Upgrade ideas for my tranny?

[jazzman007]

Hi All -

 

I think my tranny is on its way out, and I don't want to replace it with just any old rebuilt. The 5-speed in my 91 Chevy 1/2 ton has been making some grinding noises when starting in first. The dealership told me it was probably the front bearing (or some kind of bearing on the input...I don't remember). The noise has been getting worse, and it sometimes happens in 2nd, too, so I'm starting to look at what to do with it when it goes out.

 

There are 2 main things I'm looking for. One is power handling. I think I've got an NV3500 (please correct me if I'm wrong), and from what I've seen, it's only rated up to about 300ft lbs. Down the road I plan on doing something to the engine to get some good power out of it, so if I'm replacing the tranny, I want to make sure to do it right. The second thing I'm looking for is improved shifting. It'd be nice to get a nice short, smooth shift on the tranny...something that can be shifted easily and quickly.

 

Can anyone make any suggestions for this? Is there somewhere that builds performace replacement trannies? Or should I switch to a different tranny to get these things? I'm pretty much in the dark about transmission stuff, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

John