Ordered my tranny today.

[Slim]

Lots of folks running the NV4500 as well. I've had both. Utlimately, I wanted better gearing for off-road and highway, which I get with the 4500. Otherwise, 2-4th gear are nearly identical to the stock 3spd (which is good and bad)...some people like that and some dont. The 2nd, 3rd gear of the 3550 are nice for around town...and the 4:1 1st gear makes for a great launch. The 3550 shifts a little smoother, has a sportier feel...in that respect.

However, depending on which tranny shop you talk to, you will hear some horror stories about the 3550 as far as durability. I was unimpressed with the bearings (nylon races)...but the countershaft is substantial--much beefier than an AX15 (side by side). Its a fine swap, especially for a DD. If you do ever plan to crawl, the 4:1 1st gear is an improvement over a 3spd, but cannot touch the 5.6:1 of a NV4500 or ZF. The NV4500 is a much stronger unit but between its ratios and its longer throws, it feels more like a truck gear box. You can get good shifts from 2nd--->3rd and 3rd--->4th, which is where it counts, but its not a drag-racing tranny by any means. The gain is Crawl ratio=finesse=greater stability which means the rubber stays down...ideally...at least that was my thought process. As well, with the 4500 you can gear a little deeper since you have a deeper OD. Cost difference between the two is fairly minimal, a few dollars more for the NV4500 tranny. As well, the "kit" doesnt come with the cross-member (like with the 3550--which is stupid), so there is an extra $100 there, unless you build your own. Additionally, with the 4500 you will need to shorten/lengthen drivelines, so there are a few extra $$ there too.

Thanks 'psycho. That is some good info I didn't know about. Good to learn something new everyday.

 

[Fireball05]

BD - just checking in to see how your experience with Smallparts ended up? Happy with the tranny? Their customer service, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[BowHunter148]

Did you have to pay the 300 core or did you ship them another tranny
That's the only reason I haven't ordered it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[jlylec]

I don't want to be an ass here, but this is NOT true.

Torque is torque. it is independent of vehicle weight, the weight drops out of the equation, as the power transmission (bad term) is in pounds per foot. So at 1 foot away from the rotating axis the transmission is rated as being able to sustain 300 lbs without failure. In reality you can probably multiply that by at least 1.5 for safety factor (Unless its considered a human life risk, in which case I believe that its 11 or so? not sure)

However, your right, if the vehicle it came out of weighed 7200 lbs than you can bet that it wont have an issue pushing a 4200 lb vehicle. besides, I don't think any stock bronco engine is pushing out 300 ft/lbs.. built engines on the other hand...

I don't understand this logic. How does vehicle weight not factor in to torque? If the vehicle weighed 1 pound even an engine capable of pushing 500lbs of torque never would because it wouldn't have to...right? If there's no resistance there would be no calculable torque. The weight of the vehicle and the gears would determine the amount of resistance.

Am I missing something here? FWIW...I'm NOT an engineer (kinda wish I was!)...so I'm probably missing something. I'm just curious about this.

 

[broncoitis]

I have been running the 3550 since I got my Bronco back on the road and I like it alot! If I have one complaint/question its that it is a bit noisy in gear off the gas while coasting along in gear!

Is that something that y'all have experienced as well? Love it otherwise and fun to drive as well. OD could be a bit better I think but that is minor.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I don't understand this logic. How does vehicle weight not factor in to torque? If the vehicle weighed 1 pound even an engine capable of pushing 500lbs of torque never would because it wouldn't have to...right? If there's no resistance there would be no calculable torque. The weight of the vehicle and the gears would determine the amount of resistance.

Am I missing something here? FWIW...I'm NOT an engineer (kinda wish I was!)...so I'm probably missing something. I'm just curious about this.

Since most 4WD vehicles are capable of perfect traction at one point or another you have to take into account that the full potential of the engine can be sent into the transmission. If you have a tire wedged into a rock ledge it doesn't matter if you weigh 1 pount or 100,000 pounds. You are going to be pushing the total engine capacity through the transmission.

Keep in mind that all torque is not created equal. A gasoline V8 has a lot smoother torque then a 4-cylinder diesel. A V8 will have 4 smooth pulses per revolution while a 4-cylinder will have 2 big spikes. The torque rating of an engine is the average. Reality is the torque output is more like a sin wave. Flywheels tend to level the ripple but can't completely flatten it. You can take off a 10 HP electric motor and put a smaller 8HP single sylinder gas engine one some equipment, the equipment will then fall apart even though there is less HP going through it but the torque pulses will hammer stuff to pieces.

 

[rguest3]

I have had a NV3550 behind a VERY strong 347 (well over 300FPT) with NO issues what so ever. Never had any problems when standing on it to "Clean off the valves".

 

[Fireball05]

To all you guys who posted and ignored my original question, where did you get your tranny?

I was asking about the original posters experience with this vendor, trying to figure out the most cost-effective and best way to assemble all the pieces to this puzzle!

 

[broncodriver99]

BD - just checking in to see how your experience with Smallparts ended up? Happy with the tranny? Their customer service, etc.?

Thanks!

Honestly I still haven't installed it. I decided to go with a Toploader OD instead so the NV3550 has been relegated to an old Cherokee Chief project that I am working on. Smart Parts was great to deal with. No problems.

Did you have to pay the 300 core or did you ship them another tranny
That's the only reason I haven't ordered it

I did not pay a core charge, but I didn't buy a reman. transmission. I don't see them listed on the website so you may have to call in. They had like a thousand NEW transmissions when I ordered which didn't require a core charge.

 

[BowHunter148]

Honestly I still haven't installed it. I decided to go with a Toploader OD instead so the NV3550 has been relegated to an old Cherokee Chief project that I am working on. Smart Parts was great to deal with. No problems.




I did not pay a core charge, but I didn't buy a reman. transmission. I don't see them listed on the website so you may have to call in. They had like a thousand NEW transmissions when I ordered which didn't require a core charge.

Nice!
Thanks for the reply


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[Fireball05]

BD - Mind if I ask what the price was? The website lists 995+ the core charge. Are you saying you got a brand-new one for just the 995?

 

[okie4570]

Browsing through all of EB compatible transmissions, they're all pretty reasonable in $$, and they're just 100 miles away.

 

[broncodriver99]

BD - Mind if I ask what the price was? The website lists 995+ the core charge. Are you saying you got a brand-new one for just the 995?

I paid $975 plus shipping for a new one but that was nearly 3 years ago. The new ones were $995 when I ordered but the guy I talked to gave me a $20 discount which I referenced a few posts down in the thread. Not sure if they still have any new ones in stock or will still honor the price, but probably worth a phone call.

 

[Fireball05]

I called in earlier today and spoke to Dillon, the same guy BD dealt with 2 years ago. He was very nice and informative.

They no longer have new units.

They have rebuilt ones available, and touted them as an upgrade over new because of the work they do to modify the shift rails to eliminate common 1st and 2nd gear issues. Price is $995 + $300 core= $1295. Shipping to PA would be $100-125, he said he'd work me a bit of a deal and knock a few bucks off shipping if it was to a commercial address. So basically $1400 delivered. This is the same info and price found on their website: http://smartpartsauto.com/manual_transmission_nv3550_jeep.html

If you order, they'd have one ready to ship in less than a week. He tells me you'd be hard pressed to tell it from a brand new unit, it'll show up on a pallet looking all shiny and new. One thing to note, they dyno test all units before leaving, and do carry a 1 year warranty and shipping both ways for any warranty work.

Not quite the deal it was 2 years ago, but still looks to be a pretty good option.

 

[broncodriver99]

I kinda figured they were out of new ones since nobody could find any a couple of years ago. I think NVG has been out of business for a few years now.

The AX-15 is still a good option and a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. I have a couple of full size Jeeps and the guys in the FSJ forums run the AX-15's and beat the snot out of them behind the AMC 360's and a couple behind the 401's. If they can take that kind of abuse I would have no problem running one behind a SBF. The AMC engines are torque monsters and they seem to hold up.

 

[fatboy]

I kinda figured they were out of new ones since nobody could find any a couple of years ago. I think NVG has been out of business for a few years now.

The AX-15 is still a good option and a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. I have a couple of full size Jeeps and the guys in the FSJ forums run the AX-15's and beat the snot out of them behind the AMC 360's and a couple behind the 401's. If they can take that kind of abuse I would have no problem running one behind a SBF. The AMC engines are torque monsters and they seem to hold up.

For what it is worth, I believe Jon Ward is using the AX-15 as the standard shift option in several of his Icon builds including the Bronco and I think possibly the FJ-40.