transmission swap

[JHardwick]

A buddy of mine wants to convert his '89 auto into a 5 speed. What transmission does he need and how hard are they to find?



Thank You

 

[ARhine]

So some searches on the board for the NV4500 swap. Should get ya started.

 

[Don in Missouri]

I just changed the Getrag in my '92 to a NV4500. Instead of using the Advance Adapets bellhousing, I switched everything to the '95 style bellhousing. I thought that would save me some money since I got a good deal on some of the parts. It turned out to be more work and a little more money than the AA conversion kit.



As a result of my swap, I have a bunch of leftover parts that could come in handy for an auto to 5-speed swap. I have the flywheel housings, bellhousing, clutch fork, clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder, shifter, and shifter boots. I even have some pedal assemblies from another truck that might be of some use.



My Getrag probably just needs some synchro work. It was not totally destroyed. Fixing it and using it would probably be cheaper than an NV4500 swap. 2nd to that, some of my leftover parts could be used with an AA bellhousing ($400) kit for a NV4500 swap.



Additional parts you would need include a clutch master cylinder, and a flywheel.



My transmission is a 4WD.

 

[dpuckett]

There is an ad in the classifieds for the parts to do a swap, including transmission, pedals, MC, etc, etc. Hurry before I buy his pedal ***'y and master cylinder. My clutch pedal rides about halfway to the floor as a result of wear on the pedal and MC linkage. AFter doing some repairs on my pickup (includng the cam plug), I dont think it would be that hard. If you can find a driveshaft from a manual transmission, you might save yourself some expense there.



Daniel

 

[1stgen4evr]

If your friend is just replacing the auto because of hard to find parts, Kirk in Homestead Fl has an auto transmission that is twd. I have one (twd) with 45k miles since new that I will sell for 1100 dollars.



You don't say what the truck is used for or if it is twd or fwd. My opinion is that if your friend only uses the truck for transportation, the getrag is completly adequate. If it is fwd and is used hard, you should be thinking about the 4500 or 5600. Either of these will be strong investments on an old truck and hard to justify the money.



I bought a beater that is manual to change my 92 auto to getrag. You could look around and find one to do the same. You would have an engine and other parts to sell and offset the cost of the conversion.



Give us more info as to what the truck is and how it is used.



James

 

[TWilkening]

Another thing he'll probably want to do will be a gear change. The non-od autos came with 3. 07 gears, while the 5 speeds came with 3. 55s. 3. 55s are pretty good, but 3. 07s are pretty tall, especially for hauling a load.

 

[JHardwick]

I guess I shoulda added more info.



He uses the truck on weekends to haul the horse trailer/camper so it won't be a daily driver. He is a farrier by trade and has his shoein wagon set up in a 1 ton van.



As far as gears, I'm thinking he and another buddy of mine determined 2 something gears.



And, to top it off it's a 3/4 ton 2WD dually, so it's already been modded once in its life.



I always had Ferds until I went diesel in '99 (I was at least that smart) so I don't know a whole lot about the older Dodges other than a well preserved one is sharp!



Thank guys, he was asking me and I didn't have the answers, I just knew where to get them ... ... ... ... keep it coming, I'll send him a link to the thread!



Thanks again!

 

[JHardwick]

Another thing he'll probably want to do will be a gear change. The non-od autos came with 3. 07 gears, while the 5 speeds came with 3. 55s. 3. 55s are pretty good, but 3. 07s are pretty tall, especially for hauling a load.

It is a non-OD auto. I don't think they counted teeth, but rather jacked up the rear and came out 2 something ... ... ... . I'll ask again.

 

[1stgen4evr]

3/4 ton twd Dually

One thing it ain't is 2 something. It came with 3. 07 and that is as low as they go. Does it have adapters or did they change out the rear axle. Does the front have one ton wheels or 3/4.



Based on the usage you mention, the getrag will do all he needs and if it is 3. 07 and he wants to keep the load lighter on the drive line, he can run it direct when loaded and OD when empty. If the rear was change to 3. 54, he can run in OD anytime with the loads you suggest. Down shift to keep the rpms up and no problem.



James

 

[bgilbert]

Its cheaper to buy another truck that is already a 5 speed, ask MoparMan. Seems like he got rid of his auto truck and bought an exact replica of it only 5 speed hmmm... James is correct on the 3. 07's. Although 3. 07's and a 5 speed would be sweet.

 

[JHardwick]

I asked the guy today who worked on it last, he did count teeth and it's like 3:23 maybe, I forgot already, we were in a group and I'm only trying to gather info..... this is getting intersesting.



3:23 2wd non-OD 2wd 3/4 ton dually ... ... ... ... . is this possible?

 

[ekroman]

I was considering an auto (3 speed) to a 5 speed swap on my 2wd 1990. I'm leaning toward rebuilding the auto and getting a better convertor.



Why? First, I don't drive it everyday. I use it to haul stuff on the weekends, and maybe end up commuting in it once a week. I tow occasionally, a few times a year I tow a 6,000 pound boat for a friend. The 3 speed auto has lasted 227k so far, and it's just showing signs of normal wear in the clutch packs, and some leakage.



The 3 speed auto is a tough transmission, most of them are done in by overheating. My plan: add an additional cooler under the bed with a fan, put on a deep pan, a new, more efficient convertor, and a shift kit to firm up the shifts a little bit. With that combination, I hope the rebuild will go another 200k.



I'm scheduling my transmission build for the spring, probably March or April.



Yes, it's possible it has a rear out of a different truck with 3. 23 gears. I'm going to bet, however, it's a 3. 07. Most of the 2wd 3/4 ton autos were 3. 23, some were geared lower. I had a friend with 3. 55 gears in his 91.



BTW, the 3. 07 rears are unique. The differentials are not the same as the other rears, and some parts don't swap across. The rumor is 3. 07 replacement gearsets are NLA from Chrysler. This means when you lose the diff, you should look for a complete axle, probably from a later truck.