6 speed transmission

[huntfishcamp]

Does anybody know if you can adapt a 6 speed transmission up to our engines? If so what type and where can you get it?

[Husker 6.5]

Does anybody know if you can adapt a 6 speed transmission up to our engines? If so what type and where can you get it?

No such critter unless you want to take something foreign to the chassis/engine and adapter and fabricate yourself to death on labor. Far easier and cheaper to drop in a Gear Vendors splitter that will not only give you a 25% taller overdrive (like dropping a lot taller rearend under it, great for highway cruising), but effectively gives you a ten forward, two reverse tranny!

Husker 6.5

[huntfishcamp]

Thats what i wanted to do. Just if i have to have my tranny rebuilt then i was going to look into a 6 speed. I've got 4.10s and a granny geared tranny so that one higher gear would make a huge difference. at 73 mph i'm at about 2700 rpms

[njdevi11]

For a few years you could get a ZF6 speed from a Chevy with a d-max (the same one that the super duties use). Should be pretty rare but its out there i'm not sure if you can get a ford zf and the correct bell housing to adapt it. I believe the 6.5 shares the same bellhousing pattern as the d-max. After that its just making sure you have the correct disc and pilot bushing.

[3bals]

In reading what the guys over at the other Place forum are saying, the ZFS-6 will bolt up, but it only really provides another gear in the middle. Not enough difference on the top or bottom to make any kind of gain.

I'd go with a gearvender or equivilant, like "Husker" said.

Jody

[grvrjr]

Go with gearvendors.

[huntfishcamp]

Today I sat and calculated out how long it would take to pay off a gearvendors kit. My truck has 4.56s (i know my signature says 4.10). The NV4500's overdrive gear is 0.73 making my final drive ratio 3.33. I have 31 inch tires. I calculated that at 75 mph I am turning 2707 rpms.
The Gearvendors kit gives you a double overdrive which is 0.57 and a final drive ratio of 2.60. So at 75 mph I could get my rpms down to 2113.5.
I didnt want to figure out how to calculate the fuel usage for each so i just estimated. Right now at 75 mph i get around 12 mpg. I'm figuring that i could be around 18 mpg at 2100 rpms. With diesel around me goign for about $4 a gallon I would save $11 per 100 miles. So it would take me 27000 miles to pay off the $3000 for the gear vendors. that doesnt include installation but if its another thousand bucks it would take another 9000 miles.
I have to mention the reduced wear adn tear on teh drivetrain and engine which would help save money. Also as fuel prices climb higher and higher it woudl take less miles to pay it off. Just thought I'd share.

[trukdoc]

...borg-warner o/d unit...goes in front of tranny....mounts to bell..tranny mts to it...2-sticks in floor whoo hoo.....

[grancito]

You can't make such calculations, gears/mpg, gearing makes little difference, look for engine ineficiency. Example, I towed a 21ft travel trailer 1000 miles in 3rd gear, 4.27:1 final drive ratio 17 mpg, truck on it's own gets 20 mpg in over drive with final drive ratio 3.2:1

[njdevi11]

http://advanceadapters.com/category/28/Ranger+Torque+Splitter+Overdrive.html

Only $1500 Requires Drive shaft mods A Drive shaft shop should be able to do it for $50 for the rear cut and balance and $150 for the front re-tube.

[trukdoc]

...calculations for road speed you left out trm...tire revs per mile...I'll post the calculation tonight when I get back from san saba...post tire size,ie:31/10.16 etc.

[3bals]

http://advanceadapters.com/category/28/Ranger+Torque+Splitter+Overdrive.html

Only $1500 Requires Drive shaft mods A Drive shaft shop should be able to do it for $50 for the rear cut and balance and $150 for the front re-tube.


These look interesting. Do you know anybody that has one? I'm wondering also if there will be room to move my shifter back without hitting the seat?

It would be cool though to have 3 shifters on the floor with 20 speeds forward and 4 in reverse

Jody

[sixnickel]

I put a G/V unit in my 2000 K3500 SRW last January. I have only one BIG complaint! I didn't do it 4 years ago when I bought the truck I LOVE IT!!! 4.10s direct and 3.20s in G/V OVERDRIVE. I have the best of both worlds. Stump pulling gears and desert gears. With 235/85-16 rubber, 4L80E , 4.10s = 2350RPM at 70MPH. In double O/D 1800 RPM @ 70MPH. This truck is my toy and I do about 90% driving on the highway @ 70+ MPH. It's funny how loosing about 500 RPM @ 70 MPH made this truck a real road boat as it just lugs happy as can be!! The 2350 RPM when I didn't need it drove me nuts, all that extra noise and "stuff" going on. I do not recommend it for any thing less than 4.10s. So if you are thinking about getting one GO FOR IT you'll be glad you did. If you have and ??? about the unit ASK.

[huntfishcamp]

I dont know the tire size exactly. My truck hasnt been running right recently so my dad has it back at home while i'm at school. I just found out that it quit again today so i wont be seeing it for a while. So my chances of ever affording anythign are getting slim

[trukdoc]

...mark tire on bottom at floor..mark floor...roll tire 1 revolution till tire mark is on floor again..mark floor.. measure between marks on floor divide into 5280{1 mile}result is tire revs per mile..equation good for figureing road speeds when changing out trannys or third members..especially cause big trk speedos only go to 80... 60 divide by{trpm time rpm}divide by{rear end ratio time top tran ratio} beauty is you can plug in rpm you WANT to figure ratios you NEED....this is how you figure gearing for a triple digit large car...

[huntfishcamp]

So i dont have to worry anymore. The tranny is starting to go out which means time to sell the truck. Its not worth paying $4000 to fix a tranny in a truck worth $5000

[3bals]

So i dont have to worry anymore. The tranny is starting to go out which means time to sell the truck. Its not worth paying $4000 to fix a tranny in a truck worth $5000

Were you looking to get a gold plated tranny?? I had my tranny and transfer case rebuilt for $1200.

Jody

[huntfishcamp]

What! I'm going ot have to look into it again. I am also upgrading the clutch so thats part of the price. However I am dropping the tranny, doing the clutch, and reinstalling teh tranny myself.

[huntfishcamp]

I called my local transmission place and they said 800-1000 including labor then 500 for the new clutch and flywheel. Then found out my dad can get me a cheaper price. Man that makes me happy. Nothing even close to the 4000 I was told me before

[KungFooMASTA]

Does anyone know of an adapter plate for an nv5600 to 6.5? Advance Didnt have one that I could find. If nv5600 is the same as the nv4500 for the dodge they did not have an adapter for the dodge nv4500. I dont know how the gears are for the nv5600 but my dad has a 6.0 stroker with the zf 6 speed the same trans as the d-max and I dont like it cause the first gear is uselessly low and the top gear is not noticably higher than a 5spd zf. I would rather have a wide gear range from gear to gear rather than a close ratio trans. Word.

[njdevi11]

A 6 speed transmission does not have a higher gear then a 5 speed. Its just got more gears in between. Its like a 3 speed vs. a 4 speed. first is still ~3:1 and 3rd or 4th is still always 1:1.

NV4500
1&R 5.61
2nd 3.04
3rd 1.67
4th 1.00
5th 0.75


NV5600
1&R 5.63
2nd 3.38
3rd 2.04
4th 1.39
5th 1.0
6th .73

The five speed ZF and six speed ZF are similar to the nv4500 and 5600 respectively.

If you think 1st is too low you can regear your diff to 3.54's or 3.02's The NV4500 and 5600 both share the same low gear. If you put very low gears in your diff's it might actually cost significantly less then the GV overdrive.


Furthermore, If you can find a package that will adapt a GM 90* engine to an SAE #2 bellhousing (probably off a 454 or other large gas engine in a commercial truck) you should be able to adapt any transmission that once lived behind a cummins.

Check out this article.
http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/drivetrain/154_0509_spicer_3053a_transmission/index.html

If I ever convert my 12 valve to a stick I'm finding one of those and a divorced np205.

Just looked on www.ringpinion.com the highest gear you can get in a 14 bolt (be it 10.5 or 9.5) is ~3.21 which will net the same thing as the GV overdrive. So for around $600-$1000 per axle you get the gear ratio you're looking for and a rebuilt axle. Not $3000+ later driveshaft mods and an extra lever to deal with and another few thousand miles before your carrier bearings fail.

[trukdoc]

...suggest that you use speed equation to determine what tranny/third member choices you want to make.the beauty of the equation is you can plug in ANY gear ratios available to determine what road speed at what rpm that you want...