NV4500 swap is underway

[skoffice]

Wow you really have a great thread going here! Nice to see exactly how this is done! My friend and I have been talking about doing this in his pickup but weren't too sure if the AA kit was worth it or not. Seems like it's not as easy as it should be for the price huh? Also I like the engine you have in there, what kind of mileage do you get with the 8.1?

Just a little info I gathered when doing my hydroboost setup, I was told by my buddy (builds lots of LS based buggys) that the stock GM P-pump will be more than enough to handle the hydroboost system, but putting a good cooler on it is the key. Also if you do want to go with an upgraded pump the TC pump is the way to go, and it will handle hydro assist if you decide to do that in the future. I put a larger pulley on my TC just to keep the pressures down a little at since they are rated at something like 1300 psi and the stock GM boxes usually only have something like 850 going to them. We used Howe Performance for all of our power steering products and they are just flat out awesome.

Just thought I'd share some of that with you, and great work! Cant wait to see this done! Bummer about the t-case shifter

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by skoffice

Wow you really have a great thread going here! Nice to see exactly how this is done! My friend and I have been talking about doing this in his pickup but weren't too sure if the AA kit was worth it or not. Seems like it's not as easy as it should be for the price huh? Also I like the engine you have in there, what kind of mileage do you get with the 8.1?

Just a little info I gathered when doing my hydroboost setup, I was told by my buddy (builds lots of LS based buggys) that the stock GM P-pump will be more than enough to handle the hydroboost system, but putting a good cooler on it is the key. Also if you do want to go with an upgraded pump the TC pump is the way to go, and it will handle hydro assist if you decide to do that in the future. I put a larger pulley on my TC just to keep the pressures down a little at since they are rated at something like 1300 psi and the stock GM boxes usually only have something like 850 going to them. We used Howe Performance for all of our power steering products and they are just flat out awesome.

Just thought I'd share some of that with you, and great work! Cant wait to see this done! Bummer about the t-case shifter

Thanks!

I never checked the fuel mileage but it is definitely better than the carbureted 350 and 454 before it. My 2001 Silverado with an 8.1L gets around 10-13 MPG and my other 6.0L Silverado doesn’t do any better.

I agree, the original pump is more than capable of handling hydroboost. I just wanted the ZF pump in case I go the route of a hydraulic winch. These exact commercial grade HD ZF pumps are also used as standalone pumps on wrecker bodies, small dump beds, etc Thanks for the info! I keep those guys in mind.

[jonessmc87]

Larry, I'm glad you're doing this right before I am. I have a 89 v3500 with the th400/205 combo behind the 454 and the 7 hour ride back and forth to college at 60 mph is getting old, not just for me but for my engine. I bought a nv4500 from a 98 GMC so I can swap the input shaft when I have the opportunity to dump a cummins in it. The trans came with the bellhousing, so I figured I'd get a flywheel for the 2 piece rear-main 454 and a pressure plate for the internal slave cylinder like the 98 bellhousing is set up for. I managed to score the stock hydro clutch/brake pedal assembly off craigslist and I bought this http://advanceadapters.com/product/5401/50-6910.html
for an adapter between the nv4500 and the 205.
Just curious if you had any words of wisdom before I tackle this.

O, and are your shifter measurements from the firewall? Maybe I didn't read carefully enough but I didn't see where the front of your tape measure is.

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by jonessmc87

Larry, I'm glad you're doing this right before I am. I have a 89 v3500 with the th400/205 combo behind the 454 and the 7 hour ride back and forth to college at 60 mph is getting old, not just for me but for my engine. I bought a nv4500 from a 98 GMC so I can swap the input shaft when I have the opportunity to dump a cummins in it. The trans came with the bellhousing, so I figured I'd get a flywheel for the 2 piece rear-main 454 and a pressure plate for the internal slave cylinder like the 98 bellhousing is set up for. I managed to score the stock hydro clutch/brake pedal assembly off craigslist and I bought this http://advanceadapters.com/product/5401/50-6910.html
for an adapter between the nv4500 and the 205.
Just curious if you had any words of wisdom before I tackle this.

O, and are your shifter measurements from the firewall? Maybe I didn't read carefully enough but I didn't see where the front of your tape measure is.

That sounds like a nice plan. I have an internal slave type bellhousing lying around as well but I am not a big fan of that design as I have seen too many internal slaves leak ruining clutch disks. The internal slaves are also famous for causing stiff pedals when the fluid gets super hot when working the truck hard in hot weather. Even my 2001 HD with the ZF 6 speed gets a hard pedal when pulling trailers on a hot day. Being my ’78 K10 sees a lot of desert off-roading action in the summer I didn’t want to run the risk of overheating the internal slave causing a fluid leak and losing the clutch in the middle of nowhere.

The only words of wisdom is to do a lot of research, take your parts budget and labor time and double it, as something always comes up that eats up more time or cost twice as much. I look forward to your thread once you start your project.

The measurements were taken from here…..

[DirtyLarry]

Been crazy busy lately with little time to work on the project. I am without adult supervision for a week while the wife went to Florida to visit her parents for Christmas so the next 7 day should be pretty productive for me!

Plans over the next few days are to finish up the rust repair on the floorboards and front cab supports, finish the modifying and install the transmission cross members, install the ORD twin stick shifter (Wow, that looks like a Chinese finger puzzle!) and get the shafts measure and set off to the driveline shop. The upholstery guy said it will be 3 weeks! before the seats will be done so the truck may have to go to the Rhino line shop on the trailer.

I finally got the hydrobooster lines installed tonight. So far no leaks with the system full of fluid but we’ll see once the system is pressurized. Ended up having to have both hydrobooster lines reworked by the local hydraulic shop due to the metric fittings at the booster, standard steering gear as well as the odd ball bend to get into the 8.1L P/S pump.



Waiting on a cross member. Not too sure about AA’s square stock tube idea for a trans mount adapter.


P/S cooler and fresh Argent paint in the head light bezels buckets to match the OEM grill I am planning to go back to. I think that is how they were originally (I swear my dad’s ’78 K20 had Argent headlight bezels when it was new).


You can see paint chips where this truck was originally Colonial Yellow. The ironic thing is my dad’s K20 wrecker that I inherited is also Colonial Yellow.

[Hammer500]

Subscribed as well. Can't wait to do this swap in my 69...once I gather the money and then the parts. Awesome thread.
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[DirtyLarry]

Got a lot done the last few days the wife has been out of town. My buddy Bill, who is a much better fabrication that I, did a great job on the rear trans mount. Rather that move the cross member back a few inches and drill 8 new holes in the frame he fabbed up a bracket where the trans cross member was able to stay in the original spot.

Had a hell of a time bleeding the clutch and finally determined Napa gave me a bad clutch master cylinder. Not only did it not build pressure but the rod was 1” longer than the right master cylinder. It must have been misboxed as the first one and the latest one were the same part number but physically different.

Also got the driveshafts reworked Thursday. The front shaft had to be lengthened and the rear had to be shortened. I had been running a bastard u-joint to use the 1/2 ton driveshaft with the 14FF every since the axle was installed 15 years ago (I only broke 1 of those bastard U-joints in 15 years and that was right after the 8.1L was installed). Since the shaft was going through surgery I had them change the shaft end so I can run a standard big beefy solid cross lube for life u-joint.

All the fluid are topped off with no visible leaks yet. All that really needs to be done is install the ORD twin shifter, front shaft, skid plate and finish up the rust repair on the floorboard then ship it off the Rhino line shop. One drag is I won’t see the seats for a few more weeks.

Oh, yeah….a gallon of Syncromesh fluid for the NV4500 was $51! That is crazy!