nv3500 behind stock 5.3

[littlevictories]

I'm ashamed to say i've never owned a manual transmission truck, and know little to nothing about gm manual transmissions. my pop swapped a 700r4 into this '66 before he entrusted it to my care.
it came stock with a 292 and 3 speed on the floor. the floor has a high hump trans tunnel. stock clutch pedal assy. stashed at pop's house.

my questions are directed to those who have 4.8/5.3's and manuals with hydraulic clutches.

*what year trans did you use?

*what work did you do to make the stock clutch pedal linkage push the hydro master? details please.

*driveline stuff: same output splines? driveline cut/lengthened?

*what flywheel/clutch/bearing did you use?


I'm having trouble finding a good used 4l60e, and have a line on a nv3500 from a 2004 2wd p/u. no flywheel, clutch, master or bearing with it though

gotta figure out the transmission stuff before I send my PCM off
then i can concentrate on the fuel system (yay!)

Merry Christmas y'all

[Clyde65]

the NV.3500's are very light duty trans, if your planning on ANY towing or performance enhancements down the road, go with the NV4500. BTW, your 700 would work if you set it up right.

[littlevictories]

thanks for the warning. gonna stick with the 4l60e
coupla local fellas say they had bad luck with the nv3500

[cableguy0]

The nv3500 is definitely not a good idea behind any v8 especially in a truck.

[littlevictories]

have you torn one up?
i keep hearing horror stories about the nv3500 but no one with direct experience with the new single rail version they put behind the 4.8l trucks and vans.
thanks

[Critter]

Everyone trash talks the NV3500 but the few I have been around were great. One in particular was from an 89 c1500 with a 350. The truck ran great and it towed to its max suspension capacity at least once a month. My dad bought the truck new in 89, put a clutch in it around 150,000 miles, then my brother bought it from him in 94 with 180,000 miles. The trans was still going strong when my brother ran it through a pipe fence at about 120 mph totaling the truck. Technically that trans wasn't an nv3500, it would have been a 5LM60 which was supposedly a slightly weaker precursor to the nv3500 which officially came out in the 93 trucks.

Another one I was familiar with was a 94 k1500. The truck had a small body lift and 35" tires. My buddy was hard as he could be on that truck and the trans never gave him a bit of trouble.

I am not all that familiar with the latest versions like from behind a 4.8 but I can't imagine them being weaker than the ones from the 90s.

Also, for the record, the 5.3 has never had a manual trans behind it, ever.

[doubeys_nova]

i am running a used HD 700R4 with 35x12.5x15 tires behind a 4.8L problem free for two years and i take it offroad atleast once a month and run the pi$$ out of it. I was paranoid starting out because of the 700R4's track record but being a 100k+ mile trans and holding up to my abuse is either luck or because i followed the directions setting it up. set it up watching the pump pressures and with the right adapter parts and you will have a great transmission.

[OneOffStroker]

Here's the low-down on getting a NV3500 in your truck, which you should do...because automatics are lame. Besides, the NV3500 is MUCH stronger than most people will have you believe. One of the main factors in determining the strenght of a manual transmission is the centerline distance of the main and counter shafts. I'm sure that nobody will say that a T-56 is a weak transmission, because they came in everything from Camaros to Corvettes to Vipers. The T-56 had an 82mm shaft centerline, and so does the NV3500! It may be rated at 350 lb/ft of torque, but if you don't do 4000 RPM clutch dumps and clutchless upshifts routinley, then it will last as long as you need it to.

Here's what you will need if you decide to man up and keep 3 pedals in your truck:

Flywheel: Sachs NFW1050 (from a 1999+ 4.8 or 6.0 chevy truck) ~$60
Clutch: any 11" GM clutch will work, because the NFW1050 is drilled for new qand old style pressure plates
Clutch Pedal: This is the most difficult part if you want/need to keep the original pedal. You will need to find a way to adapt your clutch rod to actuate a clutch master cylinder, and then the master send fluid to the slave cylinder on/in the trans. The NV3500 had either an external or internal slave, depending on what year it was pulled from.
- OR - You can get a hydraulic clutch pedal from a pick n pull or get a new wilwood unit or similar from Speedway or whatever mail-order speedshop you cater to most.
Driveline yoke: Splines are the same as pretty much any other GM trans (27 spline), except the TH400 (32 spline)
Driveshaft length: This just depends on what trans you have and what you are going to put in. Might need to be longer, might need to be shorter. Other things that can/will affect this: what motor mounts will you use when you swap in the 5.3? If they move the motor forward, then it's safe to say you will need to make your driveshaft longer, etc. This is the last piece of the puzzle to worry about, because all the other variables have to be put into place first.

There may be a few other odds and ends to get it together, but the bottom line is that the NV3500 is better than a 4L60E, or any other automatic...unless you are missing an arm or leg or whatever may keep you from rowing gears effectively.

[doubeys_nova]

^^^^says the guy with an auto^^^^

sorry stroke, seen your sig and just had to.

[littlevictories]

can I use the same starter or is that a manual specific part on these LSx motors?

[OneOffStroker]

Doubey: Yeah, I suppose you got me on that one! I did have a 4L60E in my Burb, but I pulled that for a 4-speed, and it became so much more fun to drive. I sold the Burb anyway, so it's a moot point. (looks like I need to update my sig...someday.)

Littlevictories: As far as starters go with the 5.3, they bolt to the motor, not the trans, so the 5.3 starter will work with whatever you put behind it.
Think of it this way: The small block chevy, the LSx, most of the V-6 chevys, and even the straight 6 chevys all use the same bellhousing pattern, so pretty much any transmission can be used behind any of them. It goes to reason that if the bellhousings are the same, then the starter holes and alignment are also the same.

[doubeys_nova]

teeth dont always match up from starter to flywheel but in this case they absolutely do. just a future reference dont always assume that. chevy is great about using the same parts for as much as possible. hence one of the best parts about this line of engine. the only differences fall in the 2(12 oclock and 2 oclock) bolt holes that changed and how far the crankshaft sticks out of the back ~10mm difference if i remember right but there is a spacer that i had to use and it works perfectly. if using a 4.8L or 5.3L you will need it. a couple years of the 6.0L is the only one that didnt require it as far as i can remember. been a couple years.

[crazy longhorn]

Originally Posted by doubeys_nova

teeth dont always match up from starter to flywheel but in this case they absolutely do. just a future reference dont always assume that. chevy is great about using the same parts for as much as possible. hence one of the best parts about this line of engine. the only differences fall in the 2(12 oclock and 2 oclock) bolt holes that changed and how far the crankshaft sticks out of the back ~10mm difference if i remember right but there is a spacer that i had to use and it works perfectly. if using a 4.8L or 5.3L you will need it. a couple years of the 6.0L is the only one that didnt require it as far as i can remember. been a couple years.

I just finished a stick swap (5.3 to gen I trans /bell). I used the NFW 1050 flywheel listed above...no spacer required on my 2000 ,5.3? If you used an LS1 flywheel, you will need a spacer....but I would be hesitant to put that much spacer between a stick flywheel & the crank shaft! The stock LS starter fit the app, with just a little clearancing on the 55 chevy cast bell. The gen I clutch cover also fit, with the proper metric bolts....altho 3 of the holes in the cover were reamed, to fit. The pilot was a sealed ball roller (GM part for the LS), & fitted into the converter pilot hole on the crankshaft For the guys racing, or really reving them up....Mcleod offers a .400 thicker flywheel, (such as the 1050 sachs), but in a billet pc. You will not find a listing for a stick shift, in a 5.3, but the 4.8/6.0 flywheel will fit Longhorn

[cagodinez]

[QUOTE=OneOffStroker;6461949]Here's the low-down on getting a NV3500 in your truck, which you should do...because automatics are lame. Besides, the NV3500 is MUCH stronger than most people will have you believe. One of the main factors in determining the strenght of a manual transmission is the centerline distance of the main and counter shafts. I'm sure that nobody will say that a T-56 is a weak transmission, because they came in everything from Camaros to Corvettes to Vipers. The T-56 had an 82mm shaft centerline, and so does the NV3500! It may be rated at 350 lb/ft of torque, but if you don't do 4000 RPM clutch dumps and clutchless upshifts routinley, then it will last as long as you need it to.

Here's what you will need if you decide to man up and keep 3 pedals in your truck:

Flywheel: Sachs NFW1050 (from a 1999+ 4.8 or 6.0 chevy truck) ~$60
Clutch: any 11" GM clutch will work, because the NFW1050 is drilled for new qand old style pressure plates
Clutch Pedal: This is the most difficult part if you want/need to keep the original pedal. You will need to find a way to adapt your clutch rod to actuate a clutch master cylinder, and then the master send fluid to the slave cylinder on/in the trans. The NV3500 had either an external or internal slave, depending on what year it was pulled from.
- OR - You can get a hydraulic clutch pedal from a pick n pull or get a new wilwood unit or similar from Speedway or whatever mail-order speedshop you cater to most.
Driveline yoke: Splines are the same as pretty much any other GM trans (27 spline), except the TH400 (32 spline)
Driveshaft length: This just depends on what trans you have and what you are going to put in. Might need to be longer, might need to be shorter. Other things that can/will affect this: what motor mounts will you use when you swap in the 5.3? If they move the motor forward, then it's safe to say you will need to make your driveshaft longer, etc. This is the last piece of the puzzle to worry about, because all the other variables have to be put into place first.

There may be a few other odds and ends to get it together, but the bottom line is that the NV3500 is better than a 4L60E, or any other automatic...unless you are missing an arm or leg or whatever may keep you from rowing gears effectively.[/QUOTE

Would it be easier to do the swap with external or internal slave? I'm doing a 5.3/nv3500 swap on my 1995 F150.

[gagliano7]

That depends on which trans you have one with external slave or one with internal slave. The external slave is easier to work on if you have a problem.And that trans is fine behind the 5.3.I had it behind a 383 with 450 ft lbs of torque and it lasted through that motor and is with the 5.3 now.

[cagodinez]

Originally Posted by gagliano7

That depends on which trans you have one with external slave or one with internal slave. The external slave is easier to work on if you have a problem.And that trans is fine behind the 5.3.I had it behind a 383 with 450 ft lbs of torque and it lasted through that motor and is with the 5.3 now.

so if the Ford transmission is external, go with a NV3500 with external slave? I just need to find the transmission and a 4.8 flywheel, thank you for your help, man the Ford guys are gonna be mad LOL