Hello all.

Does anyone know if it's possible to safely remove the 3.9 and it's auto tranny from a 1990 4x4 Dakota as a single unit ?

If not.. what is the easiest way to remove the engine, auto trans and transfer case from a Gen 1 4x4 Dakota ?
The order would be, Engine, transfer case, tranny... or ???
(I have an engine hoist and tranny jack and floor jack.. but no fancy stuff like a complete vehicle hoist)

I have a factory service manual and a Haynes manual.
The Haynes manuals tell you how to pull each component as if you are repairing it, but doesn't consider that you may be swapping the whole deal.
The Haynes also talks about raising the vehicle on jackstands to pull the tranny....but no mention of how high it should be raised.
Surely the tranny and transfer case are too big to be pulled out sideways from under the truck ?

The drivetrain is in a "totalled" truck
I am going to be dropping them into 1989 4x4 Dakota with the same
specs (but which has a very high mileage engine and a bad transmission)

Why you ask ???
Well... the truck with the bad drivetrain is completely rust free and the swap drivetrain has around 50k miles on it.

Also... I assume it's a "simple" direct swap... Any known gotchas between the 1989 and the 1990 ?

Any pointers ?


Thanks for you help !

Robert

 

Welcome to the forum.

I would remove the trans from the bottom but that is just me. I think it is possible to take the trans and engine out as one unit but I don't know if you can do it without a tilt bar. And I woudl most definately pull the transfer case out from the bottom.

When I put in my NV4500, I will attach the bellhousing to the engine and put that in as one unit and then raise the tranny up into place.

 

Thanks for the welcome dbilik ! Looks to be a good place to hang out

Yeah, transfer case definitely from bottom.
Any Idea how much clearance is needed to pull the tranny out from under the truck once its dropped ?

FWIW I could buy a tilt bar/engine leveller if needed for $50.

Thanks for the help !
Robert

 

If you have access to a tilt bar, use it to pull the engine and transmission out after removing the transfer case. I took the automatic transmission out of my truck twice before swapping in a 5 speed, and there is not much room to pull it out the bottom. First off, its hard to clear the transmission tunnel at the firewall, and second, the crossmembers don't give you much room to move it front and back either. Also, with some average size jack stands, you'll still need to put them on 4x4 wood blocks 2 high to get the frame up high enough to slide the transmission out from under it.

Take it from someone whos been there.... if you can pull the transmission out the top with the engine, do it.

And welcome to the forum!!

 

All I know: pulling the trans from the bottom isn't easy. crossmember under the trans needs to come out. Y-pipe needs to come out.
It gets "fun".

 

If those guys say take it out from the top, get the tilt bar and a big enough hoist and do it that way.

I am planning for right now to put my NV4500 back in from the bottom just because if its weight. But my plans tend to change a lot from day to day as I learn more too.

 

So is that how all of it (engine and transmission) should be takin out, with a hoist a tilt bar, what about if im putting a 318 in, should it goin with the tranny or be separate and have it goin through the bottom

 

when i did my engine swap i just left the tranny in the truck. unless you take the radiator support out and have a hoist that is high up it would be a pita.

 

Any guess on the crane arm height needed to pull them as a unit ? I don't want find out my crane isn't tall enough when I've got it 99% out of the truck. As it is i'll probably be cursing throughout the job. LOL. In my case (swapping the complete drivetrain), removing the rad cradle etc., seems much better than dealng with pulling cross members and the extra crawling around under the truck. Especially since half of the stuff in front of the motor is already out anyhow. Robert

 

Was talking to a buddy yesterday and he told me a solution that is so simple, it should have been obvious. Simply remove the front wheels just before you lift the motor+tranny out. With the rotors a couple inches from the ground, you get an extra foot (depending on tire/rim size)to pull the motor, and the additional benefit of the truck being at a better angle. Robert