Subscribed still haven't decided if I want the G56. It costs roughly 2x as much as the 4500 and I'm a little unsure on how the clutch and bell housing side of things go together

 

The G56 uses an integral bell housing that mates to our factory adapter and it uses the same flywheel and clutch assembly as the NV5600. Some people have had to change starters or starter spacers or something, I'm not exactly sure yet what the deal is with that.

You also have to do some fab on the crossmember, lowering and moving rearward the bolt holes for the transmission mount. The dimensional differences have varied with each write-up I've read. On 4wd trucks some fab work is required to get the transfer case shifter hooked up.

The only thing that some people have to jerry rig is the reverse light switch and on 2WD models you need to convert the rear axle ABS sensor signal into a VSS signal, which can be done with a commercially available converter box.

For your reading:
Dodge Cummins NV4500 to G56 - DONE! - Expedition Portal!
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94-98-powertrain/618507-diving-47re-g56-swap.html
And of course, from the fabled GAmes himself:
TDR 69: Installing a G56 Replacement Transmisson

 

I think I'll go the cheaper and easier route since a rarely tow above 8-10k. I'll watch this thread and see how it comes out. Good luck

 

Thanks. It's not going to be cheap but the end result will be much better than a rebuilt auto. I ruled out the NV4500 for reliability concerns and the NV5600 for cost/benefit reasons.

 

When I swapped inputs on my old 241 DLD for a transmission swap I contacted Quad 4x4 because I was lost with the same stuff you are. They will need the numbers off your Transfer case and they can cross reference them for you and tell you what your transfer case requires.

 

I nutted up against the frigidity and got my number off the case: 52098503

Looks like I need this input shaft.

From the tech notes:

If you are replacing a 23 spline automatic transmission or NV4500LD with a 29 spline NV4500HD or NV5600 manual transmission, use this 29 spline input shaft if your transfer case assembly number is one of these: 52098503, 52098505, 52098675, 52098677, 52105023AB, 52105025AB, 52105025AC, 52105025AD, 52105026AB, 52105028AB, 52105028AC, 52105028AD.

The really awesome part is it's $50 more expensive for no readily apparent reason.