2 part question: Dodge 1 ton Dually Diesel clutch problem

I am running a 1998 3500 Laramie dually with old style Cummins diesel
engine..... I 'm the original owner and havn't done any modifications to
anything..... Truck looks like the day it was bought and is used as a
holiday puller only and has 100 thousand Kilometers on it (55 thousand
miles?). I have 3.73 rear end and a 5 speed manual transmission. I was
pulling my fifth wheel holiday trailer this weekend into a very strong
headwind... In order to keep up with traffic and not be a menace to the
road. I downshifted to 4th gear and stayed at about 2700 rpm at 60-65 miles
per hour...when I found level areas or downhill areas I would shift to 5th
gear as it would allow... Suddenly the shifter became very tough to move
between 4th and fifth...as I came to a small town I slowed and couldn't get
the gearshift to go into any gear at all. The only way I could get it to go
into gear was shut the engine off and it would slip into any gear...I
basically shifted without the aid of the clutch after that by finding the
right RPM... I managed to do that to the campsite. After the truck cooled
overnight, I fired it up and it shifted like the day I bought it except
wouldn't go into reverse unless I shut it off. Throughout the weekend it
seemed to straighten out except sometimes 3rd gear grinds as though I
haven't depressed the clutch fully and it would eventually allow the shifter
to go into reverse.
I have no slipping of the clutch and no odor of clutch burning. When I
let out the clutch everything seems fine and moves great...but shifting when
hot after pulling is almost impossible. I had a friend pull my trailer home
with his truck while I followed as I know that my truck is now incapable of
pulling any weight.

I called a Dodge dealership and he suggests that it is the "throw out
bearing" or "release bearing" in the clutch is on its way out? Can anyone
add to this thread that has had the same symptoms?

2nd part to this question is that I am thinking of adding diesel
modifications to this engine to give it more HP. This would aid in not
having to downshift and upshift and perhaps putting less stress or heat on
the clutch while pulling.

I figure this will be about a 4 thousand dollar fix and update, but am
willing to pay the costs if I know it's going to work. Thanks....Jimi

I doubt your clutch is to blame, due to mileage, but stranger things have
happened. Another thing for you to consider is that the 5spd is known to
have a problem with the "5th gear nut" backing off. Essentially, this means
the nut that holds the 5th gear on its shaft loosens until it makes
problems. There is a fix for this, where they made the splines and thread
longer on the shaft. There is a replacement shaft that is the fix.

--
Max

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"Jimi" <unknown (AT) nospamhere (DOT) net> wrote

I am running a 1998 3500 Laramie dually with old style Cummins diesel
engine..... I 'm the original owner and havn't done any modifications to
anything..... Truck looks like the day it was bought and is used as a
holiday puller only and has 100 thousand Kilometers on it (55 thousand
miles?). I have 3.73 rear end and a 5 speed manual transmission. I was
pulling my fifth wheel holiday trailer this weekend into a very strong
headwind... In order to keep up with traffic and not be a menace to the
road. I downshifted to 4th gear and stayed at about 2700 rpm at 60-65
miles per hour...when I found level areas or downhill areas I would shift
to 5th gear as it would allow... Suddenly the shifter became very tough to
move between 4th and fifth...as I came to a small town I slowed and
couldn't get the gearshift to go into any gear at all. The only way I
could get it to go into gear was shut the engine off and it would slip
into any gear...I basically shifted without the aid of the clutch after
that by finding the right RPM... I managed to do that to the campsite.
After the truck cooled overnight, I fired it up and it shifted like the
day I bought it except wouldn't go into reverse unless I shut it off.
Throughout the weekend it seemed to straighten out except sometimes 3rd
gear grinds as though I haven't depressed the clutch fully and it would
eventually allow the shifter to go into reverse.
I have no slipping of the clutch and no odor of clutch burning. When I
let out the clutch everything seems fine and moves great...but shifting
when hot after pulling is almost impossible. I had a friend pull my
trailer home with his truck while I followed as I know that my truck is
now incapable of pulling any weight.

I called a Dodge dealership and he suggests that it is the "throw out
bearing" or "release bearing" in the clutch is on its way out? Can anyone
add to this thread that has had the same symptoms?

2nd part to this question is that I am thinking of adding diesel
modifications to this engine to give it more HP. This would aid in not
having to downshift and upshift and perhaps putting less stress or heat on
the clutch while pulling.

I figure this will be about a 4 thousand dollar fix and update, but am
willing to pay the costs if I know it's going to work. Thanks....Jimi

"Max Dodge" <max340 (AT) verizon (DOT) net> wrote

I doubt your clutch is to blame, due to mileage, but stranger things have
happened. Another thing for you to consider is that the 5spd is known to
have a problem with the "5th gear nut" backing off. Essentially, this
means
the nut that holds the 5th gear on its shaft loosens until it makes
problems. There is a fix for this, where they made the splines and thread
longer on the shaft. There is a replacement shaft that is the fix.

--
Max

I'd go straight to the hydraulic clutch set up and see if it's working
right. Sounds like the clutch is not disengaging.

Al

"Jimi" <unknown (AT) nospamhere (DOT) net> wrote

I am running a 1998 3500 Laramie dually with old style Cummins diesel
engine..... I 'm the original owner and havn't done any modifications to
anything..... Truck looks like the day it was bought and is used as a
holiday puller only and has 100 thousand Kilometers on it (55 thousand
miles?). I have 3.73 rear end and a 5 speed manual transmission. I was
pulling my fifth wheel holiday trailer this weekend into a very strong
headwind... In order to keep up with traffic and not be a menace to the
road. I downshifted to 4th gear and stayed at about 2700 rpm at 60-65
miles
per hour...when I found level areas or downhill areas I would shift to 5th
gear as it would allow... Suddenly the shifter became very tough to move
between 4th and fifth...as I came to a small town I slowed and couldn't
get
the gearshift to go into any gear at all. The only way I could get it to
go
into gear was shut the engine off and it would slip into any gear...I
basically shifted without the aid of the clutch after that by finding the
right RPM... I managed to do that to the campsite. After the truck cooled
overnight, I fired it up and it shifted like the day I bought it except
wouldn't go into reverse unless I shut it off. Throughout the weekend it
seemed to straighten out except sometimes 3rd gear grinds as though I
haven't depressed the clutch fully and it would eventually allow the
shifter
to go into reverse.
I have no slipping of the clutch and no odor of clutch burning. When
I
let out the clutch everything seems fine and moves great...but shifting
when
hot after pulling is almost impossible. I had a friend pull my trailer
home
with his truck while I followed as I know that my truck is now incapable
of
pulling any weight.

I called a Dodge dealership and he suggests that it is the "throw out
bearing" or "release bearing" in the clutch is on its way out? Can anyone
add to this thread that has had the same symptoms?

This is obviously a problem with the clutch but it could be in many places.
While it could be the release bearing, it could also be the pilot bearing as
it is far more subjected to the crank temp and your symptoms seem to get
worse when the engine pulls and gets hot. It could also be a defective disk
or pressure plate and either way, the bell housing needs to come off to see
what happened. If you are planning mods to increase engine HP, I would at a
minimum, replace the disk and pressure plate along with the release and
pilot bearings. As someone else also suggested, take a look at the
hydralics controlling the clutch but your symptoms do not indicate an
obvious failure there.

2nd part to this question is that I am thinking of adding diesel
modifications to this engine to give it more HP. This would aid in not
having to downshift and upshift and perhaps putting less stress or heat on
the clutch while pulling.

If you need more HP and torque, then go for it but increasing output power
usually does not reduce heat or stress and if the clutch does not have
enough holding power to handle your increased HP, it will slip and increase
both the heat and stress on the clutch. Many forget to match their clutch
to the output power of the engine (especailly after mods) which tends to
lead to premature failure.

I figure this will be about a 4 thousand dollar fix and update, but am
willing to pay the costs if I know it's going to work. Thanks....Jimi

I don't see any real problem with the trans and once the clutch is repaired,
you should be good to go. If you want to kick up the HP, make sure to do
the research so that it is done properly and you know what to watch for and
are aware of any changes in required maintenance after it is done as these
engines can be very expensive to repair or replace.

--
If at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving

"TBone" <tboneNOSPAM (AT) nc (DOT) rr.com> wrote

"Jimi" <unknown (AT) nospamhere (DOT) net> wrote in message
news:1354niv5rn1p57 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com...

This is obviously a problem with the clutch but it could be in many
places.
While it could be the release bearing, it could also be the pilot bearing
as
it is far more subjected to the crank temp and your symptoms seem to get
worse when the engine pulls and gets hot.

How do you figure the pilot bearing??