If you have never done anything like this before I recommend you get a
good manual and read over it before attempting it. I have not done this on a
Dakota yet, but I have done several others and you need to know what you are
getting into. As long as you are mechanically inclined and you take your
time you shouldn't have any problems since you are doing an exact swap. You
mentioned ramps, don't just have the front up, you are better off to have
the whole vehicle up level and supported with jackstands. The ramps on the
front are OK, just raise the back too and use the jackstands. The tranny
jack will help, especially if you are doing this by yourself. I have had the
best luck disconnecting the driveshafts and dropping the whole
tranny/transfer unit. They are bolted and splined together and it will be
easier to put them back together when they are both down from the truck.
Drain your fluid from your tranny before you drop it because it will save
you a big mess later, just put the pan back on after it is drained, before
you drop it. Also be sure to remove the flywheel inspection cover and unbolt
the torque converter from the flex plate BEFORE you unbolt the tranny from
the engine. There are usually 4 to 6 bolts (old Mopars had 4) that hold the
torque converter to the flex plate and you just have to slowly turn the
flexplate to get to each one to take them out. Your new tranny should come
with the torque converter, because you don't want to use your old one, metal
etc. inside will ruin your new tranny. Good luck, don't get in a hurry, and
if you get too P.O.'d, just walk away for awhile!
Take Care & Keep On Truckin'~~~~~John
<<'96 Dakota Sport 4x4, 3.9L 5spd>>
----- Original Message -----
From: <shanec@SPIE.org>
To: <dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 6:58 PM
Subject: DML: A500 tranny replacement--Guidance Needed
>
> Hi all,
>
> I've finally found a remanufactured transmission for my 92 dak CC LE 4x4
> auto 3.9L. Now I'm looking at dropping out the old tranny and installing
> the new one. I have ramps to put the truck in the air and I think I'll
rent
> a tranny jack. I have never done any transmission work before and I think
> it's time for me to "play with the big boys" and do my own swap (besides,
it
> would save me $600 in labor). Do you have any tips and tricks for doing
an
> exact tranny swap for a A500 transmission with 4x4? Any information about
> adding tranny fluid (do I need to suck the air out of there? Synthetic?)
or
> if I have to disconnect the drive shaft from the transfer case (or can I
> take the transfer case off the tranny and slide it over on the cross
member
> with the drive shafts still connected?). Any guidance is greatly
> appreciated. If this is not too much of a job, I'll take pics of the swap
> and post them for future reference.
>
> Shane Craven
> Bellingham, WA
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