Oh, and my NV4500 is a 95 year...that was a hybrid year. So mine has the same gear ratios and same shift tower of the 96+ years, but I have the external slave bell housing of the 92-94 years
CK5
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NV 4500 conversion
- Thread starter Chevk587
- Start date
Mine is a ‘92 but I put on a late model shift cover with the bolt on shift tower. I also drilled and tapped the trans case and bolted it to my SM465 hydro bell, I didn’t have the NV4500 bell or so probably would have used it like @Kay86K5 did.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
If you're going to drive on the highway a fair amount then the 5th gear is a nice addition. The common '5th gear nut' issue usually happens behind the Cummins 6bt due to the vibrations. Sometimes happens behind v8 engines but not nearly as often. They are absurdly picky about their oil and it's expensive for what it is.
For a truck that gets towed on long trips (offroad only or local driver/offroad) then the sm465 is a better option due to the simple ruggedness, same/better 1st gear ratio (depending on nv4500 year), and dirt cheap.
For a truck that gets towed on long trips (offroad only or local driver/offroad) then the sm465 is a better option due to the simple ruggedness, same/better 1st gear ratio (depending on nv4500 year), and dirt cheap.
Yeah, and I was also swapping from auto to manual. If my truck had originally been a manual truck with hydro pedals already in there, I would probably had gone the route of you and @campfire and done the hydro SM465 bell to keep all the factory clutch stuff to make it simple. The fact I was swapping from auto, and had to do everything from scratch...and the NV4500 I got came with the external bell plus the slave and hydro line with it...it was a no brainer for me. But there are lots of ways to accomplish the swap and make it work for individual needs
I agree with about everything stated here. NV4500 5th gear problems really only occurred in the dodge versions behind Cummins (even the dodge versions behind the V10 didn't have that much of a problem). The GM versions usually just had syncro's wearing out after some miles were on them (which most all manuals have at least some of that after some higher miles). Not to say 5th gear problems haven't been documented behind gas motors, just not nearly of a problem.
And if you really want a manual in your crawler, I agree SM465 is probably the better way to go, just get a later hydro bell housing/pedals and swap those in to make it a bit more comfortable of a ride. Much cheaper to pick up, gearing is roughly the same, some later versions had 32 spline outputs, yada yada. For mainly a crawler that might see barely some road use, you will probably never use 5th gear, haha.
The reality is there are +'s and -'s to each tranny. Manuals shine in some places and suck in others, auto's shine in some places and suck others. Even each tranny has it's own quarks that you have to deal with sometimes, and sometimes you just draw the short stick and end up getting a crap tranny or two that let you down (though that might not be the norm for the history of the tranny). Just figure out what you want out of your truck and what you can afford and start building
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Yeah, and I was also swapping from auto to manual. If my truck had originally been a manual truck with hydro pedals already in there, I would probably had gone the route of you and @campfire and done the hydro SM465 bell to keep all the factory clutch stuff to make it simple. The fact I was swapping from auto, and had to do everything from scratch...and the NV4500 I got came with the external bell plus the slave and hydro line with it...it was a no brainer for me. But there are lots of ways to accomplish the swap and make it work for individual needs
I agree with about everything stated here. NV4500 5th gear problems really only occurred in the dodge versions behind Cummins (even the dodge versions behind the V10 didn't have that much of a problem). The GM versions usually just had syncro's wearing out after some miles were on them (which most all manuals have at least some of that after some higher miles). Not to say 5th gear problems haven't been documented behind gas motors, just not nearly of a problem.
And if you really want a manual in your crawler, I agree SM465 is probably the better way to go, just get a later hydro bell housing/pedals and swap those in to make it a bit more comfortable of a ride. Much cheaper to pick up, gearing is roughly the same, some later versions had 32 spline outputs, yada yada. For mainly a crawler that might see barely some road use, you will probably never use 5th gear, haha.
The reality is there are +'s and -'s to each tranny. Manuals shine in some places and suck in others, auto's shine in some places and suck others. Even each tranny has it's own quarks that you have to deal with sometimes, and sometimes you just draw the short stick and end up getting a crap tranny or two that let you down (though that might not be the norm for the history of the tranny). Just figure out what you want out of your truck and what you can afford and start building
What’s a good price on either tranny ?
You can get rebuilt NV4500’s online for $1200ish.
I had a local shop rebuild mine, I’m into it $1000 or so with a warranty from a local shop i know and like.
SM465’s are cheap. I can’t give mine away.
I had a local shop rebuild mine, I’m into it $1000 or so with a warranty from a local shop i know and like.
SM465’s are cheap. I can’t give mine away.
Can I use my mechanical 465 bellhousing on the early nv4500?
Yes. As long as you're willing to drill & tap the face of your NV4500 (like @LNielson and I did), either of the SM465 bell housings will fit. AA also sells a mechanical-style bell housing for the (late model?) NV4500, which is how @Chevy305 did his swap. But the 92-95 NV4500s and the 96+ NV4500s do not readily swap bell housings, as the retainer and clutch linkage are both different.
So the NV4500 I’m looking at is out of a 93 they said what will I haft to do ???
Read through the first few pages of my Blazer thread (link) to see pictures of how the tranny and bell housing went together Mine is from that early series so it will look identical. There are also some NV4500 tech threads on here (one of which is also mine) that you can find via the search button.
Thanks a lot any idea where I can find the pedal assembly?
Ebay has em. Might luck out finding a set in the yard. Assuming you're going hydraulic clutch it needs to be 85 and up square body trucks. There are two versions of hydraulic clutch pedals. Vacuum brakes and hydroboost brakes.
Going rate is 300 bucks plus.
Going rate is 300 bucks plus.
Ebay (expensive) or local junkyard. It's a hunt to find original pedals. You can buy a stand-alone pedal setup from Wilwood, but you'll need to adapt it to your firewall & make up a custom hydraulic line.
The hydraulic clutch pedals are the same. The brake pedals come in 4 versions. Stick/Auto and Vacuum/Hydroboost. All 4 will swap between the different brackets so you can mix & match whenever you find the right pieces.
Again, read through the start of my Blazer thread for pictures of how this works.
red EOD
1/2 ton status
I have a pedal assembly from a mechanical clutch linkage setup sitting here that's available
Look through the build thread on my 89 V3500 (link in my sig). I have pics throughout of the pedal swap (I went hydro pedals, and needed hydroboost brakes as that was what was in my truck...finding hydro clutch for vacuum brakes is somewhat easier to find...but they can be adapted as @campfire shows in his thread from vacuum to hydroboost relatively easily). Then I just installed a clutch master cylinder onto the firewall. I ran the stock NV4500 external slave bell housing (which will be the same as the 93 one you are looking at) and ran the stock NV4500 external slave cylinder, then adapted the NV4500 slave hydro line to the hydro line coming out of the square body master cylinder with a $5 swaglock tube adapter (similar to a compression fitting) and that was it. I have pics and info in my build thread
I might have an extra pedal assembly. Not sure if it's manual or hydro
Really intrested would be cool to meet you too.
Is that for hydro boost braking too I’m just useing the vaccume brake booster
