Josh Battles wrote:
> "Terrible Tom" <SilverEightynine@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:413368C5.7080106@aol.com...
>
>>Not possible - as I found this out the hard way trying to get Christine
>>ready for this past BBQ. I have been learning all of this stuff the
>>hard way it seems LOL. The transmissions guts are the same between a
>>2wd and a 4x4. (assuming we are talking about the same model here - a
>>46RH/RE) Yes you can swap tail/OD housings. But the front of the
>>transmission is different. The bellhousing is different. There is an
>>engine/tranny/front axle brace/bracket, that interconnects all three
>>componants on the 4x4 Dakota. On the 2wd there is no such brace. I can
>>get pics later of the two trannys to illustrate what I am talking about
>>here.
>
>
> Well, if he's already got a 4x4 and swapping it onto a 2wd frame, I'd think
> his trans would have this piece on it already because it's probably just a
> brace on the trans case or engine anyway. Why wouldn't he just be able to
> pull the engine/trans as a unit and install it as a unit? The starter
> shouldn't bolt to anything other than the engine. I can see where you may
> have ran into an issue trying to use a totally different trans, but his are
> already put together. So, this logic applied, wouldn't he have some of the
> same issues you had if he were to try and bolt up a 2wd transmission??
The bell housings on my 2wd and my 4x4 tranny are totally different.
Here's the kicker. The engine in christine was originally in the 2wd.
When I went to bolt the 2wd tranny up to the engine it was originally
used with, the problem was with the bell housing on the drivers side.
I'll have to get pics to show you. I forgot how the starter mounts on
teh 2wd - but on the 4x4 - it bolts TO the bellhousing - not the engine.
>
> It just doesn't make sense that dodge would cast two seperate engine blocks
> and trans bellhousings - one for 2wd and another for 4wd.
Engines are the same - bellhousings arnt
>>When I tried to use a 2wd trans in a 4x4 truck, I had no place to mount
>>the starter and no place to bolt up that support brace. The physical
>>design of the two tranny bellhousings were different. Granted this was
>>an A-500 - but the fundimental design of the 2wd vs 4x4 engine/tranny
>>mounting is the same all the way up to the Gen III's. I got a good look
>>at the underbelly of Mikes truck at the BBQ and there were many changes
>>but they were basically the same lay out as mine.
>
>
> His truck is already a 4x4, so wouldn't he already have the correct trans?
> If it does use a different crossmember, I'd assume he could take that from
> the original truck. Since you couldn't bolt up a 2wd trans to your 4wd
> engine, I think it's a safe bet to assume he'd have some of the same
> difficulties going the other way. Granted, it may just be some bracketry,
> but he's already got a working combination of all the parts he needs. If it
> was me, I'd try it with what I've got first before spending the money on a
> new trans that has the potential to not be compatable.
>
> All this being said, I had a revelation.
> Why not just swap suspensions? To change the rear, all you'd need to do
> would be flip the axle over your springs, and in the front, couldn't you
> just swap spindles?
Differences in the front suspensions are too great I think - the effort
required to do such a thing would not be worth it if you ask me. I'll
try and get pics of my two trannys in the next day or so. Off to work I go
-- Terrible Tom -- AIM & Yahoo Name: SilverEightynine http://members.aol.com/silvereightynine/
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