My tranny just recently went in my '91 Dakota. Its a V8 4x4 LE longbed. I started to take it apart and so far I took off both driveshafts and the trasfer case bolts. What I wanna know is how hard of a job is it going to be if I have a lift and air tools at a shop? And is $600 for a use tranny a good price or could I have it rebuilt for cheaper? thanks

 

A lift will help a lot. (Wish I had one!!)
Air tools, eh. A lot of where you need to get into, probably too tight of a space for them. But having them available is never a bad thing!

It's still going to be a real pain in the rear. Transmission changes on these are not the most pleasant thing in the world.
I know on mine, I needed to take out the exhaust Y-down pipe. The bell housing is too big to clear the pipe.

I would not suggest to put in a used (non-rebuilt) transmission. It's just too much work to put in something that will be a pain to replace. Unless you know for sure it's good and still has a lot of life left in it.

 

+1 This weekend I hope to have the engine out of my 91. Do it right the first time no sense of doing it twice unless you want the practice

 

I found it is A LOT easier to pull the front axle to get at the trans. The trans shop that told me this made me skeptical... until I did my first one and I cussed and swore all day at getting out the starter, torque converter bolts and braces. the 2nd truck I did, I pulled the front diff and holy crap I save an hour of screwing around.