Was reading a thread and someone mentioned H55s are "stiff + notchy". Is this true of all H55s? Is that a bad thing??
Thanks.
Thanks.
H55s "stiff + notchy" ??? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter WSOPgold2012
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I’ve seen a lot of people complain about that. I don’t think they drive their trucks enough. I think we’re all used to broken in 100k h42f’s
I’ve put 33,000 miles on my new h55f that we installed in august 2018. It’s feeling broken in and not notchy like early on. My reference was the 300k trans that came out, but that’s not apples to apples. I noticed notches, clicks and whining for the first 5,000 miles and they went away. The first fluid change showed me how much metal was on the drain plugs, so the wear in period will take a while.
I’ve put 33,000 miles on my new h55f that we installed in august 2018. It’s feeling broken in and not notchy like early on. My reference was the 300k trans that came out, but that’s not apples to apples. I noticed notches, clicks and whining for the first 5,000 miles and they went away. The first fluid change showed me how much metal was on the drain plugs, so the wear in period will take a while.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks!
John Staton
SILVER Star
Mine is notchy....I had mine done 2.5 yrs ago, but I dont drive it much. I have only put on 13K miles in that time or about 5K miles a year. It has definitely smoothed out, but I still feel like there is some kind of adjustment that could be made to make it smother in and out of gears.
I had mine installed in 2002 and 60K miles ago. The feel hasn't really changed. It is very stiff to go from 1st to 2nd, especially when cold, and from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st. I apply pressure on the shifter at the shift gate until it pops into gear.
FJBen
SILVER Star
My H55f has almost 325,000 miles on it and still shifts fine. 1st to second can be notchy or slight grind if try to fast shift. I'd say you won't have a problem knowing you are in a gear. Nice positive engagement into the gears.
EscapeWagon62
SILVER Star
What @FJBen said.
H55 does not like nor does not enjoy sped shifting from 1st to 2nd.
Mine has about 800 miles. It loosened up a bit after the first hundred miles.
I’d buy on again in a heartbeat. I only wish reverse was synchronized.
Last edited:
Mine does even when slowly shifting when cold. Once warm I have no problem, though more often than not I start out in 2nd gear. 1/3 synchro is on its way out though so with any luck I'll be able to tackle a rebuild this summer with new bearings, seals and synchros along with a low range gearset for the tcase. Pressing bearings on and off of the mainshaft should let me really take advantage of my new 20 ton press lol.
EscapeWagon62
SILVER Star
Well said on being cold.
Mine loosens up after just a mile of driving. Beats the hell out of wondering when it would be my A440F’s “last shift”.
I've had two H55Fs and both are/were notchy. The first was used and rebuilt and shifting was notchy. Second I bought new and it now has around 150k miles on it, still notchy.
cps432
SILVER Star
Mine was notchy and stiff for the first 1,000 miles or so. 5th gear is a little stiff still but I spend most of my time in town so I haven’t had as many 4-5 shifts. I’m running redline synthetic and it is a pleasure. Much quieter and tighter than the old 4 speed. Just drive it and shift in and out of gears a lot and you’ll feel it easing up eventually.
cps432
SILVER Star
I think it’s the added linkage for the 5th gear that is “notchy by nature”. Lol
cps432
SILVER Star
Also, knowing this helps tremendously. I’ve never heard anyone on the forum mention shifting speeds and rev matching. It helps soooo much. When I’m shifting from 2-3 and 4-5 I push the rpm a little harder than 1-2 because there’s a split second more time to shift at an angle than straight down. This allows the transmission and engine revs to drop down to the appropriate rpm shift range.
I changed my driving habits based off of this info a while ago and noticed an increase of "smoothness" in my 5pseed shifting. Great info.
cps432
SILVER Star
Same here. Well, I did it with the 4 speed and I think it helped prolong the life until I swapped to the 5. Double clutching helps a lot too. A lot. And it’s fun. Makes me feel like Steve McQueen...
Double clutching is also a hellacious leg workout in these rigs in traffic....