Overfill NV 3550 - on purpose ?

[SHX669]

I don't remember where but I read some people overfill their NV 3550s to quiet them down a bit as they are a little noisy. Anyone have experience with this or heard of anyone doing it ?
My version of the NV takes 2.4 qts. and that fills it to the bottom of the fill plug . I'm going to have the tranny shift tower off and thought that would be the perfect time to add a pint or 1/2 pint if it wouldn't hurt anything.
I'm using Mopars suggested NV3550 fluid and have about a quart and half sitting in the shelf.

 

[DirtDonk]

It is, or at least was a common practice. Don't hear it much lately probably because we haven't talked about very many 3550 installs lately either.
But if I remember, all reports said it worked.

It should not be a bad thing either, like over-filling an engine would be. I don't see any harm, but I'm not sure I'd add the entire quart and a half that you have. I would probably just use an extra half-quart to bring it up to 3 instead. For starters at least.

Good luck. And let us know how it works.
By the way, have you already run yours and found it noisy? Or is this the initial install and fill?

Paul

 

[SHX669]

Thanx for the reply Paul .
Yes I've been running the 3550 for 6-10 years . It's not horrible but noisy in neutral and at low speeds /low gears. It probably makes noise other times but certainly can't hear it with the road noise .
I added 8 oz of fluid so guess i'll see if that changes anything. I thought about adding the entire 1/2 pt just to get the bottle off the shelf - LOL - If I change my mind it'll just give me another easy rainy day Bronco project --

 

[blubuckaroo]

I added a bit more to mine over the fill plug, but I think the main problem is that Advance Adapters sends out the kits with only two quarts of the oil. It takes more than that to get to the proper level.
I put in 2.5 quarts and kept the other half for the next oil change.
The stuff is pretty expensive. Cost me $30 for the extra quart at the Chrysler dealer.

 

[73azbronco]

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

 

[DirtDonk]

It's not horrible but noisy in neutral and at low speeds /low gears. It probably makes noise other times but certainly can't hear it with the road noise.

They are noisier by nature than the standard Bronco transmissions, so if your floor is bare, or you have minimum insulation (like bed liner, or just floor mats for example) then you're going to hear it more.
If you have any open holes still, or worse yet the shifter boot is not sealed or insulated well, you'll hear a LOT of those strange rattly noises.
Love to get rid of those, but for mine it's always about insulating the floor and firewall.

When I stuffed some of that blue Ensolite camping foam under my shift boots, leaving just enough room for the shift levers to slide through, even with the stock transmission it quieted road noise down a lot!

Since you've driven yours so long now, I'm very interested to hear if you feel the extra lube did anything to quiet it down.

Paul

 

[73azbronco]

403 violation could not post earlier what the heck.

Anyway, what i was trying to say on my vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv above.

Lots of rumors on the nv4500, most result from poor care.

The gear coming undone, only known to have failed on 3500's lugging their diesels hauling 17,000 lbs, so damaged, not design issue.

Same for "special oil" claim, chevy used same tranny, did not use fancy Dodge oil. No difference. Word out there, any tranny oil non detergent works fine, one claiming 100,000 plus miles no issue using royal purple.

Overfill rumor, yes, I followed Advance adapters guide, overfilled with exact volume they specified, now I have a seepage out front seal. Thanks. There is no real issue with filling the NV to correct level as used on side of tranny.

Noise, I do not notice any noise other than a manual tranny noise I hear on every truck. I have dynaline on my body

 

[blubuckaroo]

Same for "special oil" claim, chevy used same tranny, did not use fancy Dodge oil. No difference. Word out there, any tranny oil non detergent works fine, one claiming 100,000 plus miles no issue using royal purple.

Overfill rumor, yes, I followed Advance adapters guide, overfilled with exact volume they specified, now I have a seepage out front seal. Thanks. There is no real issue with filling the NV to correct level as used on side of tranny.

Some previous threads on this and a bunch on Jeep sites as well. The results were mixed. Some claimed a noise difference. Well, noise is damage happening.
For $60, I would never claim to be as good as an oil engineer.?:?

 

[Dbteak]

I have 55,000 miles on my 3550 and I put 3 quarts of oil. The transmission still shifts like when it was new. I started with the Mopar fluid and I changed it after 5000 miles and filled with Valvoline. The Valvoline has been in it for 50,000 miles. I tried the Penzoil and it didn't shift as well as the Mopar or Valvoline oil.