Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) NV4500 to G56 conversion kit

[TDimmick]

Also read posting below. 1st gear is to tall on the nv4500



The oldest truck in our fleet is a 96 12 valve/NV4500 C/C that is dedicated to hauling @15,000 lbs on secondary roads. It has only 30k miles on it, but the clutch is gone. I would like to find a complete NV4500 to G56 conversion kit for this truck. Has anyone done one? Does anyone have any comments about there conversion.

 

[FordCummins]

Put a South Bend Clutch in it, and be done with it. The NV4500 is more than suited to the job you are doing, and the G56 wont really gain you anything in terms of strength of reliability.

 

[Bob V]

What do you base this on???? The 4500 is a good trany, but is it better than a g56??? How about the gap between 3rd and 4th????? How about the 5th gear nut???? How about the 1 1/4" input shaft???

 

[FordCummins]

For only towing 15,500 lbs, why wouldnt the NV4500 be a perfect candidate? The only thing the original poster mentioned that was wrong with the transmission was the clutch being gone. A good, HD clutch setup from a reliable sponsor like SBC seems like the cheapest and most logical solution. Im not saying the G56 wouldnt do the job well, but it seems like a fair amount of work just to tow 15,500 lbs.

 

[Bob V]

You said the g56 is not any better than the 4500. I agree the 4500 is a good trany, but it does have limitations. I drove a 97 with a 4500 for 9 years, it did NOT do well towing when climbing hills, the jump between 3rd and 4th was too much, was a pain to drive, and I was only towing about 10,000#. Also, would need to fix the 5th gear nut, like I did. If you tow at all, I would recommend a 6spd, just a whole lot easier to drive. Not that some things can be done to the 5sd trucks to help, which I did to my '97, my '05 with the G56 is a LOT better to tow with.

 

[FDavid]

nv4500 to NV5600 is a far more popular swap. The NV5600 is stronger than the g56 also.

 

[Bob V]

nv4500 to NV5600 is a far more popular swap. The NV5600 is stronger than the g56 also.

I agree the 5600 is a more popular swap, but they are gitting hard to find, and get parts for. Also, where do you get your info that the 5600 is stronger than the G56? I have NOT seen this anywhere.

 

[JTH]

nv4500 to NV5600 is a far more popular swap. The NV5600 is stronger than the g56 also.

I agree that the NV5600 is a very strong transmission, but if you read the article about the G56 in the TDR you would know that it has been used in medium duty applications for about 8 years or so and they took it apart to find out that it is actually a much better design. Even after towing at the maximum weight for 80000 miles it had virtually no wear. So even though it has an aluminium case, it's not necessarily a weaker trans.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

nv4500 to NV5600 is a far more popular swap. The NV5600 is stronger than the g56 also.

The NV5600 has some weak points when it comes to heavy towing, but I know others have had good service life: http://www.nwbombers.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17189&hl=nv5600



If I was going to keep my '96 long term I'd be very interested in a G56 swap if it was reasonably easy & affordable to do. Really dislike the 3-4 gap as well.

 

[TDimmick]

The issue is really that 1st gear is to tall. Some of our drivers will slip the clutch to much when pulling the trailer out of the water and up the boat ramps. (We build and set boat docks) The gearing on our 05 and 06 G56/3. 73 trucks is perfect. Our thinking is that with the 96 12valve, G56/4. 10 setup it would be the way to go. Top end is not a problem as this truck will never see the highway.

 

[1coorsman2005]

I have a g56. Behind my 1/2 ton 12v conversion works great and was a simple swap

 

[SnoKing]

You could most likely put real low gears in both diffs much cheaper than a transmission swap. Chris

 

[Bill Stockard]

Check this NV4500 to G56 conversion by a TDR member HEREhttps://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/221115-Mission-G56-(pictures)?highlight=G56

Bill

 

[JR]

I have a g56. Behind my 1/2 ton 12v conversion works great and was a simple swap

Out of curiosity, what was the reason for putting that much motor and transmission in a half ton? Did you leave the factory axles under it? Would be interested in some pictures!

 

[CESpitz]

1coorsman2005
I am in the process of doing that conversion now would like to pic your brain on some stuff
I have a 2000 1/2 ton v6 5speed truck and a 97 12valve with nv4500 any info you are willing
to share would be very helpful my e-mail is -- email address removed -- THANKS in advance
Carl

 

[1coorsman2005]

We'll the first. Reason for putting in a 1/2 ton was prices you can get a 1/2 ton for and my c&c donor truck was ready for scrap except the running gear. I have 400 tied up in my truck rust free in pretty decent shape very few dents. So far there has been nothing different from my c&c truck. From holes in the frame to holes in the body for manual pedals axles. Inter cooler radiator mounts and so on. Yes when the truck was first built I had full half ton suspension under it. At the time of build I couldn't sell the factory axles for 150. So I figured. Destroy them. Haha. I recently sold the front. So I'm running 1 ton front and 1/2 ton rear right now. Don't know how but it hasn't popped yet.

 

[1coorsman2005]

http://www.dieselbombers.com/12-valve-2nd-gen-dodge-cummins-94-98/108256-my-cummins-build.html. Here's my build