school me on TH700 to NV4500 swap

Chuckman

Chuckman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Location
Huntersville
so I finally killed another 700r4 in the sand last weekend. well its leaking and needs to come out for some loving and I might as well step up my game and replace it with cool stuff over the winter. Im running a '05 6.0 and tons, on 37's / 38's depending on what Im doing and I like a heavy foot. Ive got a bunch of D300's sitting around that I got cheap since I started breaking them in half so I know they will die behind a solid trans. so since Im towing my GPW around quite a bit and not wheeling at all much anymore, that a nv4500 would be a great fit for me. what I don't like is the 205 due to the gearing but it will be bulletproof. so.... what do I look for in a donor? I know about the low first gear models, but will they command a premium? and since Im 4.56:1 and spinning 'short' tires, will I care/miss the deeper 1st gear? Im already programmed the chip to be a manual trans, so no issue there. will I need to change out starters? what are swap options for the clutch master? will a slave cyl come on the trans or the bellhousing? can I pick up a 2wd trans and put on a 4x4 adapter easily/cheaply? what else am I missing? I don't want a doubler, but would like options on cases. Im running a cj7 so overall length can be an issue. what are the pitfalls and little things that add up and make this a nightmare?
 
Either 4500 will do you fine, just depends on what bellhousing you can find. They're different. To adapt to a 6.0, you'd likely want a 1996 or newer NV4500 and bellhousing. It will have an internal slave cylinder. The flywheel is fairly cheap, part number NFW-1050, clutches aren't very expensive either. The 241 will bolt right up to it and the SYE from JB Conversions is pretty easy to install. I'm running a standard length, but they make a super short one. If you need anything else, just holler!
 
whats the benefit of the 241? can I do a twin stick on it to disengage the front? Ive grown quite fond of doing that. will the chain hold up to heavy pedal?
 
Chuckman said:
whats the benefit of the 241? can I do a twin stick on it to disengage the front? Ive grown quite fond of doing that. will the chain hold up to heavy pedal?
Click to expand...
It'll hold up to a Cummins.
 
I don't think you can do anything about twin sticking. That is a problem, but I think it's the only problem however large a problem it may be.
 
@XJsavage Wrong NP241. I'm talking about a 241-C. You're talking about a 241DHD. They're completely different. The DHD is HUGE and they don't make an SYE for them. Those are also 29 spine.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
@XJsavage Wrong NP241. I'm talking about a 241-C. You're talking about a 241DHD. They're completely different. The DHD is HUGE and they don't make an SYE for them. Those are also 29 spine.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. Wasn't sure about the internals.
 
The mainshafts are different.
 
so my PCM on the 6.0 needs a VSS signal (its setup for a manual since the 700r is cable controlled)- right now I have a tone ring on the shaft in the air space of the 700R to D300 adapter. Can I do the same with the NV4500? or am I limited in doing this with the tcase that I end up using? Is there such a thing with a 205 that is an Ebrake on the output? I miss not having an Ebrake.

any advantage of getting one thats dead and rebuilding it? I hear that the 5th gears are iffy at best in stock form? Im not scared of rebuilding at all.
 
You can make the engine harness stand alone where it doesn't need a VSS signal. That's really only for controlling the transmission and reading for an electronic speedometer. @Wwildman might be able to help you out with that!

They make some aftermarket ebrake setups for the ass end of a 205, if I'm not mistaken. So you should be alright there.

I usually find that when I buy an NV4500, they just need synchros put in them. Maybe 100 bucks in parts and a few hours and they're in and ready to go. Most people don't run the right lube in them and they eat up the synchros. Either the facory Castrol Syntorq or the Amsoil replacement, but either way, I usually add anywhere from a pint to a quart extra to keep the front bearings lubed up as good as possible. 4 quarts is their normal capacity.
 
can I take the harmonic balancer thingy off and replace it with a spacer? I think this is where I can put in my VSS tone ring. BTW. think Im going NP205 round case since this is a 32spline chevy NV4500
 
Normally, the VSS would go on the output of the transfer case. I'm pretty sure someone, somewhere makes an NP205 VSS setup, but I can't say with any certainty. I don't think having it in the output of the trans would be the best place, but it should be alright as long as it's behind whatever you use to secure 5th gear to the shaft. I used a clamp, much like those for mounting one end of a hydraulic ram on a tie rod. It's machined internally to fit the contours of the output and fits right up against the side of 5th gear.
 
Ive got a complete machine shop to make whatever I can think up, so no issues there. Im just wondering how hard its going to be to get that balancer off. and whats it made of?
 
It should slide right off the splines of the output shaft. It's basically like a harmonic balancer/damper. Inner sleeve is splined and made of metal, center is a rubber compound of some sort, and the outer shell is metal. I think that's basically what it is anyway.
 
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