With 1-ton durability and five-speeds, including an Overdrive and a granny First gear it's no wonder the NV4500 is the dream transmission of most manual tranny fans. Its one downfall is its sluggish bread-truck-like shifting. We've been begging companies for a short-throw shifter for years, BD Power wasn't on our list but should have been. The company specializes in diesel performance parts. The NV4500 came behind the Dodge Cummins for several years, so BD has a Short Shifter for it.
We took our Jeep with a swapped-in NV4500 and the BD components down to M.I.T. Drivetrain Specialists since we had the older top cover on our NV4500. The pre-'98 NV4500 top cover will not accept the BD shifter parts. Fortunately, M.I.T. can get you the '98-'02 cover if you need it because the shop specializes in rebuilding manual trannies, components, and swaps among other things. It's not difficult to make the cover swap, and the short shifter is even easier to install. The kit consists of a spacer, a new shifter shaft, a few bolts, some silicone, and instructions.
The BD Power Short Shifter decreases the NV4500 shifter throw by 20 percent so you can row through gears quicker. This is especially helpful on the street, in the sand, climbing hills, and in the mud. There is also a NV5600 Short Shifter. However, we doubt this tranny would even fit between the framerails of most Jeeps. But maybe your tow rig could use it!
 The pre-'98 NV4500 top cover...  The pre-'98 NV4500 top cover (left) and shift lever will need to be swapped out for the '98-'04 cover (right) and shift lever if you want a BD short throw kit on your early tranny. |  The spacer and new shifter...  The spacer and new shifter shaft are really easy to install and turn the NV4500 into a sporty-shifting tranny. | |