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overdrive gears available soon

m-35tom

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eldersburg maryland
i don't see how you could possibly come to that conclusion. the 4 to 5 shift still has the smallest rpm drop of any of the shifts! from 2300 to 1600 for example, is even better than the 2 to 3 shift.

tom
 

jwaller

Active member
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Columbia, SC
Has anyone had problems with lugging the motor with these? i Would thing shifting from 4th to 5th is a prob.
This is what has kept me from trying them.
Not a problem at all. Mine doesn't even come close to lugging. actually it brings it into a sweet spot for the torque curve.
 

EF-5

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Georgia
Absolutely amazing! I've read this thread at least 6 times, and it still amazes me. I can't wait to place an order!

Would loosing some weight and friction (Flatbed and Super singles) help increase the speed, or are those changes too minor for the OD to notice? Either way this upgrade is number one on my list.

Awesome job m-35tom!
 

trukhead

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dane/wi
!4.5 x20 tires

The Michelin tires on my A3 say the max inflation is 80 psi, however the rims won't withstand 80 Psi. The highway inflation setting on the CTIS is 45 psi. I suspect the 55 mph rating is due to the 45 psi inflation and resulting tire heating due to deisgn under inflation with the CTIS of the purpose of the truck and resulting tire heating at highway speed at 45 psi.
I had a thought of asking the truck rim mfgs if they could cut a semi truck super single aluminum style rim for the big single 14.5 x 20 with the proper bead that would withstand the 80 psi and proper back space and dual chamfer to install either direction with the duece center section and install them on the front axle or rear axle with flipped or non flipped hubs.
Trouble with one piece rims you can't use the bead locks.

:jumpin:
 

Armydillo

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Location
Boonies Texas
#10 just sold, 20 more in stock and 50 ready to be made.
Congrats, how about making us an adapter so we can run this great iron transmssion with your new gears shaft bearing conversion to all of the Ford Chevy Dodge diesels that are blowing the standard transmissions when they go over 400 hp, there are some 2 wheel drive sled pullers with 59 cummins using the 53a stock at over 600 hp in a couple of classes, I would love to find a way to install the trans into any 99 to 2009 dodgre 4x4 truck married, there is no married adapter to use the spicer in the one ton trucks with diesels, hope you sell a ton of them to the jeep crowd and pullers as well, great underrated transmssion for sure, i had one in a gmc 7000 427 gas engine that pulled d8 cat around for 10 years, the rub with the married 3053a married adapter is there is nobody capable or wanting to make the inside splined coupler to join a 3053a to say a np271 dodge tranfer case and nobody is making new passanger side drop transfercases in a divorced set up so one could run your tranmssion with a jackshaft like the old powerwagons and fords and internations did n the 60 to 70ls with th n9 205 divotrced trasnfer case which are almost impossible to find and if u do you have to change up all f the shafts and mounting brackets, good luck open up a ebay store and post up on Pirate4xe in the transmssion section, lots of jeepers like this speicer for swaps, that will like it more with your gear shaft bearing update, thanks for all of the time effort and hassle you have invested as well as money!!!
 

mudguppy

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duncan, sc
you're lost if you think that the deuce spicer 3053 will hold more power than an nv4500, zf6, or nv5600. keep dreaming if you have any more than mild small block power through this transmission.
 

Armydillo

New member
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Location
Boonies Texas
you're lost if you think that the deuce spicer 3053 will hold more power than an nv4500, zf6, or nv5600. keep dreaming if you have any more than mild small block power through this transmission.

It has a cast iron case for one, huge american made gears in it, if the oil is changed it has be proven with 427 inch chevy with fuel injection, I have one in a w200 powerwagon with a np 200 tranfercase and a cummins that i bog with some, prob about 375 horsepower and 44 x 18 x 16 vtread ag tires, the pullers i saw were way over 500 horsepower and 200 runs on the sled, the direct version of the 3053a was factory in many 5 and 4 speed combos in 20 ton oil patch winch trucks running 400 big cams, I drove one of these for 3 years daily and saw it tortured, no problems, the nv 4500 is no longer made, it has a alumium case that expands, the rebuild parts are non existant for a nv4500 or nv 5600 as well, a rebuild if you can find the usa made parts, shaft update and all new parts is about $3000 for one and then you still have the same nv4500 built in weakness 5 th gear, the nv5600 is obsolte as well, nv is shutting down the only plant left in Sept 11, read about it on the Magma website, the company who bought new process from Chevy recently, you can buy spicer 3053a's all day long for $200 to $500 for good pull outs, add the new gears and shafts and increased bearing oils that are for sale you have a easy 400 to 500 horsepower od transmssion, i worked for dodge for 15 years, the nv4500 was a weak transmssion that became popular due to the od and jeep conversions to married applications, the old dogge 435 was a better transmission except no od, it had a cast iron case too by the way, when a married adapter apears fianlly for this spicer you will see its popularltiy rise overnight, peeps tired of paying $1000 junkyards price for a nv4500 and dumping $2000 worth of parts if you can buy them into a nv4500 that was weak from the factory in the first place and whose company is not even making parts to rebuild them anymore, spicer 3053a with new american made gears and shafts bearing update $2000 total no core charge, vs rebuilt with made in chinkahh nv4500 parts in a alum case????? Hotrodders know the cast iron case and regular oil is 3/4 the problem, nv4500 and nv5600 are now worse orphans than the spicer 3053a ever waslol
 

spicergear

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Millerstown, PA
I rebuilt a NV4500 a few years back and parts weren't tough to get then or surprisingly way expensive and I replaced a substantial amount of parts. That was a few years though... Oh, NV4500 is an externally ribbed IRON case and is within 5 to 10 lbs of the 3053's. The Dodge slip yoke ones had the problems or if you ran them low on their expensive oil.

3053's are pretty tough and some of them even landed at The Bonneville Salt Flats because of their ability to take more torque than being rated for and the overdrive. I had one behind an 1160 (basically 3208 ) V8 CAT with 600lbft for about 8 years before it finally came apart. Now, before any bad mouthing begins, that trans WAS an original 3052 which was regeared in 1974 with the multifuel diesel swap MWO in the truck. ALSO when I got the truck and was driving it home I noticed steam coming out of the shifter boot. I thought a little condensation boiling off. Didn't get back to if for a month or so and we got COLD weather. I went to move the truck and it would try to stall everytime I was getting out of the clutch...in neutral. Yep, transmission was frozen. I heated it for a while with a rosebud tip and pulled the drain plug. Got over a gallon of water and about a cup of oil. NJ water rescue truck- huh, fancy that. So that thing survived 28 years on new gears in a older case, then however long being lubricated with WATER, then 8 years at 600lbft torque running through it before the front bearing finally failed. Oh, and I still drove it 30mi home in 4th gear as the tranny was so...lack of bearings loose...it woudn't stay in fifth using the countershaft.

M35Tom's kits also offer fixes that Spicer did in some later transmission as well as other things they didn't!

Oh, and Armydillo...please dude, use a '.' or paragraph break. :mrgreen:
 

Armydillo

New member
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Location
Boonies Texas
Yeppers, I still remember when you were still buying and selling military trucks way back seems like 3 forums redos, you are the guy who redrilled the 3053a duce adapter for a true sae #2 pattern i am thinking, used to follow your posts on the m715 site, how long ago was that??? Anyway, when i buy those spicer 3053a I always get them to pull the top cover and look in them, snap a digital picture, the ragtop has ruined more m35 trucks for people who dont know the spicer 3053a is actually the armys rainguage for the trucks as the shifter boot dry rots and the poor transmission get blamed as being bad bad due to water in the case, do you still have a truck with a big block chevy and 53a in it?? I not been on the forums in years, i dont have period on this keyboard sorry, anyway, spicergear, is there anybody in your area that could make a married adapter for a spicer 3053a to a 241 t/c or 205 271 etc etc?? There is a national parts shortage on nv replacement parts, they are nonexistant my rebuilder tells me and he will not install the china trash, he buys cores to get good used parts to try to rebuild a nv4500 when he can find surplus parts still made by usa new venture, $2500 total with all usa updates out the door down here, $400 labor installed in a 4x4 truck, is there a shop in your area than can machine inside splines in a transmssion to transfercase coupler?? Aparently very rare machine down here, many can do spline recutting and new shaft splines bu not the inside splines to match the 3053a to a married adapter if there was one avaialble, I thought the nv4500 had a tail case that was aluim and the nv5600 and g56 were alium cased as well??? If i am wrong so sorry stand corrected, but i still think the 3053a especially with the updated kit tom has is one of the tuffest and cheapest transmissions you can buy right now, you can not buy a nv5600 or g56 without a core due to parts shortage so a rebuild is like $4000 to $5000 down here, I rather run a divorced 205 transfercase or a 273c transfercase with a divorced input shaft from a GMC 5500, trying to find out how to buy a np273c new t/c or parts to make a dodge or ford transferase 270 series into a manual shifted and divorced t/c so can run this old 53a in a newer dodge 3500 4x4 truck i have with bad nv4500?? Any ideas about the np 273c divorced t/c??
 

JasonS

Well-known member
1,650
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Location
Eastern SD
Yeppers, I still remember when you were still buying and selling military trucks way back seems like 3 forums redos, you are the guy who redrilled the 3053a duce adapter for a true sae #2 pattern i am thinking, used to follow your posts on the m715 site, how long ago was that??? Anyway, when i buy those spicer 3053a I always get them to pull the top cover and look in them, snap a digital picture, the ragtop has ruined more m35 trucks for people who dont know the spicer 3053a is actually the armys rainguage for the trucks as the shifter boot dry rots and the poor transmission get blamed as being bad bad due to water in the case, do you still have a truck with a big block chevy and 53a in it?? I not been on the forums in years, i dont have period on this keyboard sorry, anyway, spicergear, is there anybody in your area that could make a married adapter for a spicer 3053a to a 241 t/c or 205 271 etc etc?? There is a national parts shortage on nv replacement parts, they are nonexistant my rebuilder tells me and he will not install the china trash, he buys cores to get good used parts to try to rebuild a nv4500 when he can find surplus parts still made by usa new venture, $2500 total with all usa updates out the door down here, $400 labor installed in a 4x4 truck, is there a shop in your area than can machine inside splines in a transmssion to transfercase coupler?? Aparently very rare machine down here, many can do spline recutting and new shaft splines bu not the inside splines to match the 3053a to a married adapter if there was one avaialble, I thought the nv4500 had a tail case that was aluim and the nv5600 and g56 were alium cased as well??? If i am wrong so sorry stand corrected, but i still think the 3053a especially with the updated kit tom has is one of the tuffest and cheapest transmissions you can buy right now, you can not buy a nv5600 or g56 without a core due to parts shortage so a rebuild is like $4000 to $5000 down here, I rather run a divorced 205 transfercase or a 273c transfercase with a divorced input shaft from a GMC 5500, trying to find out how to buy a np273c new t/c or parts to make a dodge or ford transferase 270 series into a manual shifted and divorced t/c so can run this old 53a in a newer dodge 3500 4x4 truck i have with bad nv4500?? Any ideas about the np 273c divorced t/c??
My NV5600 is iron-cased.
 

Armydillo

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Boonies Texas
ok, how about the g56, i got one out here but thought it was alum, does it have a main case with a alum tail housing, does the nv5600 have a alum tailhousing??? i admit it when i am incorrect but not sure seems like one of them is mixed, I have seen trucks with transmsssion craddles at pulls and assumed they were all nv's, is the g56 one piece or mixed??
 

JasonS

Well-known member
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Location
Eastern SD
I have no idea about the G56. I went out and looked at the NV5600; the bellhousing is aluminum but the main case and tail housing is rusty iron. Dodge doen't paint ANY part of the drivetrain.
 

JasonS

Well-known member
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Location
Eastern SD
We've got a later model bus (1989 or newer with TBI BBC) with a five speed. Any idea what tranny that might be? It has an iron case.
 

Armydillo

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Location
Boonies Texas
I have no idea about the G56. I went out and looked at the NV5600; the bellhousing is aluminum but the main case and tail housing is rusty iron. Dodge doen't paint ANY part of the drivetrain.
maybee thats where i got the wrong idea it had a alum case, when my 2007 dodge 3500 g56 cools off i will look at it and see what its made out of, maybe it is alum, have you seen those g56 transmssion gridles they are making for it?? will try to post the link to th eplace in texas making them, i always figured the case flexed bad due to being alum with 450 hp??? that bus could have a eaton fuller in it, look for a tag on the side to id it with
 

spicergear

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Ha, yep...I redrilled the #2 pattern. Good memory Armydillo! :) The NV4500 I think has an aluminum tail housing but the case is positively cast iron. The problem with marrying the 3053(A) is that the demand is so, so low that nobody will make the kit/investment for all 8 of us that think it's a good idea. I'm not picking on you...I would LOVE to see an adaptor for a married unit. These transmission would be a lot more useful and find a lot more homes in all sorts of 4x4's if they could shorten up the drivetrain by marrying T-case to tranny. Good luck with the divorced 273! That would be a nice combo too!
 

trukhead

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dane/wi
What kind of tranny do I have in an '89 Dodge 350 5 speed 2 wheel drive with a Cummins diesel engine. It was low due to a seal and the speedo drive 1000 miles from home so I put 90 wt in it. Did I kill it? what is supposed to go in it. How do I identify it. I know I could go to the other forums but I spend most of the computer time here and I have a life beyond lurking forums so I spend my precious screen time here.
 

Armydillo

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Boonies Texas
What kind of tranny do I have in an '89 Dodge 350 5 speed 2 wheel drive with a Cummins diesel engine. It was low due to a seal and the speedo drive 1000 miles from home so I put 90 wt in it. Did I kill it? what is supposed to go in it. How do I identify it. I know I could go to the other forums but I spend most of the computer time here and I have a life beyond lurking forums so I spend my precious screen time here.

Prob a getrag 5 speed, no parts suport and another reason to swap a spicer 3053a into it to keep the truck when it dies, all you need is a sae #3 flywheel clutch for #3 and it will bolt up, are you can go to a sae #2 bell flywheel clutch and a Phoenix castings spicer 3053a adapter ring from sae #3 to Sae #2, I have done it both ways, depends really on finding a sae#3 flywheel setup, they are hard, the sae #2 is very easy, just about every big truck junkyard has that bell and a 59 14 inch flywheel, you use your old starter and have to make a new master clutch cylinder and slave from a freightliner fl 60 70 80 that came with a fuller 6 speed or a ford f600 800 set up for a 14 inch clutch with a 59 cumins

I would buy a spicer 3053a and start collecting parts for it now,

that getrag is one more reason to look hard at a conversion to spicer 5 speed, it is also one more reason the nv4500 price is so overpriced in comparsion, spciers 3053a go for $200 to $500, its very hard to find a used or rebulit 5 speed getrag down here, they dont rebuild anymore due to same parts shortage for anything new venture, good luck
 

mudguppy

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duncan, sc
my nv4500 is also cast iron also. it was rebuilt for $1600 w/ american made parts (readily available) and still got a $500 core charge. upgraded input shaft costs a few hundred bucks.

so i'm not sure where you get your parts from, but sounds like you may get ripped off alot.
 
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