nv4500 builders

C

Cloverleaffarm

Member
few years back picked up a 4500/tcase from Mark at a good price to eventually do a swap and get rid of my 68. whose someone who builds these old trans for daily use. want to get the trans done and ready to put in when the 68 finally decides to go. truck see's 10,000 few times a month but its flat road towing, and will probably see a sled or 3 a year after I add another 100 hp
It's been over 20 years since I've owned a manual so i'm not sure whose who in that game to send mine off to
 
Superstick Transmissions down here in Texas seems to be the go to place for built NV4500 & NV5600. Cody Albrecht is the owner
 
Devilman said:
Superstick Transmissions down here in Texas seems to be the go to place for built NV4500 & NV5600. Cody Albrecht is the owner
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Might hit him up.
I have a few early GM NV4500s and a couple of NV5600s with issues as well as a G56 I know nothing about, that need homes.

Mark.
 
I made the mistake of logging onto cumminsforum (forgot how bad it was) and asking about 4500 builders, 1 guy said Superstick and others said less than positive opinions.
I've even gotten 2 PM's from a guy telling me how stupid I am and that the 4500 is the worst trans ever made for a diesel, "your an idiot if you even think you'll make it down the road without rebuilding it" is how he wrapped it up.

such positivity there from guys who appear to have mostly stock trucks. Guess in their minds theres not aftermarket world/support for such swap
 
Haha typical moronic responses. The 4500 is a good trans, they shift great and can be built stout, a lot of pullers still use em. Don't listen to the "experts" on cummingsforum lol
 
"The main issue is they are weak and wont hold up to 400hp let alone 700hp for very long."

"The NV4500 is a gas transmission, not in anyway adequate for any kind of long term operation behind a diesel engine developing the TQ they do. EVEN with a larger better input shaft and fixing 5th gear it was still way behind the curve at the minimal 400 ft\lbs of TQ on 12V. It simply is not large enough to handle what a stock 5.9 can output let alone a tuned 6.7.

Like the 48RE, you add some parts and help the situation but it is no way even close to adequate for daily driver or towing or any kind of hard use. The ISB will destroy any of the LD transmission in these trucks in short order if you use the truck hard. That is why it is silly to consider a transmission that cannot even handle normal usage as an option. Manual trucks are detuned to save the parts because it cannot do TQ management like an auto, pull the safeties and it is carnage time."

I get a stock trans (any brand) isn't perfect and needs some love from aftermarket world, with the proper updates from the hands of someone who knows the trans, in theory anything can be built to hold. atleast that's what I've thought until the above quotes?
 
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I have to agree a little bit, there’s nothing that fixes 3rd gear from breaking or taking the splines out of the 5th gear synchro hub.
 
Sorry, but an NV5600 is nowhere near a reliable trans., neither is a G-56 or a Getrag 360 (1stgen).
The only Dodge "pickup" manual trans that stands a chance is the NV4500.

Now, I understand both the GM and Ford ZF6 transmissions will take a lot of abuse, but I haven't experienced either, though there is a guy on here putting a significant amount of power through one behind a Duramax, and it's living fine.
I believe I sold him a spare trans for "just in case" a while back.

Mark.
 
Marks right in that I picked up the trans from him for that "what if scenario". being the 1st year of production for the 68 and the history of dodge trans has always been a concern. So instead of spending $10,000-$12,000 on a 48re swap or even $10,000 for a 700 hp 68rfe I figured that a manual swap would be the best bet and only have $5,000-$6,000 in the swap.

Since my brother and I have a small trucking fleet of 8 semi's, handling a 4500 vs Eaton 18s/13s
 
Honestly depends on your HP/TQ goals, I don't have any experience with a 6.7/nv4500 combo, but do with 6.7/5600 or G56 and they'll hold the power if you drive em right and not beat the p!ss out of em.
You could always sell the 4500 to an offroad/crawler gasser dude cause they love em and buy a 5600 from Cody. I've got a 5600 and a g56 I was gonna eventually send to Cody to be built then sell em if you need a core.

Oh and you can 48 swap your truck waaaay cheaper than $10-12k, I bought firepunk's swap kit and used my own builder here in Texas.
 
I've spoken with the local trans guy who builds some nasty 48s about the possibility of the swap. I'd have about $5,000 in him buying a core to build to hold up to my use and abuse, plus another roughly $3,000 in Firepunk swap parts
 
I Rebuild all the above listed transmissions and honestly a 6.7 will destroy anything. With its low end grunt it chatters stuff to pieces. Major thing with any of the manuals is do not lug them. The Cummins is a small block diesel. It does not hurt a thing to wind them out. I prefer a 5600 to the 4500 simply because of the extra gear available in them. Way better suited for not lugging them when driving through town and what not. The best overdrive setup on all of them is the zf6. Much stouter than the rest. The intermediate bearing support plate really keeps the aluminum case nice and rigid and strong. They don’t shift as smooth as a 4500 but they don’t have the shortcomings of a 4500 as well. Drive any of them with common sense and do regular fluid changes and they all will last.
 
If one drives sensible (basically treating it like a 68 and hopes it lasts every time it shifts) and has upgraded intervals to hopefully assess its short comings, could the 4500 survive?
 
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