4D55, the correct way to do this swap would be to swap out the cluster and column, but 'stick shift GMT400 trucks are rare as hen's teeth around here, even the 4.3 2wd ones. I disassembled the cluster, masked off the shift indicator and painted it flat black. To those not looking for it they'll never be able to tell I painted the cluster like that. I took the covers off the steering column and completely removed the column shifter and the ignition key interlock as well as the shift cable. If I could find the covers from a manual trans truck I think you could make this look factory by just putting the manual trans column covers on an automatic trans column. On my column, I took the shift boot from the column shifter, cut the outside of it and glued it to a piece of gray vinyl that matched the color of the column. Now it just looks like there is a slightly sunken block off plate where the shifter used to be. The expense and hassle of finding manual trans parts just wasn't worth it to me. To give you an idea, I had a friend of mine trying to convince another friend that my Tahoe came from the factory this way. This guy knows as much or more about chevy trucks than I do and he was incredulous, but buying it completely, until he finally crawled under the truck and saw the freshly painted NV4500 mated to the also freshly painted NP241. My point is, the colum covers and painted dash cluster are the only giveaways that the truck didnt come this way.
The rest of the swap was fairly straight forward. 96-99 trucks all have the clutch pedal bracket already welded in, so I literally cut the brake pedal pad off and put the smaller pedal pad on it, and hung the clutch pedal on the stock bracket. I have a factory service manual so I wired the clutch interrupt for the starter as well as the brake and clutch interrupts for the cruise control. The reverse lights work as well. I bought another used bellhousing because the one from my donor truck was cracked. I used stock 1-ton flywheel and clutch as well as a brand new clutch master and slave. The NV4500 and 4L60e are the same length so the trans mount and crossmember all bolted right up in the same spot. I had to swap a 32 spline input shaft in to my NP241 to mate to the NV4500 but otherwise it all bolts up. The shifter clears my stock console and cup holder. I cut about 5lbs if wiring out of the harness that controlled the automatic trans and NP246 autotrac t-case. I had Black Bear re-flash my ecm with a stock '98 L31/5spd tune and the truck runs like a top. NO check engine light, starts, runs and drives like it left the factory this way.
The NV4500 swap is the BEST THING IVE DONE TO THIS TRUCK. I HATE automatics to begin with, and this turned this truck into what I really wanted. I should have done the swap years ago...
The rest of the swap was fairly straight forward. 96-99 trucks all have the clutch pedal bracket already welded in, so I literally cut the brake pedal pad off and put the smaller pedal pad on it, and hung the clutch pedal on the stock bracket. I have a factory service manual so I wired the clutch interrupt for the starter as well as the brake and clutch interrupts for the cruise control. The reverse lights work as well. I bought another used bellhousing because the one from my donor truck was cracked. I used stock 1-ton flywheel and clutch as well as a brand new clutch master and slave. The NV4500 and 4L60e are the same length so the trans mount and crossmember all bolted right up in the same spot. I had to swap a 32 spline input shaft in to my NP241 to mate to the NV4500 but otherwise it all bolts up. The shifter clears my stock console and cup holder. I cut about 5lbs if wiring out of the harness that controlled the automatic trans and NP246 autotrac t-case. I had Black Bear re-flash my ecm with a stock '98 L31/5spd tune and the truck runs like a top. NO check engine light, starts, runs and drives like it left the factory this way.
The NV4500 swap is the BEST THING IVE DONE TO THIS TRUCK. I HATE automatics to begin with, and this turned this truck into what I really wanted. I should have done the swap years ago...
