hello everyone. ihave been trying to do research on changeing out the transmission in my truck its a 96 dakota with a 5.2l 318 4x4 what i want to do is swap out the atuomatic for a standard.i would like to know which standard would be best to use.or if there is only one that will match up..also am i restriscted to searching for only 96 standard transmissons(which are very hard to come by where i live)...what are some of the things i would have to do... also i would most likely be using a doner truck if possible to try and keep it as cheap as possible.if i am able to use a doner truck would it be as simple as swapping out the parts from one truck to the othier ir????
thanks foranyones help ahead of time....

 

NV3500 is what came stock. You are not limited to year. Any NV3500 from a dakota or ram will work. I did the swap last march and wrote up a post about it. The link is in FAQ2. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

You mean manual trans? They are hard to come by everywhere, so don't give up.

If so, 95_318SLT can help you a lot, I am sure he will post, but he did the swap in one weekend. In terms of linkages and stuff, wiring, he is the man to ask.

As far as the tranny you need goes, you are a little limited. You need to stick with a NV3500 with the 4WD tailhousing, or like I am doing now, is swapping in a NV4500HD with a 4WD tailhousing, but you are looking at more money for the NV4500 and it needs to be converted for use on a gas engine.

Best bet is to find a NV3500 with a 4WD tailhousing in good shape with low miles. They are a pain to rebuild and often times don't like the rebuild anyways.

 

would you have a link to that??? dont know my way around this site to well....i read one of ur posts its funny cause u sound exactly like me my parents keep asking my why im wasting my time with it.i just keep saying cause i love the look on my freinds faces when my dakota pulls there chevs and fords out of the mud holes and then walks right through it like it wasnt even there. its pricless so to speak.

 

I knew that was going to happen. LOL. Posting at the same time as me.

 

Check the FAQ2.

And yes, I reread your post, it would be nice to find a donor truck so you can get the shifter, linkages, and stuff of that nature out of, BUT I would concentrate on finding a good tranny, you can always go to a junk yard and get the rest if you need to, but it might be harder to find it all in one spot.

 

hahhaha ya.does it matter what year of dakota i could take it from?? also would one from a v6 match up with the v8 my buddy has 2000 dodge dakota but says the 5 gear in it pointless.......just when i thought i was the only one out here doing this swap good to see some people lovinmg there dakotas as much as i do.lol

 

Yes, it does matter in a way. The V8 wasn't offered with manual transmission the entire time, so you won't have a choice really, but anything pre-95?? won't have a manual transmission unless somone has swapped it. The AX-15, which you get in a V6, is not rated and cannot handle the loads put on it by a V8.

I wouldn't know anything about the 2000, but I would never think having a manual trans would be pointless, all of my personal trucks have been manual, all of my work trucks have been auto, and I much prefer the manual.

 

oh hey loves the manual transmission just rarely usses the 5th gear truck wwount pull it. okay i am really hopeing this will work would a 75 1/2 ton 5 speed bolt up to my 318. the transmission is current bolt to a 318 so i wouldnt see y it wouldnt but it is a bit of a year difference iwold love for it to work just because i caqn get that truck reallly cheap.

 

If you haven't yet found the link to my swap thread, here it is...

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...-5-2l-4x4.html

I would assume that if the '75 tranny is bolted to a 318, it should bolt up to yours. I'm going to guess that it has a granny low gear though, where the NV3500 has 5 useful gears.There were not many differences that I know of in the exterior of the LA 318 and Magnum 318. You may run in to a problem with the location of the shifter though, and you'll need to make sure your transfer case and t case shifter will bolt up to it and be in the right spot. Just do some measuring.