545 rfe to nv4500 on 2005 ram 2500 write up with pictures!

hey guys first thread, ive been lurking around for quite some time now. i see lots of interest in putting a standard transmission yet nobody tried it. a little background info on myself. I'm 17 just graduated high school, going into diesel mechanics starting august first at Lincoln tech. needless to say trucks are my life back to the thread topic. i have a basic shade tree experience, brakes, rebuilt a 47re as well as a 545 rfe before. what started me on putting a standard in is my torque converter is leaking and i dont have reverse till about 3k rpms. so i thought about 1500 for a performance rebuild if i do it, or i tried to budget about 1700 for a manual swap. anyway heres my right up on it.

i have a 2500 truck which has a nv271 transfer case, and the input is 23 spline. i used a light duty nv4500 and they bolt right up and work fine. (the diesel or v10 nv4500 have a 29 spline output).

parts needed
light duty nv4500
manual steering column shroud (5gw81dx9ae) buy 1
bushing for brake pedal shaft (52010309AB) buy 2
brake pedal pivot shaft (52010318AA) buy 1
snap ring for shaft (06023879) buy 2
pin clutch pedal (04581512AA) buy 1
clutch pedal and pad (52009944AC) buy 1
bushing for clutch (04643448) buy 1
clutch and hydraulics buy on rock auto
pcm from manual truck bought it used
flywheel for manual trans (53022042AA)
nv4500 bell housing is a mopar part
i chose not to swap the gauge cluster
Starter


Interior parts
These are discontinued and hard to find. i bought off ebay used as a kit with these 5 parts for 200$

replaces drop down cup holder (5GT161DVAD)
center console (5GT26XDVAC)
shift rod
shift boot
shifter knob

The Actual Swap directions (rough outline)

set parking break
disconnect battery
pull exhaust
remove front and rear driveshaft
undo bell housing bolts and starter
remove cross-member
pull transmission
remove old transfer case and bolt onto nv4500
pull auto flex-plate and replace with flywheel
now go into cab and remove the plug in firewall for hydraulics
bolt in new hydraulics and insert clutch pedal with bushings and slide in pin use 2 C clips on the pin to lock in place
use the white pin to hook up clutch pedal to hydraulics
remove drop down cup holders
remove plastic covering SRS module
i have manual transfer case so i have a shifter i need to remove
cut carpet where the new console goes on the floor.
cut the floor, it is already marked where it should be cut
then dimpled for where the new center console screws go
remove steering column shroud its 3 or 4 T25 screws
remove shift cable and shifter.
put manual shroud on.
interior should be complete
unplug auto PCM replace with manual PCM
crawl under the truck and install clutch then install transmission
attach hydro's to transmission
reinstall cross member
reinstall driveshafts
reinstall exhaust
reinstall battery
start truck
enjoy shifting gears

a few differences for a 2500 vs 1500
2500's have different t-case
i dont have to modify the crossmember location on my 2500
2500's don't have a EGR
2500's don't have MDS
not sure how a 2500 PCM will react with the 1500 Hemi
rough outline on how i plan to do the swap, i should have pictures and plan to do the swap soon.
i am still trying to find a PCM i have the transmission and everything else
still not sure about driveshaft length

do the swap at your own discretion.
be careful the nv4500 is heavy!!!!

so far just waiting on parts to show up, then ill get started. so far i cut the carpet and floor, have front driveshaft removed, have ***** cylinder plug removed.

Hello from another 2500/NV4500.

I wish the nv was an option for me.

Why isn't it? Sure money is an obstacle, but I don't see why we could put nv's in our trucks.

Good truck trans. But well I don't use my truck as a truck lol


USAF it will fit right in since they do make our trucks in manual, just not with optioned with the 5.7

2500hemi05, PM answered. I forgot to add the coolers have a sensor port. You can get an SRT A-pillar and install a transmission temperature gauge. AutoMeter even makes a series of 3G Ram OEM-style gauges so everything matches the cluster.

Im 17 bout to start college and i have no job! So far parts run me 900 for trans with bellhousing, 235$ for interior stuff. Computer was 220. Clutch and hydraulics was 260, clutch pedal and assorted parts were roughly another 100. $1700 all said n done.

Hey i dont use mine as a truck either! Lol and the 2500 with the 5.7 they made factory manual.

Core-Lokt said:

2500hemi05, PM answered. I forgot to add the coolers have a sensor port. You can get an SRT A-pillar and install a transmission temperature gauge. AutoMeter even makes a series of 3G Ram OEM-style gauges so everything matches the cluster.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much! You were a huge help in the swap with getting me some info on the pcm and wiring

2500hemi05 said:

Hey i dont use mine as a truck either! Lol and the 2500 with the 5.7 they made factory manual.

Click to expand...

I know the hemi could have a manual option in the 2500/3500... But that's a lot more truck than my 1500 RCSB hemi. I know I can get a nv in my truck but for the hassle an time I'll fork out more money an get a t-56 6spd, It's a lil sloppy of a trans but you don't see guys swapping nvs into race applications which is what my **** has ended up being. I would do a nv swap if I had a truck like yours, which I plan to get a 3/4 ton but that's so I can really get to modding my 1500






So did you get a 2500 manual pcm? Cause from other threads they seem to be hard as **** to come by

Yeah i found several. About 150-200 each. From "car-part" its a junk yard global type search engine. It should be all buttoned up by this Sunday hopefully. I cant wait. I had a few unexpected obstacles.

Yea I've picked up a couple junkyard trans thanks to that site. The one In my truck I found off there lol

well i have 200 miles so far on the swap and oh my, its so much fun to drive. no race truck by any means, if anyone has any questions let me know. definitely worth it!

Following, future project plan for me.

So I have questions. I've been looking into doing the swap to my '05 2500 hemi and I'm not really understanding. Is it easy or not easy (as in worth it or a hassle if you will) to get the nv4500 in the 2500 hemi. Everything I look up shows swaps on the Cummins and I no longer need my truck as a truck. I'm moving towards the higher HP race truck. Also, if the race truck path is the path I want, what manual trans would be best? The T-56 like mentioned earlier or the NV? I need answers! Haha


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