though. I was hoping to buy it for around $2000 this past summer. Nope. He got $4500 for it. That 93 has an in-iine injection pump, unlike my rotary. Also has a NV4500 5 speed instead of my Getrag. Oddly though the 93 has the aluminun-case 208 transfer-case, whereas mine has the cast-iron 205.

(quoted from post at 20:10:50 01/12/11) There is another Dodge manual that you can't get parts for, 5600 maybe? Can't remember the number. A lot of 1 ton's had it.

I'd like a ZF6 for my superduty someday...

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en, Do you have aZF6 in your super duty now or would you just like to install one? I have one in my '06 F250- one sweet trans.