i cant drive 55!

[proddy2008]

hi there iv been searchng for a long time now figured i would finaly ask lol iv got an sm465 right now and i love it.... until i get on the highway... its either keep up with trafic at 75mph and 3000 rpm or get all kinds of grief for going 55 where my engine is running good at about 2000rpm(i dont have a tack so im going by ear and feel and a calculator... i dont have a speedo yet either so..yeah). so i fugure my options are, modern od stick shift, ranger/gv/us gear overdrive + sm465, or a built 4l80 i know the 4l is $$$$ the od adapters are high too, i regularly haul..... well allot so strength is the biggest concern, followed quickly by price i do not know the going rate or strength of the newer sticks i would prefer not to go the 4l rout because of cost and i prefer a stick so what are my options on overdrive trans? i would prefer not to spend a ridiculous ammount of time or money on trick adapters streight bolt up would be prefered (read 1 weekend job as this is my dd) thx in advance for the help and have a great night

 

[HotRodPC]

That 4L80-E Option gets expensive. You'll need to acquire the transmisson of course, then the 80-E needs an ECM to operate, so you'd have to acquire a work around for that computer issue, or use a computer which is as much or more than the trans itself. Other option is to go with a 4L80-E but have a full manual valve body, which means you shift it manually, just without a clutch. There will be no kickdown for passing gear, no downshifting etc. If you have it manually in 2 or 3rd gear, then that's the gear you take off in. Its just what it is, FULL MANUAL auto trans. Other option is to convert to NV4500 manual trans. That also gets pricey too if you have a 4x4 and need to adapt to a transfer case.

 

[proddy2008]

oh yeah im familiar with the cost of the 4l80 iv looked at running them for a while, loved it when hummwv came out with it but yep they are expensive as hell, im 2wd so i dont need a tcase or any of that do you have a guess of the cost of that 4500? and will it hold up to heavy towing(keep in mind i am not nice to my current sm465 lol it gets beat on daily)

 

[HotRodPC]

The NV4500 is a very strong transmission too. I'd imagine about same strength as the SM465. It's picky on which gear oil you use in it though and its not cheap. The 2nd generation or later are the better ones for the reason of gear ratios. There is a pretty wide ratio between 2nd and 3rd gear in the first NV4500's. Its not that bad for a 2wd, but the wheeling guys didn't care for it only for that reason, but loved it for the strength. I think its 96 and later that have the better ratios. Not positive though. Check into that if its important to you. My dad has one in his 94 2wd and it does just fine, but he isn't a wheeler so it doesn't matter much, but he does get the OD advantage and also still has the granny 1st gear just like the SM465 has.

 

[proddy2008]

doing some research on that nv 4500 you mentioned havent found prices yet for a used unit, based on the years it looks like i might be able to find one that will bolt right up to my small block! i hope .... do you have any info on doing this swap?

 

[proddy2008]

apparently dodge always had the closer ratio and gm switched in 95' im not wheelin this truck just hauling and dd so its not a big deal to me really although the dodge and 95' and up gm dont have as low of a granny gear daily not a big deal but could make a difference on those really heavy loads i dont know yet havent tried it of course probably not though. if i luck out i might be able to find one bolted up to a sbc ready to swap in! i can only hope it seems they are around 1500 new so that aint bad less than a gv or a rebuild on a 4l80 !
the od would be perfect once i get some 35's as well
looks like this is the one for me ! i appreciate the help pointing me in the right direction! do you have anny info on what i should look for for my sbc? to convert it that is

 

[coreys87]

i cant remember where but someone did the swap and it took alot of parts and time. i looked into doing it for my truck but its a 4wd and seems like alot

 

[HotRodPC]

Yes, its a pricey swap for a 4wd cuz you have to use an Advance Adapter which anything Advance is high dollar. Shouldn't be to bad in a 2wd though. Just the normal, acquire the trans, probably have a driveshaft modification, and a clutch disk to match the NV4500 splines. Not sure what else would be involved.

 

[bucket]

You don't need an advance adapter if you just want to run a np208 or np241. Just use the np241 adapter that comes with the newer 4l80e (driver drop t-case). An older passenger drop 208 or 241 that was behind a th400 will bolt right up. I've read that you have to elongate one bolt hole. The expensive part of the swap comes from needing a controller, and the cost of rebuilding it if needed.

If you are good at finding needles in haystacks, pick up a 4l80e/np205 combo from a '91 4x4 crew cab.

*edit* I believe the same adapter info would also apply to the nv4500 swap?

 

[proddy2008]

lol ok this one is going on the back burner right now i found annother mod i can do to be able to keep up with trafic.....and it lasts 200000 miles lol yep going with super singles the extra 10 inches in diameter is like od! of course i know that this has the obvious draw back of bigger heavier tires, and will hurt my acceloration but eventually i will put in the nv and move on to 4.56's and end up just where i wanna spent a couple of hours last night with a calculator lol.

 

[HotRodPC]

Cool !!! Sounds like you got it figured out !!!

 

[oneluckypops]

ive seen the thread title for a few days now, for some reason I just figured someone got a speeding ticket so i didnt click into it.

IMO go with the 4L80E It is stronger then the NV4500, well the trans is strong but the week link is always getting a clutch to hold up to heavy pulling with out getting into the more pricey ****.

My truck weighs 6500 pounds and I FREQUENTLY gross 18,000- 20,000 lbs. WITH a 4L80E when i tow in 3rd it NEVER down shifts, course I also have 4.56 gears. My 1 ton is 4.10's with soon to be a 4L80E (by the weekend)

YEP you guessed it I am partial to the 4L80E