Met up with jonathan1950 today. He was in town on vacation. We spent over 3 hours talking about trucks. He did the nv4500 swap and is a big advocate of it for effort vs payoff.

In looking for a donor truck...what age/models will work? V10, V8? I have a 24 vavle 2001.5. Seems like V8, V10's should open up my options a lot.

Can I get my PCM flashed to turn it into manual transmission?

Thanks Jonathan for meeting up with me. Great info and truck!

Edited January 4, 201411 yr by joecool911

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98-5-02-powertrain/434957-47re-nv4500-swap-writeup-pics.html

 

 

I recall 98whitelightnin did an auto to manual swap. I can't seem to find a thread on his since the change over...

Swap must be from a CTD or V10.  V8 is a no-go.

As for your PCM, you shouldn't really need to flash anything.  It is a really straight-forward swap, and can be done in a day, provided no hiccups.

 

Things you retain:

starter

mid-plate

trans mount

pcm

 

things you change:

trans

tcase and tcase shifter

clutch/brake pedals

driveshaft lengths

hole in the floor

 

things you lose:

column shifter and linkage

trans temp light

sluggish acceleration

$5000 time bomb

 

things you gain:

mpg

applied torque

butt-dyno HP

Well the gains and losses are a difference of opinion. In 30 years of driving auto and manual rigs, I have lost 2 auto trannies in old early / mid 80's 6.2 diesel GM rigs, and numerous manual trannies in all makes not to mention all the clutches.

Newer Autos are very reliable and even more so with a few simple mods, the 47's just needed help in by replacing a converter and VB to hold a bit more power.

$1200-1500 is all it takes for up to 200K trouble free miles if one is smart about how to drive and maintain them.

Enjoy your manuals while you can they are almost a dead horse from a manufacturers stand point, the autos are capable of much more now days, even in OTR trucks "semi's" autos and auto shifts are taking over big time.

You can also find the NV4500 tranny in most GM pickups so don't limit yourself to just Dodge in your search. Just need to take the counter weight off the tranny tail shaft which the 6.5 diesel needed.

I saw a couple guys put an NV 4500 from Dodges into 6.5 Gm rigs and break crankshafts because they forgot to put the counter weight in the tranny.

Edited January 4, 201411 yr by Wild and Free

Ya, I am in the same camp on this one. ^ 

 

I believe that Dodge is the only pickup manufacturer that still offers a manual on the big diesel engines. 

Maybe that's why dodge is selling more trucks. They sell real trucks.

I'm approaching 200k miles, so I can be proactive and do the swap before mine blows up or after. Although I've had no issues, other than t/c going out. New t/c breathed new life into her for sure.

Edited January 4, 201411 yr by joecool911

What is the mid plate? I thought the Trans mount was different.