NV4500 swap installed and rollin!

[Chevy3+3]

First I'd like to say I didn't just jump into this swap. I read dozens of other nv4500 swap threads and what I learned is that no matter how many different projects you read about none are going to be the same as your project most likely.

My '88 Chevy V30's transmission started to slip over a year ago. I decided that it would be great to have OD in a truck like mine and lower my RPMs a tad on the highway. Whatever I decided to use was going to be mated to my current 454 TBI motor under the hood. I'm not a guru when it comes to wirings so I ruled out a 4L80E with a stand alone controller (but still a great choice). The fact I already a 32 spline 6 round bolt pattern np205 t-case made the NV4500 a fairly economical swap. I stumbled onto an NV4500 on a wrecked 94 chevy k3500. The owner had the transmission overhauled and only had about 10k miles on the overhaul. He was parting the truck out and I got the 5 speed for $450 which I thought was a steal. Once that was purchased the hunt was on for the remaining parts.

I chose to find an original GM bellhousing over an AA bellhousing simply because I thought it would be easier fitting & finding parts. So I found a bellhousing & flywheel cover on ebay for a good price. Next I needed to find a pedal assembly which turned out to be harder than I thought to find an '85+ squarebody manual truck with hydraboost. The hydraboost and vacuum pedal assemblies are different. By doing some calling I found a set from a salvage yard in Georgia. It took me a couple of weeks to track that down. Now I had my main pieces needed for the swap.

Fast forward a year later when I actually had some spare time I tore the greasy mess apart. Here is a list of all the new components I had to buy new for the swap. I will give prices also along with some pics. I hope this thread can help some others who might be considering the same swap and some things I found suprising I didn't need to change.

The adapter I ordered form Advanced Adapters was kit #50-6911. That came with the spacer to go between the NP205 and NV4500. This kit also came with the bracket needed to connect your t-case shift lever back. The bracket was weak so I braced it in a couple of locations to stiffen it up. Using this kit it also required you lengthen the rod between the np205 shift rail and the shifter arm. I found I had to lengthen the rod approx. 1 3/4" to maintain the same shifter angle in the cab of the truck. BE CAREFUL.....this kit comes with all thread studs. You CAN screw them in to far into the internal gears of the t-case. Advance Adapters needs to supply the correct length studs with correct shoulder lengths to keep this from happening. Especially since they want you to use locknuts.



Almost all of my parts were purchased from Rockauto because they beat NAPA's price by a decent amount. I saved almost $150 total having the parts shipped to my door instead of buying them through NAPA.

List of parts I ordered for the '88 V30
-Luk flywheel #LFW102 =$67
-Dorman flywheel bolts # 14557 = $4
-Luk Gold clutch kit #04902 = $88
-Clutch master cylinder (purchased from Oreillys) = approx. $35
-Oil impregnated pilot bushing (purchased from Oreillys) = $4

List of parts ordered for a '94 K3500 7.4 TBI truck
-Luk clutch slave cylinder #LSC118 = $25
-Dorman clutch fork pivot ball # 15155 = $9
-DEA HD trans mount # A2638HD = $13
Luk clutch fork # LF9864 = $15

I also decided the easiest (for me anyway) way to plumb the hydraulic line from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder would be by using a -3AN 72 inch SS braided Teflon hose assembly with one 90 degree end and the other end straight. I purchased this off of Ebay from Gray Stone Systems for approx. $26. If you intend to use this you will need the -3AN adapter to adapt to the quick connect style fitting GM used on the slave cylinder. Russell performance makes these adapters #640281. They sell by the pair but you will only need one to connect the -3AN line to your factory slave cylinder quick connect. You will also need a fitting to adapt from your -3AN hose connection to the M12x1.0 clutch master cylinder connection. For this I went to Orme Brothers. It is a metric to AN dual seat adapter (-3AN/12mmx1.0). I was able to make all my connections and bleed the entire system out of the truck and then intall it without breaking any lines loose.


The good things that surprised me about the swap making it easier and cheaper. I was able to use my original crossmember in the original location. The NV4500 with the factory bellhousing was the same length as the th400. The other surprising thing was my drivelines did not need modified in length. Once the trans/t-case combo was installed everything else bolted back together basically. I was even able to reattach the solid rod brace that ran from the np205 to the th400 bellhousing bolt.


Then I laid my new ACC blue vinyl floor down and cleaned up my interior a little bit. One thing I DID NOT know was that no one makes a reproduction NV4500 shift boot. Mine was torn that I got with the tranny. So I bought a Dorman square boot #924-5405. I cut the factory flange out of the NV4500 boot and then cut the biggest fold off of the new boot and the nv4500 flange sat right on top of it giving it a clean look I thought. The shifter hole was a little small so I opened it up a tad and stretched it over the shifter shaft.


I hope the read wasn't to long but wanted to make it fairly detailed so others could see and understand. I hope this thread helps someone just as other threads an build projects have helped me in the past. All in all my grand total for the swap came in right at $1100 including the new vinyl floor. The biggest cost factor is what you can get an NV4500 bought for.

As some of you probably notice I still have a few screws to put in the boot flanges, need to install t-case skid plate and I knocked off a u-joint cap off the front driveline so I need to get that fixed before I bolt it back up.

[Chevy3+3]

I will add that my truck had 2.5" front lift springs giving me a little extra clearance to be able to use the factory GM bellhousing. The driveline clears the bellhousing by a few inches but I may look into raising the trucks height another 1-2" to make sure there are no clearance issues between the front driveline and bellhousing if I were to start twisted the truck a little in a ditch of something

[mongocanfly]

Good score on the nv4500..you did steal it..keep in mind that if you change the fluid in it that it takes a special fluid..very expensive fluid..only place I could find it was dealership

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Good score on the nv4500..you did steal it..keep in mind that if you change the fluid in it that it takes a special fluid..very expensive fluid..only place I could find it was dealership

That's the truth! I bought a couple of quarts to have on hand and top off the transmission. That purchase made me cringe

[Chevy3+3]

A couple more pics

[KQQL IT]

I have a 91 crew with a sm465 2wd what wouldn't I need to buy for the swap

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

I have a 91 crew with a sm465 2wd what wouldn't I need to buy for the swap

Would or wouldn't?

[KQQL IT]

Originally Posted by Chevy3+3

Would or wouldn't?

Would not. Already has the hydraulic clutch.
Would the bell, clutch etc be the same

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

Would not. Already has the hydraulic clutch.
Would the bell, clutch etc be the same

The bell will not be the same as the the sm465. You would need to find an NV4500 from a 2wd truck along with the bellhousing. Since you already have a hydraulic setup you would only need to buy a line long enough to reach the passenger side slave cylinder on the NV4500. I'm not familiar with the cross member used with that transmission but that may be something you would need to change also. I just can't verify that. The actual clutch on your truck should work.

Your truck would be simple to swap since its a 2wd and already has a hydraulic clutch setup

To answer your question....the list you would need to purchase would be.
-NV4500 2wd with bellhousing
-clutch fork pivot ball
-clutch fork
-throw out bearing
-a 72 inch -3an line from the clutch MC to the clutch slave cylinder
-Russell performance -3an to quick connect adapter
-a -3an to M12x1.0 dual seat adapter fittings.

That would basically be it for you. Wouldn't be bad at all I wouldn't think

[KQQL IT]

Originally Posted by Chevy3+3

The bell will not be the same as the the sm465. You would need to find an NV4500 from a 2wd truck along with the bellhousing. Since you already have a hydraulic setup you would only need to buy a line long enough to reach the passenger side slave cylinder on the NV4500. I'm not familiar with the cross member used with that transmission but that may be something you would need to change also. I just can't verify that. The actual clutch on your truck should work.

Your truck would be simple to swap since its a 2wd and already has a hydraulic clutch setup

To answer your question....the list you would need to purchase would be.
-NV4500 2wd with bellhousing
-clutch fork pivot ball
-clutch fork
-throw out bearing
-a 72 inch -3an line from the clutch MC to the clutch slave cylinder
-Russell performance -3an to quick connect adapter
-a -3an to M12x1.0 dual seat adapter fittings.

That would basically be it for you. Wouldn't be bad at all I wouldn't think

Thanks, being it's got a 3:08 20 bolt under it, I'd wonder if the 350 would even pull an OD

[KQQL IT]

The shift boot you used looks similar to big rig stuff. Maybe cross breed some kenworth parts.

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

The shift boot you used looks similar to big rig stuff. Maybe cross breed some kenworth parts.

Yep it's actually a Kenworth replacement boot. I think it turned out alright

[Wrecked1982]

is this the original transfer case? i though later trucks had slip yoke and werent using the bracing rod on the side on the TC. although i wish i had a fixed yoke TC like you on my 85
nice work on your nv4500 swap.

[Chevy3+3]

Originally Posted by Wrecked1982

is this the original transfer case? i though later trucks had slip yoke and werent using the bracing rod on the side on the TC. although i wish i had a fixed yoke TC like you on my 85
nice work on your nv4500 swap.

To my knowledge this is the original t-case. I could be wrong but I thought all 205's had fixed yokes. I do know that '85+ had the 6 round bolt pattern t-case which mine would have had from the factory. When I bought this truck 2 yrs ago it appeared to be all original.

By the way thanks for the compliment. It feels so nice shifting to 5th on the highway and cruising around 65 mph at about 2k RPMs

[USSkoval]

Originally Posted by Chevy3+3

To my knowledge this is the original t-case. I could be wrong but I thought all 205's had fixed yokes. I do know that '85+ had the 6 round bolt pattern t-case which mine would have had from the factory. When I bought this truck 2 yrs ago it appeared to be all original.

By the way thanks for the compliment. It feels so nice shifting to 5th on the highway and cruising around 65 mph at about 2k RPMs

'80 and newer with a single tube rear driveline got a slip yoke. Any truck with a 2-piece shaft (with a carrier bearing) got a fixed yoke.

[Wrecked1982]

thank you USSkoval thats the knowledge i was missing

[aharper33]

Very nice looking swap. It always amazes me how easy some of you make things look. I have an '86 4 wheel drive that I have been wanting to do this same thing to.

[meatwagon83]

I'm about half way through an nv4500 swap in my c30 right now, the only custom piece I'm using is a hydraulic clutch line

[boneheaddoctor]

Subscribing because I am in the planning stage of mine as well.

[boneheaddoctor]

If you go from a TH400 to an NV4500, the rear mount is in the same exact spot, and in my case it uses the same exact mount that the '94 Chevy the trans came out of with my '87. My swap has an NP208.

[kipps]

I'll just add to this thread three years later--

If you switch between a sm465 and a nv4500, with both being 4wd, the crossmember and transfer case stay in the same exact position.

[SunSoaked]

So in essence:

A 465 and nv4500 with bellhousings are the exact same length? And..they are BOTH the same length as a TH400?

I'm guessing that the OP of this thread is using factory 2 piece driveshaft?

I'm thinking that the swap wasn't exactly the same because DirtyLarry didn't use the 1.625 inch spacer and he also claims everything bolted back in?

Maybe the slip joints in the driveshafts are what's making up the differences?

[kipps]

Originally Posted by SunSoaked

I'm thinking that the swap wasn't exactly the same because DirtyLarry didn't use the 1.625 inch spacer and he also claims everything bolted back in?

Maybe the slip joints in the driveshafts are what's making up the differences?

I wondered about that too. But I have heard that one of the automatics(th400?) was the same exact length as the sm465.

I will confess, I didn't do a direct swap from one to the other. I swapped the entire drivetrain from a 350/sm465/np208 to a 5.3/nv4500/np241c. I measured from the bellhousing mating surface to the rear of the clamshell mount. I matched that 14" measurement on the new engine, and bolted it in with the nv4500. The trans crossmember bolted right in like it did before.

[SunSoaked]

I'm thinking there is several ways to make the swap depending on what parts are used.

I'm getting ready to begin my swap in the next few weeks. I'm swapping the 400/208 for the 4500/AA spacer/205 t-case.

My biggest issue is determining if I need to run a two piece rear shaft due to the overall longer length because the 4500 is shorter and the 205 is way shorter due to the fixed yoke.

What is/was your setup? I'm assuming your 241 has a slip yoke?

[yfs200p]

Originally Posted by kipps

I'll just add to this thread three years later--

If you switch between a sm465 and a nv4500, with both being 4wd, the crossmember and transfer case stay in the same exact position.

I know this is somewhat of an old thread, but can you confirm this? I have an 89 v30 with SM465 (shot) and NP205. I would love to swap to an NV4500 instead of rebuilding the sm465. I’ve read a bunch about it, but a little confused. How can I make them the same length, swap input shaft on the Tcase, put an adapter between them, both? I would love to leave Tcase in the factory position and not mess with driveshaft lengths. Thanks!