4l60E to NV3500 5 speed 04 Tahoe

[Erickk120]

I know there are several of these around but I'd thought I'd post some of my progress with mine so far. My build is more or less budget oriented and I still have a few things left to do. So far I will post a summary on where I stand currently.

So far if I'm being honest the hardest part of the swap is installing the clutch pedal, I thought it was overrated when reading other builds, but they are right its a pita, and it took me several days to figure a way to get it installed the way I wanted it, with a clean hole and OEM finish. after the clutch and master cylinder was installed everything else was straight forward.

2nd hardest thing was removing the 4l60E, I had a fight with the Torque converter bolts and it took me longer than what I would like to admit.

After the auto was out everything else took me a day to install and fill with fluid. "back breaking"

I know some of you wonder why I went with the 3500 instead of the 4500 but I prefer the gearing over the 4500 despite the 4500 being a hell of a lot stronger, and heavier. Which was my main consideration. I did all the work mentioned above in my back in the driveway so, a 200 pound 4500 by my self wasn't a smart idea and I prefer the gearing and snappy shifting of the 3500, I could have gone t56 but I would have lost 4wd which I wasn't willing to do, and these things cant be had for less than $2k. This will be a daily driver/fun truck so I don't need the extra beef of the 4500 and I wont be towing either. 4500 is the same process as the 3500 just add another 100 lbs of pain.

Things still left to do:

Wire the reverse lights

Wire clutch switch so it doesn't start in gear without the clutch being depressed "safety" not that I need it but I want an OEM finish because I will be teaching the kids how to drive a manual, "RIP clutch."

Cut and balance front drive shaft "I'm using a manual 241c Tcase from the 90s only had 55k miles, but I still rebuilt with new bearings/bushing/fork pads,pump,chain, and seals."

Wire Tcase to front diff, I just need to buy some wire and solder so it engages the front diff when I shift to 4hi 4lo

stick boot and rubber insulator "I have the rubber pad that helps reduce noise and vibration dampening, but I decided not to install it as I wanted to be able to fill the tranny from the top, instead of below, lot more noise but whatever.

Optional
install new Ujoints "just to refresh my driveline, not needed for the swap"
Install new differential seal and pinion yoke "this is optional, I want a fresh driveline, current one has 230k" Diff only has 15k miles on it, rebuild g80 but I didn't replace the yoke and it is kind of starting to oval one of the ears, "Should have known better"

As far as the tranny, it still had the original synchromesh and it looked like honey still, normal wear on the plug nothing funny, as far as I know the truck the tranny came out of only had 70k miles so it should have some life left, I still replaced the front and rear seals to avoid pesky leaks down the line.


So far it took me roughly 2 weeks to finish, that is after collecting parts for the last 5-6 months a little at a time, its little things that will add at the end and will nickel and dime you if you aren't careful. I would say it has cost me about 2k give or take, I could have done it cheaper but I kind of didn't want to skimp on parts, trans was about 1k shipped and delivered, I thought about getting a rebuilt, but you just never know with rebuilt stuff, I kind of like doing things my self, and I found a 2007 truck that was had some sort of branch or pole fall on it and it was totaled so I think I got a good solid unit. 07 was the last year for manuals incase you were interested, and the 3500s got better in the later years as opposed to the older years. They are a little noisier than the 4500s so if that bothers you, be warned if you are interested in the swap.

Its been a learning experience I still have a lot of work to do as I plan to restore the truck once I have the drivertrain sorted out. The way the engine pulls with out a torque converted is intoxicating so there is that! Running stock still, just a tune with a swapped manual section, drive fine pulls good, will keep updating as I go, for now I will take a break as I need to really clean the fat lady, shes been sitting outside for the past year with a bad torque converter and its filthy, will have to do a complete detail which wont be fun, as these things are massive.

Don't judge my carpet cuts, I will get a new one sometime in the future with new seats. Gotta do what you gotta do. Thats it for now, if you want more let me know! Thanks for reading and have a good day yall.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally another man truck! Seriously congrats that clutch pedal sucks!

Super nice swap I really like the placement of the Tcase shifter. Please post more pics of the truck!

My only suggestion is to keep an eye on the G80, they are weak from the factory but typically hold up to factory 5.3s with an auto due to the torque convert smoothing over the gear change impacts. With the clutch, if you are aggressive at all it really puts strain on it by forcing it to suddenly lock or unlock.

 

[03catburban]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally another man truck! Seriously congrats that clutch pedal sucks!

Super nice swap I really like the placement of the Tcase shifter. Please post more pics of the truck!

My only suggestion is to keep an eye on the G80, they are weak from the factory but typically hold up to factory 5.3s with an auto due to the torque convert smoothing over the gear change impacts. With the clutch, if you are aggressive at all it really puts strain on it by forcing it to suddenly lock or unlock.

My g80 is holding up fine BUT the pinion bearing is giving out and seal is leaking bad. So think of that if you decide to be ******* it haha

 

[Dantheman1540]

My g80 is holding up fine BUT the pinion bearing is giving out and seal is leaking bad. So think of that if you decide to be ******* it haha

Huh, think it's just time for the bearing to give out, a lack of oil getting to it due to the leaky seal, poor design of the diff cover, or increased stress of the manny tranny?

 

[03catburban]

Huh, think it's just time for the bearing to give out, a lack of oil getting to it due to the leaky seal, poor design of the diff cover, or increased stress of the manny tranny?

I would usually agree. But after 2 weeks of 5 speed and driving the suburban a bit to hard for its size and it was a sudden leak not the usually starts to seep kinda thing

 

[Dantheman1540]

I would usually agree. But after 2 weeks of 5 speed and driving the suburban a bit to hard for its size and it was a sudden leak not the usually starts to seep kinda thing

Judging by that clutch you definitely didn't baby it so that makes sense

 

[Erickk120]

Huh, think it's just time for the bearing to give out, a lack of oil getting to it due to the leaky seal, poor design of the diff cover, or increased stress of the manny tranny?

Diff work is a pain in the butt too, I have a solid spacer on mine, but am trying to decide if I want to jump the gun and get an LSD or some other traction device as I feel I will blow the g80 if am not careful.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Diff work is a pain in the butt too, I have a solid spacer on mine, but am trying to decide if I want to jump the gun and get an LSD or some other traction device as I feel I will blow the g80 if am not careful.

Just depends on how you use it guess, from what I understand G80s don't like sideways clutch kicks. If you don't want to do a gear change its hard to justify upgrading right away.

 

[Mudsport96]

I know there are several of these around but I'd thought I'd post some of my progress with mine so far. My build is more or less budget oriented and I still have a few things left to do. So far I will post a summary on where I stand currently.

So far if I'm being honest the hardest part of the swap is installing the clutch pedal, I thought it was overrated when reading other builds, but they are right its a pita, and it took me several days to figure a way to get it installed the way I wanted it, with a clean hole and OEM finish. after the clutch and master cylinder was installed everything else was straight forward.

2nd hardest thing was removing the 4l60E, I had a fight with the Torque converter bolts and it took me longer than what I would like to admit.

After the auto was out everything else took me a day to install and fill with fluid. "back breaking"

I know some of you wonder why I went with the 3500 instead of the 4500 but I prefer the gearing over the 4500 despite the 4500 being a hell of a lot stronger, and heavier. Which was my main consideration. I did all the work mentioned above in my back in the driveway so, a 200 pound 4500 by my self wasn't a smart idea and I prefer the gearing and snappy shifting of the 3500, I could have gone t56 but I would have lost 4wd which I wasn't willing to do, and these things cant be had for less than $2k. This will be a daily driver/fun truck so I don't need the extra beef of the 4500 and I wont be towing either. 4500 is the same process as the 3500 just add another 100 lbs of pain.

Things still left to do:

Wire the reverse lights

Wire clutch switch so it doesn't start in gear without the clutch being depressed "safety" not that I need it but I want an OEM finish because I will be teaching the kids how to drive a manual, "RIP clutch."

Cut and balance front drive shaft "I'm using a manual 241c Tcase from the 90s only had 55k miles, but I still rebuilt with new bearings/bushing/fork pads,pump,chain, and seals."

Wire Tcase to front diff, I just need to buy some wire and solder so it engages the front diff when I shift to 4hi 4lo

stick boot and rubber insulator "I have the rubber pad that helps reduce noise and vibration dampening, but I decided not to install it as I wanted to be able to fill the tranny from the top, instead of below, lot more noise but whatever.

Optional
install new Ujoints "just to refresh my driveline, not needed for the swap"
Install new differential seal and pinion yoke "this is optional, I want a fresh driveline, current one has 230k" Diff only has 15k miles on it, rebuild g80 but I didn't replace the yoke and it is kind of starting to oval one of the ears, "Should have known better"

As far as the tranny, it still had the original synchromesh and it looked like honey still, normal wear on the plug nothing funny, as far as I know the truck the tranny came out of only had 70k miles so it should have some life left, I still replaced the front and rear seals to avoid pesky leaks down the line.


So far it took me roughly 2 weeks to finish, that is after collecting parts for the last 5-6 months a little at a time, its little things that will add at the end and will nickel and dime you if you aren't careful. I would say it has cost me about 2k give or take, I could have done it cheaper but I kind of didn't want to skimp on parts, trans was about 1k shipped and delivered, I thought about getting a rebuilt, but you just never know with rebuilt stuff, I kind of like doing things my self, and I found a 2007 truck that was had some sort of branch or pole fall on it and it was totaled so I think I got a good solid unit. 07 was the last year for manuals incase you were interested, and the 3500s got better in the later years as opposed to the older years. They are a little noisier than the 4500s so if that bothers you, be warned if you are interested in the swap.

Its been a learning experience I still have a lot of work to do as I plan to restore the truck once I have the drivertrain sorted out. The way the engine pulls with out a torque converted is intoxicating so there is that! Running stock still, just a tune with a swapped manual section, drive fine pulls good, will keep updating as I go, for now I will take a break as I need to really clean the fat lady, shes been sitting outside for the past year with a bad torque converter and its filthy, will have to do a complete detail which wont be fun, as these things are massive.

Don't judge my carpet cuts, I will get a new one sometime in the future with new seats. Gotta do what you gotta do. Thats it for now, if you want more let me know! Thanks for reading and have a good day yall.
View attachment 278454

I know this thread is a few months old, but how has it been so far?
And how far off were the driveshafts? Im thinking about getting a second Tahoe to replace my old truck and if i do, i want to do a manual swap ( the missus has hers, so a manual would keep her from driving the new o e). It would be all junkyard sourced parts, so id wager the front shaft from the donor would work but the rear would probably need either lengthening or cut down. Which way did yours have to go?

 

[Erickk120]

I know this thread is a few months old, but how has it been so far?
And how far off were the driveshafts? Im thinking about getting a second Tahoe to replace my old truck and if i do, i want to do a manual swap ( the missus has hers, so a manual would keep her from driving the new o e). It would be all junkyard sourced parts, so id wager the front shaft from the donor would work but the rear would probably need either lengthening or cut down. Which way did yours have to go?

Hey! Hmmm, I dumped the auto trac Tcase so the front shaft for me will have to be shortened, I have the old 1995 Driveshaft that I kept when I bought the Tcase but will need to be trimmed roughtly 1.25 inches give or take dont quote me. If you keep the stock 246 auto trak you can get away with using the old drive shafts both rear and front. I'm using my factory shaft for the rear as it seems to fit fine, as the length for the 246 and 241 seem to be the same. The nv3500 and 60e pretty much have the same dimensions so its an east swap. I finished all my wiring finally so, I'm working on sound deadening. So far so good, has been reliable and hasnt dumped on me yet. I did grind a few gears here and there getting the hang of it ashamed of admitting it but I won't lie, I was rusty and the 3500 was a little weird at first to get used to, but I got to say I love it! I recently installed a borla pro xs muffler on it, was a little louder than I would have liked but sounds good, really quiet until you gun it or cold start it. I do need to clean it though as my work van lost a compressor and a massive battery terminal that proved hard to get, and to top it off 2 bad batteries($450), long story, and had to use the swapped tahoe for about 2 weeks, 2 hours a day round trip no issues, as 7.3 powerstroke parts took forever to arrive. Didnt skip a beat outside of that its a fun truck I drive when I get bored, so I've only put about 2k miles on it. If something breaks I will update here for future reference.