It means you have to pull the tranny before you drive it anymore. If there are bearings loose already the likelyhood of the bearing siezing and tearing up a bunch of parts is extremely high.

 

like if i grab the bellhousing and put a flat tip in gap and twist...

the 7 ball bearings will fall out, i got one out just barely spreading it apart with my hand

 

Yeah. Thats very bad. I would pull it asap and see what the problem is for sure.

 

My vote based on your most recent posts is for the throwout bearing, but like skyshark said, pull the transmission out and see for sure.

 

got to be the throwout bearing. the pilot bearing is not actually a bearing it's a bushing, at least in a jeep it is, dakotas should be the same. the only other option is the input shaft bearing on the tranny and if that was the case gear lube would be pouring out from the bell housing.

 

On my truck the pilot bearing is a needle roller bearing, not a bushing.

 

thanks for the info. strange thing is the haynes manual calls it a bushing too. guess that shows the manual is not always right. i changed out clutches in both my 73 germlin and 90 comanchee. both where bushings so i thought it was standard for all vehicles.