Swap an NV241OR into a Dakota?
I guess the real answer to this whole question is.
Can it be done? Looks like the answer is YES.
Can it be done in a cost effective manner ? Guess the jury is still out
on this. It should be strong enough to handle V8 power and the
modifications to driveshaft and linkages would be something that wouldn't
be too hard to overcome.
Can it be done cost effectively? Depends on what you consider a fair
price for lower transfer case gears. If I could come across a NV241OR
transfer case for a decent price I would contemplate the change but not at
the over $2K it would take to get it in.
I guess I'm just spoiled by the very low crawl ratio I have in the suzuki.
Its nice to be able to have that low gearing, and I forget when I take the
Dakota offroad. Its also the Auto vs. 5 speed equation there too. Its also
nice with the Suzuki to not care wether you lay it on its side or not while
trying to climb that 6 foot rock wall ;-) !! I run square driveshafts
front and rear (truck never goes above 40MPH so vibes aren't an issue) and
so far I haven't been able to bend/break the 1/4 hitch steel tubes I'vfe
made.
My 2002 QC is doing what it is supposed to do, Haul the 'trailer
queen' to the trail and do the occasional fire road or what the forest
service considers an OHV trail here on the east coast. The last so called
OHV trail I ran here in VA I never even stuck it 4WD. Wasn't even worth
stopping to put it in 4lo. I take the Suzuki to the 'pay parks' and get
my frustrations out with it, not the truck I use to get it there.
The aftermarket has never really embraced the Dakota/Durango and your
vehicle is case in point that the IFS front wasn't made to do anything
more than fire roads and to expect more than that is a crap shoot.
All the IFS lift kits appear 'flimsy' and are more for a 'look at me,
I'm lifted... street truck approach' than anything else as far as I
could see. Other message boards/lists really 'dump' on any of the IFS
lift kits and claim they bend easily.
There are some adventurous souls who undertake Solid axle conversions such
as yourself but those are very rare. My dakota is a daily driver and main
source of transportation so I have to consider the changes that I make
will affect overall driveability.
In the end, Lower transfer case gears in the Dakota would be very nice but
unless I win the lottery, I get offered an incredible deal, or an NV241OR
drops out of the sky and lands unscathed in my shop it won't be happening.
But it is nice to have these kind of discussions as I am always
interested in what can/could be done.
If I had another Dakota that I could play with it would probably be
turned more into a 'truggy' with no bed and lots of tube and just enough
sheetmetal so that it could still be seen as a Dak from a distance, but
that Is about all.
On Sun, 5 Nov 2006, Michael Maskalans wrote:
>
> I thought it was fixed yoke - so there would at least be a serious rear
> driveshaft change for use of a 241OR in the Dakota. If I'm not mistaken, the
> Rubicons use the NV3550 5 speed, same as the Dakotas, and I think they also
> used the 545RFE in the newer automatics and the 42RE before that, and I know
> the non-Rubies used the standard duty NV231 case, so I'd expect that other
> than the rear fixed yoke the case would bolt into a Dakota. I wouldn't think
> that a slip joint in as long a single piece shaft as the CC/QC trucks have
> would be feasable though, I have enough trouble keeping slip joints together
> in my 29" front shaft (I just put in my 3rd slip and 2nd cardan joint set in
> 30,000. They just get sloppy - and I don't even keep my hubs locked, though
> I do max out the double cardan 1310 at full driver's droop)
>
> Personally I want to go to fixed yoke with a two piece shaft anyway, I've
> already pretzeled mine on a ledge once and had a "friendly" towtruck driver
> dent it once as well -- it would be nice to not have such a fragile,
> dentible, relatively expensive and rather vital part dictating my breakover
> angle.
>
> Unless scoring one from a wreck, going with another option is almost
> guaranteed to be more economical (consider a 203/205 doubler for around a C
> note if you have fab skills. Upgrade the 205 low range and be in the same
> ballpark price with better gears and more options) and it's not like the
> Dakota is short on wheelbase -- length of the solution isn't even a
> consideration in our trucks, unlike the Sammy or a Wrangler -- but it would
> definitely be very simple and solid. When the truck is still IFS, as long as
> the front output is clocked right, the front driveshaft doesn't even have any
> clearance issue running above the stock crossmember.
>
> I'll certainly concur on not being able to go slow enough, though I'm even
> worse off having not regeared my axles yet and running 4.10s with 40s with
> the stock 2.72:1 NV231HD. I really like my current low range for normal
> trail driving, but in the rocks it's too high and lurchy. Hence the 5 speed
> doubler idea - but the adaptors are a huge hangup. I don't think I can make
> something strong enough between the 44RE and the T18, and that's not an
> adaptor that I want to make a habit of swapping in trail spares of!!
>
> Just to think out loud for a minute... if I swapped in a 2 wheel drive
> tailshaft and figured out a divorce mount for the T-18 at least I could have
> an easy-to-change adaptor. Assuming I never snap off the input of course,
> which is the next weakest link and would leave me just as stranded.
>
>
>
> On Nov 4, 2006, at 19:53, Miles D. Oliver wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> The NV241OR is a fixed yoke box.
>>
>> It is supposed to be able to hold up to the cummins as far as strength
>> goes. I would think that if cone could be sourced it could be done with
>> the least amount of work and fabrication.
>>
>> From what I can tell, you can get one new for the same as an Atlas or try
>> and source one from a wreck. The Wreck may be cheaper but would take some
>> time to locate. You'd have to have friends in the salvage industry
>> 'watching your back' for one though. Everybody Wants one.
>>
>> I do wheel my Dakota but only on limited trails that I drive to/from I have
>> only upgraded to 265/75r16 Pro Comp All terrains and that is it. That and
>> my new winch bumper, (if I ever get it finished).
>>
>> I have a money pit trailer queen (Suzuki Samurai w/ 6:1 transfer case
>> gears, 5.29 geared Toyota pickup axles with detroit lockers and about a
>> 120:1 crawl ratio. That I have for the hardcore stuff.
>>
>> I would love to lower the crawl ratio of the Dakota even if it is just for
>> simple trail stuff. I can't seem to go slow enough for my liking.
>>
>> As I said, I wanted to start a discussion, I don't know if it will or not
>> but I would certainly like to try and investigate further.
>>
>> On Sat, 4 Nov 2006, Michael Maskalans wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Nov 4, 2006, at 6:31, Miles D. Oliver wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I recently helped a friend swap in a new transfer case into his jeep. He
>>>> was able to find a wrecked jeep rubicon and we removed his NP231 transfer
>>>> case and installed the new NV241OR. This transfer case has a 4:1 ratio
>>>> and looks very similar to whats in the Dakota. This was a bolt in and he
>>>> was able to keep his driveshafts.
>>>>
>>>> The NV241OR has a 23 spline input. If I recall so does the NV231 I have
>>>> in my truck.
>>>>
>>>> I wonder of the NV241OR would bolt in? Linkage aside I wonder if
>>>> something like this could be done, and if so, why nobody has done it
>>>> before.
>>>
>>> That would be a fantastic score. I don't know if the Rubicon has a SYE
>>> from the factory or not, I don't know if the stock jeep rear driveshaft
>>> has the same slip yoke as the stock Dakota either. I think the reason
>>> that no Dakota owner has gone down this path is because so few are
>>> actually wheeled. You've made me want to investigate this seriously -
>>> it's a drastically simpler solution than I've been hoping to accomplish
>>> (range box + NP205). I'm sure that like so many other Jeep parts that
>>> Rubi case is worth it's weight in platinum though.
>>>
>>> --
>>> +-- Mike Maskalans ---------------- Rochester, NY ----------+
>>> | '98 Dakota CC, SAS on 40s '84 RamCharger 4x4, plow truck |
>>> | '02 Jetta TDI 5sp, daily '97 Intrepid, not on the road |
>>> +-------------------- <http://mike.tepidcola.com/trucks/> --+
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Miles D. Oliver
>> www.mmoliver.org
>> _________________
>> "If a man speaks in the woods where there is no woman to hear him, is he
>> still wrong? Probably."
>>
>> "If a woman speaks in the forest with no man near to hear her, is she
>> still complaining? Of course."
>>
>
-- Miles D. Oliver www.mmoliver.org _________________ "If a man speaks in the woods where there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong? Probably.""If a woman speaks in the forest with no man near to hear her, is she still complaining? Of course."
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