Selective shims.

 

Spare intermediate shaft, heated up to cherry red then cooled down slowly to remove the temper before machining down to size. The shaft from the front of the spacer measures 5.500 inches to the machined end.

The bar used as part of this measuring set is just .500" flat bar with three holes drilled through for the caliper. The flat bar can be plus or minus a couple of thou as the spacers supplied to correct end play allow for a minor discrepancy.
I can now also use the modified intermediate shaft to align the splines in the overdrive unit.

 

Just the other day I says to myself that I wished that I still had that pneumatic bumper jack as it would make jacking the Dakota up high enough a safe operation.

I had already cut up some 2x4's to stack underneath for blocking the truck but hated the thought of using the jackall, the over head rail is strong enough to lift the truck but the *** end is going to end up outdoors. I have a disabled Allis Chalmers 720 taking up space at the front of the bay and it's not going anywhere soon with the trans-axle removed.

The 46RE is ready to install just need to clean up the shop then lower the transmission onto the trans jack and under that Dakota
This morning went to an Estate sale and now own a Walker hydraulic bumper jack, best $20.00 I've spent this year.

 

Dakota Y pipe cross over makes transmission installation impossible, my transmission jack collides with the pipe long before the transmission meets up with the engine.

Here's what I've come up with, two long bolts, cut the heads off making long dowels of them. Install the dowels into transmission bell housing then slip the dowels into the engine braces, manually lift transmission into place while sliding it over the header pipe.

 

Forget the long dowels, they don't work because the engine brace is only held on with one bolt at the top end and it pivots.

Using a 3x4 wedged in-between the muffler and differential moved everything forward about two inches, those nice rubber hangers have a bit of stretch to them. I'm now able to get the transmission close enough to bolt her up to the engine.

 

Who would have thought this short dowel could be the cause of so much trouble.

When the donor transmission was removed the dowel that usually stays with the engine came out with the transmission, trying to mate a trans to an engine that has a dowel also installed is like trying to place a square peg into a round hole.

Aright I see the problem so I use a long punch to push to dowel through while the transmission is up in the air close to the engine, this works but when I'm looking on the floor for the dowel I can not find it. The dowel fell in behind the torque converter. Had to slide the torque out a bit then use a magnet to fish out the dowel.

 

To complete the 46RE rebuild needed the proper speedometer drive gear along with some of the transmission linkages lost by the previous owner or mechanic, yesterday this Dakota shows up at the dump.

Canada with a birthday august of 95 the truck has the 44RE transmission. Thought 95's had the RH transmissions.

Anyhow I spent the morning stripping a few parts from this gem and now have what I need and then some.






.

 

Can some one explain, Same vin number posted into an on-line decoder says the truck is a 96 manufactured in Warren Michigan door tag says its a 95

Ok I see just below the bar code, made in the US but that still does not explain the discrepancy in the date of manufacture.

 

Because they started selling 1996 model trucks in about August; they were built before sales. It's a 1996 model made in later 1995.

Feed your VIN to https://dodgeforum.com/forum/vindecoder.php and see what it says.

Do notice, on 7 July 2018, the 2019 models are ALREADY up for sale from some manufacturers ...

RwP

 

Its not the transmission installation that I'm fighting, the damn Princes Auto jack is a piece of junk. Use the side to side tilt function to align bolt holes the tilt mechanism is so sloppy once the transmission weight is over centre the transmission flops over another inch.

The jack was purchased a few years ago and never used until this job.

With the full weight of the transmission sitting on the jack the hydraulics creep down, I used a 2x4 wedged under the lifting arms to hold it in place. Even if your cheap Chinese jack does not at present leak it still would be a good idea to block the lifting arms.

Repositioning the loaded jack one tends to grab the most convenient spot which often are the lifting arms should a hydraulic ram seal blow you could loose a few fingers.

Like Isaac Newton once said what goes up must come down.