May 2011:
So one would stop now right? Wrong again! My truck decided to start playing games with me…not the sort of thing one wants their truck to do.
One day while minding my own business driving down the road, the oil PSI gauge showed me a drop in pressure to about 10 psi. Then it went back up to normal I didn’t like that. I am sure it was just the sensor getting old, but I was not having any of that! I require my truck to be telling me the truth, not creating some damn diddly tail about fluff! And with now starting to travel frequently away from home with the truck, I need to know it is not a true failure starting! So I thought it was time to get another gauge….or two. 😀
Gauges, round 2 (as posted on TDR):
Have I ever mentioned I like gauges? 😀
Well, I needed two more. I added fuel PSI and oil temp. So that now created an issue. This is what the truck looked like before:
Sooooo, out things came…
And the custom fab began:
The old modified three pod roof above the new 4 pod.
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The A pillar pod stock is the bottom one and the now modified one on top to make it fit:
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This is the lower pods modifications beside a stock unmodified piece:
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And the result consisting of two double A pillar pods and a Gen 3 roof pod set up for 4 gauges. As you can see how much cutting the top A pillar pod required to fit around that sun visor and headliner trim. All said and done, it took about 15 hours to install and redo all this.
Fall 2011:
So I was now content. I had a nice interior. I now had 284 HP and 720 ft/lbs to the ground for decent towing. I had my E brake. I had my gearing. I had my turbo. What more could one ask for!
Now I had a mechanically solid truck again. But the grill that had been redone years ago was starting to show signs of rust again. So I cut the old tubes out and formed some new ones (solid this time) and welded in place to match the original.
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And the aftermarket IC currently in the truck can be seen now that the grill is out:
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So everything was now good right? Weeeeeelll….
Most items had been attended to and the truck has since had many trips into the central US for various car and truck shows. The truck (even while towing!) has proved to be a fantastic cruising vehicle with rpm at 70 mph being 1700 RPM.
So are we done? No, not so much. See when modifications are in your blood, it is all down/uphill (depends on how you look at it! :D). Remember that Getrag at 178 HP? Yeah well, the tranny has started to decide that the last 50,000 KM (30,000 miles) of towing with 800+ crank ft/lbs (remember previously mentioned fuel screw and turbo? 😉 Hehehe) does not agree with it. The dreaded Gutbag growl has started on the tranny and will need attention in the near future. And as that is the weakest link of the driveline and it is preventing me from turning up the power screw more, it would be wise to eliminate it. So research was done on a NV5600 so when the time comes I know what I will be needing…..:D
Add 9 months and random small repairs to wiring and things like that…..
Random pics from 2011
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OK the story behind this shot is my girl (Read W250 :D) and I are watching the sunset across the lake in Northern Ontario. So I set up the tripod as I thought it looked funny. This pic was the result. No jokes at how far gone I am! 😀 LMAO
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April 2012
Now about that 6 speed…..seems I had a small issue. The Getrag finally lost its input shaft bearing. And pocket bearing. And the main shaft bearing. And 1st and 3rd bearings were starting to go. 😉 With that taking place in April, it seemed the 5600 upgrade was closer than expected. Over the course of April to June the parts were collected and over the course of the next 8 weeks the truck was modified to fit a NV 5600 into it. Also with the planning of the truck no longer seeing winter as I can’t stand the thought of salt getting into it anymore, this was made possible due to now have the winter beater to drive while my truck was down for several weeks.
Well, it’s done. The NV5600 is in the 1990, and only positive feedback from the truck and myself! I will state the question now that everyone is wondering: Is it worth it? Simply, yes. But I am not sure I would ever want to do another one!
Putting a 380 lbs tranny in place of a 175 lbs Getrag is not an easy feat. There is extensive modifications, and a lot of cost associated with it. If you are required to pay someone to do this, I would highly recommend going with a NV 4500 5 speed as It is a mostly bolt in conversion. If you don’t mind taking the time, putting out the cost, and have the skills and tools to do it; then the 5600 will be worth your efforts.
For those that don’t know, the NV5600 was Dodge’s first 6 speed for the Cummins pickups. After the weak 1989-1993 G-360 5 speed Getrags were retired, they were replaced by the NV4500 5 speed trannys. Once 1999 came though, they introduced the NV5600 as the HD 6 speed variant. (Side note: If hunting for a 5600 for your truck, do note that the 1999 tranny had a smaller, weaker input shaft at 1.125 vs the following years 1.375” shaft. It is highly recommended you go with the larger shaft for better durability)
So to do this conversion, you will need the basic tools like ratchets, wrenches, impact gun, screw drivers, etc. Some of the other tools that will be helpful are:
– Plasma cutter or sawsall
– Die grinder
– Cutter/Grinder
– Long stroke jack/lifting device for body and engine
– Soldering iron
– 12 point 10 mm socket for starter (need to confirm this size)
– Angleometer
– Metric and Imperial socket sets
– Carbide drill bit set
As for items needed, you will need the following items:
Parts chart here:
So with that now covered, let’s get into the conversion!
1 – Chose a shady spot
The very first thing you will want to do is put the vehicle in the location you’re going to want to do this in. Ideally a hoist would be best, but it can be done on the ground. Just makes it much more difficult! Also make sure you have all the parts you need!
2 – Gut it!
Next up, remove seat, carpet, and any sound deadener that will prevent you from accessing the floor. Also bungee cord the clutch pedal to the steering wheel so it cannot depress to the floor when you release the pressure in the hydraulic line when you remove the slave from the clutch/bellhousing.
3 – Rip it apart!
Once the interior is stripped, time to remove things. First DISCONNECT BATTERY! Then the getrag shifter through the inside of the truck, driveshafts, 4wd shifters, NP205 Transfer Case, clutch slave, tranny, tranny crossmember (upper and lower arms), bellhousing, clutch, starter, engine adapter plate, exhaust (downpipe back), and for good measure, will also need to remove the clutch hydraulics from the area.
Gives a good view of the size difference between the two:
5 – Rear main
I am making this its own step as it is so important. Inspect your rear main seal for signs of leakage! It is a common problem on these older engines so take the time while you are here and inspect and maybe even replace! In my case, I replaced it two years ago so I will skip this step but it took 15 min and was only like $50.00 to do! It will save you a lot of headache down the road! Also inspect for signs of coolant leaking down from the head gasket just to be safe.
6 – Let’s get started
Education time! 1st gen (1989-1993) and 2nd gen (1994-1998) 12V starters are NOT the same! You will be required to change starters and here is why.
The engine adapter plate for the 1st and 2nd gen 12Vs are different. The 1st gen trannies have a much shorter input shaft and thus don’t require a thick plate. So as the plate has to be changed, the starter now needs to be changes as the bolt pattern to mount the starter to the plate is different. The starter looks identical minus the clocked location of the wiring, but those observant will notice the bolt pattern.
Step 7 – Engine mounts
This step is semi optional. You do not HAVE to do it, but I highly recommend you do it. The rubber in our engine mounts is over 20 years old and will start to become a fail point as the rubber will start to let go. Now that I have changed them I can see how much flex my engine had! Way more than I thought! In my case, I went polyurethane as I wanted a more ridged mount. Please not the downside is you feel more vibration through the body. A visual of this is the fact you can no longer ID the type of vehicle behind you at the stoplight as the mirror vibrate. Now if you want factory feel, Dodge still has OEM original mounts available should you prefer to go that route. Either way, this is the time to change them!
To do this, I jacked off the front lip of the block by the oil pan. Take your time and keep your fingers out of the pinch points!
Step 8 – Drilling
The next step is to relocate the tranny crossmember. The crossmember will need to move back 7” total from current location. What I found best it to measure the new holes off the existing holes as the crossmember holes are not all the same location! In other words, don’t mark the first hole 7” further back and then measure 1.5” off of that for the other holes. Make sure you measure 7” off EACH hole to allow it to correspond to its new location.
Also be mindful, you will want a carbide bit as the frames are high strength steel and will dull a normal drill bit very quickly. My advice is to center punch the location of the holes, then drill the hole ¼”, and keep working your way up to ½”. You will need at min an 8” long drill bit to be able to mark and then drill the upper holes. Also be sure to put a steel plate between the frame rail and the floor so you don’t drill through the floor when you break through the rail.
Step 9 – Lets make the truck lighter!
So this step is a time consuming one. You will need to cut the trans tunnel pinch weld for clearance of the engine adapter plate and bellhousing. Do allow for some engine flex so you will want an extra 1” around the area so you do not make contact with the body under high torque conditions. Also, do be sure to cover the rear of the engine against metal chips! You don’t want to pull this all apart later from a part failure from it!
As a side note, I used a small cutoff wheel on a grinder to start, then moved into a jigsaw, saws all, and then used a die grinder to carve the small details finishing with a mini air driven belt sander for final cleanup. Be sure to prime and paint the area after to stop moisture and rust from attacking your truck!
Also when cutting, try not to take all of the pinch weld off. Some is needed for strength!
Step 10 – Put some parts back on!
Now that the engine adapter plate fits, pull it off, clean everything up from the grindings, ensure the mounting surface for the adapter plate is clean, and bolt it on!
You can also install your starter at this time. My personal suggestion is to bolt the starter to the adapter plate prior to installing the plate. Makes it much easier! Do not connect wiring at this time.
Side note. Chances are the fuel lines will be in the way of the starter. They will need to be GENTLY bent out of the way to allow clearance for the new starter in its new location. As a second side note, if you collapse the fuel line slightly you will restrict fuel under WOT. If you notice after all of this that your boost is low, you may have crushed your fuel line. If that is the case you will need to replace that section, like I did! 😉
I lost 3 psi fuel pressure and 6 PSI boost. My pyro confirmed this all as it was now 200 F lower than usual under WOT.
Step 11 – Cut some more holes!
Now comes the scary part. Cutting the trans tunnel!
Your shifter hole in the floor will be moving back a bit too. The 4wd shifter hole will not be though so don’t cut it!
I hope this template makes sense. The outline is where the hole will be.
So that is 2” in from the 4wd hole
6” in from that line (by in I mean toward the driver’s side)
And the hole will be 7.5” long
Center of hole will be 16” from mount surface of engine adapter plate.
Do note, my truck was originally a 727 automatic that I converted to a getrag! Do not use my original shifter holes as a point of reference!
Also, I would suggest cutting a smaller hole in the floor for now so that the center shifter tower that’s on the 5600 can fit through it. Then you can do final centering of hole location after. So off the center mark, go 2.5” circle around it. That should cover you for the tower clearance.
Step 12 – Give me a pizza plate!
Next, install your clutch. In my case, I was able to get a low mileage South Bend Con FE from a relative as he had converted to a SBC Dual Disk. If getting a used one, make 100% sure it is in good condition!! Most times a used clutch is a bad idea!
Step 13 – Gimme some lift!
Next will be the removal of the old bolts off the top of the frame rail so they don’t rattle. I found about a ½” between floor boards and frame rail (just enough to clear the bolt head) so I needed to lift the body so they could be pulled.
Unbolt the rear cab mounts for this step and SLOWLY lift JUST ENOUGH to get the bolts out. The key here is to not lift too much as the front mounts and rad core mounts are all still attached. If you force it too much, you could bend components or even crack paint from body panel flex. Once done remember to re torque the bolts!!!
Step 14 – The big beefy momma
Ah yes. The 5600. The first time you get the tranny close to the tranny tunnel you will see just how big this tranny is! I removed it 4-5 times finding all sorts of things in the way. To save you the trouble, trim these areas:
Note: The exhaust side ear can stay depending on how your exhaust is done. Mine could not in the end.
Also before install, be sure to swap the backup light sensors as they will be different style connectors to what the first gens had.
