# 95 k2500 manual, reverse shifting



## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

Hi guys,
Just picked up a good deal on another plow truck. The truck is a 95 k2500 (tbi 350) with 5spd manual trans. I'm very new to manuals as my other truck is auto, I have never owned a manual. Just had a quick question. Truck runs and drives great, but Ive noticed when shifting in reverse sometimes, I here a grinding, then a clunk noise as it goes into gear. I do fully depress the clutch and this is from a dead stop. I believe the clutch is fine but i'm not sure. Does it need to be adjusted or something? Any one have any idea what this could be? It does not do this in any other gears, just shifting to reverse. And it doesn't do it every time, it is very intermittent. Anyone with some manual experience want to shed some light on this? Any advice is much appreciated as I would like to figure this out before potentially leads to another problem. Thanks!


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## mkwl (Jan 21, 2005)

Not an expert my any means, but maybe the synchro out of whack?


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

Ive heard the reverse on these trannies does not have a synchro but the other 5 speeds do?? I have no idea, but if it does I think that could definitely be a possibility.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Double clutch it.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

The problem is that the input shaft is still spinning. Double clutching will only make it worse. You either need to wait for the shaft to spin down, or pop it into a forward gear so the synchro will stop the shaft from spinning sooner. You could probably push it up towards fifth just enough to slow the shaft down, then snap it into reverse.


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

What does double clutching mean exactly? 2cor, are you saying this is normal of these trannys and there is nothing wrong with it? it usually happens in this sequence, driving in 2 clutch fully let out, push clutch in, shift to neutral, make a complete stop, then I try and hit reverse and it makes the noise. Your saying, driving in 2, clutch, neutral, 2 or 5, then R, then release clutch? I'll give it a shot. Anyone else have this truck and want to chime in? AK boss? I know you have one just like this, any help appreciated.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Grinding into reverse doesn't indicate a problem with the transmission. Double clutching refers to letting the clutch out as you pass through neutral going to the next gear. It's a technique often used when shifting non-synchronized heavy truck transmissions to maintain shaft speed and minimize gear clash.

There is actually a speed when your truck is rolling backwards that you could shift into reverse without grinding the gears. With some practice you could find that. Have a friend that used to plow with a Chevy four speed. Would throw the clutch as he came to the end of the run, snap it into reverse on the rebound, and backup.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

2COR517;1363227 said:


> Grinding into reverse doesn't indicate a problem with the transmission. Double clutching refers to letting the clutch out as you pass through neutral going to the next gear. It's a technique often used when shifting non-synchronized heavy truck transmissions to maintain shaft speed and minimize gear clash.
> 
> There is actually a speed when your truck is rolling backwards that you could shift into reverse without grinding the gears. With some practice you could find that. Have a friend that used to plow with a Chevy four speed. Would throw the clutch as he came to the end of the run, snap it into reverse on the rebound, and backup.


That's how I did it for 16 years with the Chevy I plowed with.

Also try this ,when it's not going into reverse I would goose the gas a little when trying to get in it. .Or double clutch it.


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

Alright, I tried shifting into 5, it works, but i had to get it all the way into 5 for it to not grind, that would get really annoying plowing. I don't see how I could get my truck rolling in reverse with the plowing that I do.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Does this truck have a hydro plow on it or electric plow setup?


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

I'll try the double clutching thing GV and see if that works, thanks for the help guys. Also, I did some digging on this. I guess the tranny in this truck is a NV4500 that was put in chevys and dodges. I guess the ones that were put in dodges had a synchronized reverse gear, bummer they didn't put it in chevys.


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

No plow on the truck yet GV.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Don't worry about starting out in the granny gear ,you should be able to go right to second.And when you get good with it you won't even need to clutch to shift gears.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

grandview;1363241 said:


> ...
> Also try this ,when it's not going into reverse I would goose the gas a little when trying to get in it. .Or double clutch it.


Yup...


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## gmcdan (Nov 4, 2011)

sounds to me like you need to bleed the hydraulic clutch master and slave . theres no reason that countershaft should be spinning with the clutch pushed in unless its not quite releasing fully. 

wich sounds like it needs bleeding to get full travel out of the slave .


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## meborder (Oct 26, 2011)

I'd try leaving the gear shifter in 2 with the clutch fully depressed until the truck is completely stoped, then quickly go to reverse without letting the clutch out in neutral. If it still grinds it may indicate the clutch is not completely disengaging.

here's my thoughts. The trans grinds because the input shaft is spinning and the gears are not. Leaving the shifter in a forward gear (with the clutch depressed), the input shaft will stop when the gears stop. The only way for the input side to start spinning again is if you let the clutch out while in neutral, unless of course the clutch drags a bit, indicating a need for service.

or ... don't worry too much about it. Ive had cars that have done this since day 1, many of them have lasted 200k miles without a problem.


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

Thanks for the help guys. That sounds spot on, I had a notion it is something with the clutch, because after driving it more, I have noticed the clutch engages kinda weird. I'll try bleeding it. I know its not a huge deal, and can use the trick that 2COR was talking about, but id rather get to the bottom o fit because I'm going to be doing a lot of shifting while i'm plowing. Thanks for the advice guys, i'll let u know how it goes.


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## the new boss 92 (Nov 29, 2008)

i had the same tranny, they are strong as hell. always had to go all the way into 5th and the reverse other wise it would grind like hell!


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## thesnowman269 (Nov 7, 2009)

I had this problem on my F150. ignored just kept putting it in another gear till i could put it in reverse with out grinding. till one day i got agrrevated and slammed it into reverse cause it just wouldnt stop grinding. That left me with a big ole hole in the side if the tranny. I was not a happy camper to say the least. However to the point. A worn out "throwout bearing" can cause the clutch to not fullly disengage allowing the input shaft to keep spinning ever so slightly. eventually it WILL GET WORSE specially since your going to be using it for plowing. I would recomend replacing it soon. or taking the time to wait for the shaft to stop spinning. however there will come a time where it wont stop spinning causing you to get frustrated and slam it into reverse, leaving a big ol hole in the tranny from where the gear shot out. just my 2 cents could be a different game on the chevy tranny might just be the nature of the beast. but if it starts to get hard to shift into 1st 2nd 3rd or any other gear thats when your luck has run out and it needs some attention


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

nv4500 tranny takes special fluid also NOT std gear oil. if you use the wrong stuff it will burn out the special material on the syncros and also make the whole thing shift real hard. 

and comon problem is input bearing burn up. to fix this its simple and easy . pull shifter off tower with 4 bolts and dump in 1/2 qrt of extra oil. its 4 qt to fill normal and 4.5 for the fix. this gets the oil level up just in to the edge of the bearing to keep it lubed. 

good luck. darn nice trannys and nice to have overdrive. and ya skip 1st unless pulling down a house.


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## ProLawn Outdoor (Dec 15, 2008)

sweetk30;1366167 said:


> nv4500 tranny takes special fluid also NOT std gear oil. if you use the wrong stuff it will burn out the special material on the syncros and also make the whole thing shift real hard.
> 
> and comon problem is input bearing burn up. to fix this its simple and easy . pull shifter off tower with 4 bolts and dump in 1/2 qrt of extra oil. its 4 qt to fill normal and 4.5 for the fix. this gets the oil level up just in to the edge of the bearing to keep it lubed.
> 
> good luck. darn nice trannys and nice to have overdrive. and ya skip 1st unless pulling down a house.


Do you think I should just flush the trans completely and put new fluid in it? I do not know what kind of oil the previous owner put in it. And ya i never use first, but i probably will when I start plowing with it, it will be really nice for pushing up banks and Its easier to use less clutch at lower speeds with first I think.


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

fluid maint is 1 major over looked item on vehicles. 

if me i would go for a full drain / refill ov correct fluid. 

just make sure the fluid is rated for the nv4500 tranny.


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