Like I said, the Dakota's are maxed out by their smaller frames and brakes
before they start hitting the "transmission" wall. You really only see these
hideous problems when you work a truck. If my father was just normal driving
around with the occasional trailer, it would probably be fine. Even with a
tranny cooler (a must for heavy hauling) on his manual transmission the oil
temperatures reach blistering levels and he has to use synthetics. Our Daks
really don't suffer from this all that much.
Dodge loves to come out with optimistic numbers and then "revise" them as
actual events dictate. This has occured with the transmissions: to an
extreme. Notice how the towing capacity of a 98 Ram is actually less than the
towing capacity of a 92-96 Ram. Nothing really changed there, but Dodge is
getting so many transmission failures that they are in CYA mode, so they are
(very quietly) reducing their tow and haul numbers. Strangely enough, the
automatics have actually been increasing in tow capability. The automatic
with the transmission cooler out rates the manuals now... (obviously talking
about the RAM here, Dak's can only dream about tow ratings over 10K)
Go figure...
Shaun H.
---original message---
Something is a miss, but with the Dakota, a '95 SLT 5 spd v8 w/ 3.90
gearing is rated to 6700# towing capacity (10500 GVWR), vs. a auto v8
w/3.90 gearing is rated to 6500# towing capacity (same 10500 GVWR).
When you go to a 3.55 gearing, the difference is more. The 5 spd has a
higher rating than an auto (A-518, 46RH?, etc.) A 5 spd has no trans
cooler, so you don't have that heat to contend with (going right into
your radiator) and less maint. (fluid wise).
In '96 they raised the 5 spd tow rating to 7100# (4003 increase)...
The GVWR stayed the same at 10500, so 7100# is an unrealistic #, but
was published as such.
For '99, the 5.9L Dakota, has been posted with an 8000# tow capacity.
I checked it twice. Either a wild misprint, or the real thing. I
checked through my manual (truck manual that is), and it really is a
generic I4, V6, V8 Dakota manual (not really touching on the RT option
with 5.9L engine.)
Go figure,
Sam '95 SLT
'99 RT
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