Curved replacement shift lever for the Dodge NV4500 five-speed with a 14mm adapter, jam nut and shift-pattern knob, bolt-in with no cutting.
If the shift stick on your Dodge Ram 2500 or 3500 NV4500 has stripped threads from years of knob swaps, wobbles where it screws into the stub, or simply sits too far forward so you lean off the seat to reach fifth, this curved stick kit is the fix. It replaces the upper lever on the Dodge NV4500 five-speed used behind the 5.9L Cummins and the gas V8 and V10 engines, and the bend in the lever brings the knob back toward the driver. The kit comes with the curved stick, a 14mm knob adapter, a jam nut and a knob printed with the five-speed pattern.
The NV4500 is a direct-shift box: there is no remote linkage between you and the gears. The stick threads into a short stub that pivots in the shift tower on top of the transmission, and the bottom of that stub is a finger that drops into the slots of the three shift rails. Moving the stick side to side picks a rail, moving it fore and aft slides that rail and its fork. On Dodge trucks the stick-to-stub joint is a 14mm coarse thread, which is different from the 16mm fine thread GM used on its NV4500 sticks. Because the stick is a long lever above the pivot, a little looseness at that threaded joint turns into a lot of play at the knob, and the knob position decides how far you reach on every shift.
If the whole stick moves loosely in all directions at the boot, or the shifter hangs up between gears, the problem is lower down in the tower bushings or rubber isolator, not the stick.
Pull the shift boot back and grab the stick right above the stub. Have a helper wiggle the knob. If the stub stays still and the stick moves on its threads, a new stick solves it. If the stub moves in the tower, replace the tower, isolator and bushings with our NV4500 short throw shifter tower kit at the same time. Gears that grind or pop out are an internal problem: worn synchronizers or dog teeth, not the lever. Our manual vs automatic transmission repair cost guide explains what an internal NV4500 repair runs if you find more than a loose stick.
This stick is for Dodge NV4500 five-speed transmissions with the 14mm coarse threaded shifter stub, and the 14mm stick pattern also fits the earlier Dodge Getrag G360 five-speed. It does not fit G360 shifters that bolt the stick to the stub with two bolts, and it does not fit GM NV4500 trucks, which use a 16mm fine thread stub. Dodge NV4500 shift tops come in round and square styles, so unscrew your old stick and look at the stub before ordering. If you are unsure which transmission is under the truck, send us the year and VIN and we will check it. More NV4500 parts are in our hard parts category.
Check the gear oil level at the side fill plug while you are under the truck, and if the box has synchro wear, the Dodge NV4500 synchronizer ring kit is the matching repair inside.
| Fits | Dodge NV4500, NV4500 G360 5-speed |
| Does not fit | G360 shifters with 2-bolt mounting |
| Knob adapter | 14mm |
| Includes | Curved shift stick, 14mm adapter, jam nut, 5-speed pattern knob |
Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
No. GM NV4500 sticks thread onto the stub with a 16mm fine thread. This kit is made for the Dodge 14mm coarse thread stub.
It fits G360 shifters where the stick threads onto the stub. It does not fit the G360 version that clamps the stick to the stub with two bolts.
It mounts the included pattern knob, or most aftermarket knobs, on top of the new stick so you are not relying on old, worn knob threads.
No. The stick unscrews from the stub above the tower. You only pull the tower if the stub or tower bushings are worn.
Then the play is in the tower. Replace the shift tower, rubber isolator and bushings, which is a bolt-on job that stays outside the case.
