okay i have a 96 dakota 318 im looking to do a standard conversion in the truck like i have preveously said. i have finaly fond a truck that i hope i can do the swap with its only a 4 speed which will work out great for were im living(up in canada).but its from and older truck the truck has an La 318 i do believe that this transmission should still mount up with mine from what i believe the transissions name is np455,i just thought i should get so advise to make sure im not over looking anything...any help is appreciated

 

The transmission will bolt up. The only issue I could think of is the flywheel. I'm not to sure is a LA will bolt up to a Magnum. And if it will be correct with the balance and all. 95 318 SLT has done a conversion on his truck. He wrote up a good post. It is located in the FAQ2 in this section.

 

The flywheel should bolt up. The crankshafts are one of the few swappable parts between the LA and Magnum engines, so the bolt pattern and balance should be the same (keep in mind that the 318 is internally balanced, 360 is externally balanced).

 

that being said an 83 will work for sure...does anyone know what speed it would run at in 4rth and around what rpm? and if its a hydrolic clutch or if its cable?

thanks for the help

 

It will run the same RPMs as your automatic runs in drive (3rd). I imagine it's a mecanical clutch linkage, Dakota's use a hydraulic clutch. I think you'd be better off using the stock 5 speed, the NV3500.

 

do you mean in drive(4rth)? i would but they are very hard to come by were i live...also a couple people i know keep haveing problems with them loosing 5th and reverse the mechanic said that its just a common problem with the 5 speed.

 

No, he means 3rd. In a typical 4 speed automatic transmission, 1 and 2 are underdriven gears (numericallly greater than 1:1), 3rd is 1:1, and 4th is an overdrive gear (numerically less than 1:1). In a typical manual, 1-3 are underdriven, 4th gear is your 1:1 ratio, and if you have a 5 speed, 5th is your overdrive gear.

Keep in mind though that the rear end gears have just as much control over engine rpms.

 

oh okay i see know.

i have another question for you.its something ihad just read about.and that is that the nv3500 is used behind chevys trucks with a 4.3 vortec is this true?if so it would make my search so so much easier..

if i may ask have you had any problems with your 5 speed?

 

The 4.3 NV3500 wont bolt up to a 5.2.. I bought my truck with a bad tranny and had to replace it. I strongly suspect the gear oil in it (these take syncrhomesh, not gear oil) had something to do with it and I think the PO towed his boat in 5th with it too..

 

The the NV3500 was also used by chevy. I don't know the full list of chevy engines it bolted up to though. Just out of curiosity, how does that help you? The NV3500 has an integrated bellhousing, meaning its not interchangeable. The chevy and dodge versions not only use a different case due to the different bellhousings, they also use different input and output shafts.

I haven't had a single problem with my swap. I don't regret it for a minute! The truck has that 15-20% of power back that is lost in an automatic transmission.