Manual Swap

[MoparDave68]

Okay So I want to swap my auto to manual. I have been looking at the G56 trans in the newer Ram's. But I want to know some input here. What is the best manual to buy, mind you all I plan on doing with this truck is towing and dd basically. Not really gonna be much sled pulls or racing. What are your thoughts, from those who have the manuals?5-Speed or 6-Speed? :think:Also is the swap worth it, I know a few guys on here have swapped. So was it worth the swap? :shrug:I really want to get rid of this POS 47re I'm rocking now. Thanks guys.

[CSM]

Might be going into some details here you know, but hopefully its useful. The stock clutch on the NV4500 and 5600 won't hold long term with any wire tap boxes in my experience. So plan on putting a Southbend or Valair clutch in and add that to your overall cost. The NV4500 (5sp) is much more common and easier to get spares for than the 5600 (6sp) as the 5sp is still in production. I have zero knowledge of the new manual transmissions. I've had a manual, and sold it with the intention of putting together a good 47RE on the original transmission. I liked the manual, but I got really sick of driving it in Denver. Really sick of it. If you find a trans from a pre 98 truck, keep in mind that the shifter stick is different and won't properly clear your transfer case lever. In my opinion, you are likely to be best off buying a wrecked truck off Craigslist and then parting it after you get your transmission, pedals, ECM, PCM, and dash. At least, in my metro area I see them pop up fairly regularly. It may not be that way in your region. You don't have to get the full kit, and you could "get by" with just the pedals and transmission, but you would always get codes.

[MoparDave68]

Well I plan on getting everything I need before doing the swap. I don't want any codes or bs coming up later. I will definitely change the clutch before it goes in and a South Bend was already on my mind. I dind't know that pre 98 would be a no go so that's good to know now, lol

[CSM]

Well I plan on getting everything I need before doing the swap. I don't want any codes or bs coming up later. I will definitely change the clutch before it goes in and a South Bend was already on my mind. I dind't know that pre 98 would be a no go so that's good to know now, lol

I haven't done a swap, but i've owned both trucks. There are a couple guys here who have done swaps though and will probably chime in. There were some good old threads about it here as well. The good news is the auto-> manual swap is far easier than the manual -> auto swap. As for the shift lever, I drove a 95 I was thinking of buying this last weekend and mabe it was the regular cab, mabe it was the 12V... but the handle and supposedly parts in the transfer case were significantly different.

[MoparDave68]

Hmm, Interesting. But that's really good to know, I found a few NV4500's for a pretty decent price. But I want a remanned one so I know it's all good inside.

[rancherman]

G56 trans are an all aluminum case. Stock to mild horsepower increases should be ok.. there are external girdles to add to the cases' stiffness..:spend: But i'd think you would need over 500 hp before going down that route. How the high horsepower is used makes a big difference on trans life. You will need the wide crossmember for either the G56 or the Nv5600. Some 4500's came with either the narrow or the wide. The G56 is about 6 inches longer than the Nv. I considered going with either the G56 or the 5600 (it depended on what came available and cheapest first!) I eventually got the NV5600. Some days you can find a good price on a g56, other days the Nv will surface. The G56 is a somewhat 'louder' transmission, It has straighter cut gears than the nv's. It also had a ring ding ding in neutral. (normal) For all out racing, sledding, mudding it'll take big bucks to keep the '56 alive, but for intelligent high load/horsepower use, It's sufficient. It's the case on the '56 that is the weak link, whereas the internals on the NV's are the culprit.

[MoparDave68]

I never plan on seeing more than 500 hp with this truck. 400-450 is what I'm shooting for. So I don't think hp will be an issue either route I go. Why are you saying go with either G56 or NV5600 over the NV4500?

[98whitelightnin]

I would not knock early nv4500's off the list, the one I saw did not hit the t-case shifter. Seems like the older one shift better too. My buddy just sold an early G56 with the .79 gear ratio because he didn't like running such high rpm's. The 4500 works fine for me but a 5600 would be nice too. I think you should scour craigs list and pick up the cheapest wreck you can find and go from there. You do not need the pcm, ecm, crossmember or engine to trans adapter from a manual truck. If you decide to get into this shoot me a message anytime and I will help where I can.

[MoparDave68]

Thanks 98! :thumbup2:Personally I want either a NV5600 or G56. Ive read good things about the newest G56, whereas the older model had some issue. But if the NV5600 will hook up with out needing a new ecm,pcm,ect that might be my route. I wanna do this soon and I don't want to spend a fortune Ive been looking for a good donor truck but I can't find one yet, I might just pick up a trans and then go junk yard picking for the rest.

[CSM]

I would not knock early nv4500's off the list, the one I saw did not hit the t-case shifter. Seems like the older one shift better too. My buddy just sold an early G56 with the .79 gear ratio because he didn't like running such high rpm's. The 4500 works fine for me but a 5600 would be nice too. I think you should scour craigs list and pick up the cheapest wreck you can find and go from there. You do not need the pcm, ecm, crossmember or engine to trans adapter from a manual truck. If you decide to get into this shoot me a message anytime and I will help where I can.

Isn't the PCM going to be looking for signal from the trans? Or do you have that reflashed at the dealer?

[98whitelightnin]

The PCM does not care if you have a nv4500, nv5600 or g56. The only thing that will be different with your auto ECM is it will not have the idle up feature when letting off of the clutch pedal like a stick truck will have but the PCM will work just fine. There is a wire you cut for the cruise to work but other than that it should be fine. I used a smarty to flash my ECM to a manual trans.

[MoparDave68]

But if I got a manual truck ECM, would I have all the functions of the manual rig?

[AH64ID]

If your going to do the swap get a 6 speed, IMHO it's not worth the time/money for a 5 speed. They work, just not as well, especially if you ever tow. If you tow heavy and often the .79 OD G56 from 05.5-07.4 is a great setup. With the exception of 5th it's about 6% lower in all the gears than the 07.4+ G56. The NV5600 is quieter (thanks to the case) and a little stronger, but as it has been mentioned the G56 is perfectly fine under 500 rwhp. I would highly recommend a different harmonic damper (I think fluidamper is your best bet on a 2nd get) if you get a G56. The OEM DMF was part of the dampening on a G56, and you don't want to run that. There are many times I wish I had the .79OD in my NV5600, and other times I am glad I have the NV5600. It's actually quite impressive what the .79OD can do when towing thru the mountains that the .73OD cannot.

[MoparDave68]

It's good to hear from someone who has the G56, Ive heard a lot of good things about it. Ive just got to find one now lol!

[AH64ID]

I personally have a NV5600, but my dad's 06 has the G56.

[rancherman]

I never plan on seeing more than 500 hp with this truck. 400-450 is what I'm shooting for. So I don't think hp will be an issue either route I go. Why are you saying go with either G56 or NV5600 over the NV4500?

For me, and the heavy loads and hills in my area, the extra gear is nice. it fills the big gap the 5 speed has. I've driven both with same loads. I also didn't want to fight the 'nut' either! I did a 'overfill' mod on the case of the 5600, (drilled and tapped the case for a higher oil level) So far, so good. But, If and when the 5600 goes down, I'll either go G56 or Fuller

[98whitelightnin]

A manual ECM will make your truck think its a manual. There is an nv5600 on cf right now for $1200 in Oregon and he said he would ship.

[MoparDave68]

Hey 98, Did you do a write up or any thing about your manual swap? I'd like to know how it went for you.

[scummins]

I am also interested in this subject i bought a truck that has a nv4500 swap. I am currently dealing with abs and brake lights on, which leads to no cruise and am wondering if this has anything to do with this swap.

[98whitelightnin]

Hey 98, Did you do a write up or any thing about your manual swap? I'd like to know how it went for you.

Not much of a write up but here it is http://forum.mopar1973man.com/threads/6376-47re-to-NV4500-swap

I am also interested in this subject i bought a truck that has a nv4500 swap. I am currently dealing with abs and brake lights on, which leads to no cruise and am wondering if this has anything to do with this swap.

I had one light on in my dash but cannot remember what it was because I pulled the bulb. Copy and pasted from a member over at CF. my cruise didnt work at first but i did some reserch and found that on your PCM on connecter 1 circuit 4 is the wire that showes this being in park or drive so it will work. To find this wire you will have 3 connecters on your PCM Blk , White , and gray. Find your black connecter , then find a black with white tracer( only blk with white tracer in this connecter. CUT IT NOW GO DRIVE YOUR TRUCK AND USE YOUR CRUISE CONTROL.