NV4500 Manual Swap into my 4-dr Tahoe

Green95Hoe · Jan 5, 2010

Hello to all, recently made the slide over from GMFS and even though those guys probably have the answer im going to start here.

My supposed bulletproof 4L60E has failed for the fourth time and frankly im just sick of havin an auto in my truck behind my built 383.
I have been doing alot of research on the NV4500 swap and following a couple members on the GMFS that sucessfully did it.
Although I do believe I would be the first one to try it in a built 4 door Tahoe.
I was set to go forward with the NV4500 as soon as I could locate a donor truck but its been harder than expected.

Then this morning I located a complete ZF S6-650 6 Speed manual pulled from an 05 Duramax. Everything and I mean Everything is included to do the swap including the gauge cluster. Obviously I wont need some parts because my truck is a 95 but for a package price of 1500 id be an idiot to pass this one off. I cant seem to locate a used NV4500 for that price around here.

The diesels share the same bellhousing correct? Id probably need a diff clutch and flysheel as well. Will this bolt up to my 241C T-Case?

Opinions???

~Brad

chevy_man · Jan 5, 2010

Damn, that's ambitious.

Ultimately I don't think strength or clutch holding capabilities of the ZF 6 will be surpassed by your 383. The only things I can think of that you haven't listed for parts are driveshafts, as the transmission will most likely be a different length by quite a bit.

I don't know why you would need/want the gauge cluster. It would be a lot of re-wiring and I believe the VSS is in the transfer case in your hoe. But I could be wrong.

And how many tranny shops have you had do the trans? If they're all from the same shop I'd get as much money back from them as you can and get a different shop to do the work.

Green95Hoe · Jan 8, 2010

Well I was able to locate an NV4500. Just had to drive almost 6 hours away to get the dam thing but its finally here in my garage. Im going to go that route instead because its just plain easier.
As for the old auto tranny. It was all different shops and the last one was Performabuilt transmissions. Quite dissapointed since they were highly recommended by many forum members on GMFS.

I guess I should thank them though because if the 4l60E didnt fail again I wouldnt be finally doing the conversion I wanted the day I bought the truck.

RSTahoe99 · Jan 15, 2010

Following your build

Good luck with the build man, I will be following as i am thinking of a manual in my tahoe as well. Take plenty of pics and give us the play by play!

Mike · Jan 21, 2010

Hey Brad glad to see you're finally doing it! I wanna come help give me a call when you're workin!

Green95Hoe · Jan 21, 2010

I work on it a little everyday but it will be a while before I get to the point of jacking this bad boy into the truck. Youll be the first to know though.

So, this is officially going down. I didnt want to start posting too much about it until I was balls deep and had my research complete to answer questions. As of today the 4500 is all cleaned up and painted just chillin on the garage floor. Its ready to go in but there have been many other things that are ahead of the actual swap.

Along the way I learned that there are 2 different NP241 transfer cases. One has a 27 spline input and the other has a 32. I had to find a 32 spline to mate with my NV4500. Also learned that a 383/400 crank uses a specific flywheel not interchangeable with a 350 or 454. Decided to go with the Hays Super Truck clutch because I tow and need to be able to ride it once in a while. Im keeping a parts list with what I bought and where I bought it. The biggest part of the project is not the swap but all the other headaches. I was able to source a pedal from a 92 Sierra and somehow or other got very lucky during the install because the 2 upper mount locations already were threaded in my truck. Pretty neat since that 4 door body style was never fitted with a clutch pedal. I opted to leave my brake pedal alone and just cut the pedal to the appropriate size. Then I used the pedal pad from the junkyard brake pedal.

One question I still have unanswered is wether I can get away with a 12" clutch on the flywheel. I have come across other 400 flywheels of same diameter indicating compatibility with an 11" or 12" clutch. The one I bought just said 11" but it would be a shame to sell myself short. Especially since the 12" clutch is actually cheaper than the 11".

As of today the clutch pedal is in place but im still snaking my accessory wires through the firewall. Most had to be relocated since the pedal bracket intruded on the passage location. Also needed to zip tie the alarm and other wires away from the clutch arc.

First day home, put on Smokey and the Bandit and got out my kerosene and paint brush.