As things come up, I will resurrect this thread to ask questions.

Will I be able to have the clutch pedal safety switch to lock out starting unless clutch pedal is depressed?

Do you see it as possible to do the swap on the shop floor without a lift? I'll get one of those harbor freight transmission jacks.

I had a ride in a same year truck as mine with a nv4500. I like the personality of the manual transmission. I'm looking forward to swaping out mine!

Edited October 12, 201410 yr by joecool911

The wiring for the clutch switch is already in place on your truck. The two ends are connected close to where the switch would be located.

MnTom is correct about the wiring, there is a plug on the top or backside of a metal brace under the dash. It's been over a year since my swap but if there is anything I can help you with, your welcome to call or text me.

two people is recommended to swap a tranny, they are heavy and wonky. my nv5600 was a beast to manhandle as it was close to #500 w/xfer case

I am spoiled with my own hoist and tall tranny jack. Simple one man operation for me.  One of the best $2800 investments I have ever made for the 2 together, $1800 for a used 7K lb Rotary asymmetrical hoist and $500 for the jack plus tax and install.

Yes, you can do it with out a hoist, it is a little more work but I did mine without a hoist.  It would be nice to jack the truck up a few inches, but that is not even necessary.  You will not be able to get the tranny under the truck on the trans jack without the truck jacked up a little bit, but the trans will slide under the truck frame, then roll the trans on the jack.

As for the clutch safety switch, there is one under the dash, if I remember correctly you will have to hook it up to a ground?  It is easy to do and you will have no problem doing it, heck, I did it to my truck.  The brake and clutch pedals will switch out with your brake pedal, no modifications needed, just undo a circle clip, slide the bar out, drop out the brake pedal and line the new brake pedal up, slide the bar through it then the clutch pedal.  It is a bit of a pain, but a lot nicer than having to cut and fab brackets.

The NV4500 is a good choice, I read too many bad things about the 5600.  Nothing against the 5600, but the less problems with the trans and getting parts the better.  You do not really gain anything with the six speed, low gear and high gear are about the same ratio, just closer ratio between gears.  Best of luck, if you have any questions, ask, I or someone else will have an answer.

Thanks Jonathan, nice to hear from you!

Will I need some kind of plate on the back of the engine to mate the bell housing to? There seems to be a spacer available for mounting the starter to the bell housing.

The starter spacer is only needed for 6 speed style flywheels, a regular 5 speed flywheel does not require any spacer.

Thanks!

Nope, I did not need any spacer or adaptor.  My five speed bolted right in.  You will need the flywheel, but that bolted in place of the flex plate.  I went with a stock clutch, I have not had any problems with it yet, but I do not abuse it.  Depending on how you will use it you might want to upgrade to a better clutch?  Any other questions, I will try and answer.  You will like the NV4500.

If anyone has or knows of parts to do the swap, let me know. Bell housing sounds like a tough one to find. Unless you want to spend $700 for a new one.

Auto bell housing will work fine, skid plate, motor adapter plate will all work.

47re has a one piece case. No bell housing.

I have seen where people buy a totaled truck and use it as a donor?  This would get you all the pieces that you will need.  I found most of my parts on ebay.  I bought the trans, bell housing, pedals, clutch master and slave cylcinders, fly wheel and one or two other items from one seller as kinda a kit.  I think if you look around you might find something like that.  Also, Light Truck Parts on Foster might have a parting out truck that you might be able to get a lot of parts off of?  Might be worth looking into them, or they might have a good lead for sourcing parts?