Thanks for the help! I got the tranny out. The mainshaft looks ok but the countershaft support bearings & race are gone, and it just loose where it comes out of the housing. Can anybody tell me the steps to get the countershaft out of the tranny? Also, at the end of the countershaft, should there be 2 grooves for the snap ring? Don't know which one it goes on. Everyone who has replied, you've been a HUGE help!

to get the countershaft out, first you'll have to remove the mainshaft- you'll need a mainshaft socket to hold it in place while you remove the 5th gear nut...

then you remove the input shaft retainer (4 bolts on front), and slide out the input shaft... then remove the 4 bolts on the main bearing retainer- and remove the mainshaft bearing... then the mainshaft can slide backward slightly, and tilted upward out of the case- careful, it's heavy...

that's as far as I went, but I would presume the countershaft would be removed in a similar fashion, except that it's one piece-

I would suggest either getting a rebuild manual for the nv4500, or taking lots of pictures so you can be sure to get it back together correctly...

[director] That's for sure!

I took the tranny to the place I bought it, and they said they'd rebuild it and only charge me for labor, which is $500. Is this a good deal for a complete rebuild??

Since you're supplying the parts, that's a fair price for labor - especially if they warrantee their work.

I think they're going to just swap it for a rebuilt tranny and just charge me to rebuild the old one. Its Cottmans, so I don't really trust them. They will be using they're own parts. NEVER buy from them!