I've been think about this for a while and i feel it needed to be brought up for future reference.

while I've been searching around this site for a while checking out all the manual trans threads and I've come to notice that the Dakota nv3500 and the ram nv3500 are different.

which would(most likely) explain the fitment issues i was having with mine, being it came out of a 96' ram.

(i will post pics of the differences between the 2 later as i don't have the pics uploaded right now(still on camera))

first i noticed that the ram trans i have, the shifter sits right in the middle of the trans(again a pic will be uploaded later which will help explain) and the part of the trans where the shift tower bolts to the trans extends out towards the back of the trans.

on the dakota trans the shift tower sits towards the back of the trans with the area where the shift tower bolts to the trans is just that.

when i had my drive shaft lengthened to fit the the new trans i had measured it and compared it to some of the info from other members. my measurement came out a tad shorter, which leads me to believe it might be longer that the Dakota's too.

the hydraulic clutch line off the ram actually worked just fine. its just that the plastic(if i can call it that) hose had so many bends on it that i had to zip tie it so the brake lines but it still managed to wiggle loose and melt on the exhaust. fyi, a gm hydraulic clutch line will work just fine as a replacement, same ends just bleeding the line is a pain(which is because its supposed to be non-serviceable) but it worked out in the end.

the shifter, well that's a different story. being from a full-size truck the shifter rises 3in, then bends toward the driver. where as the Dakota(from the pics I've seen) bends right at the shift tower. i had to bend the shifter about another 45* and took an angle grinder and cut the excess 3in off. its been about 4weeks of work and i finally got the ram shifter to fit in the Dakota while being able to shift through all the gears while only 3rd and first hit the the dash.

thats about as much as i can think of (bear with me). i will add more as needed. if some one with one that actually is for a dakota would like to chip in with their side, it would help greatly(with pics of course).

 

Huh... that would explain the difference in shifter location between my nv3500 and the nv4500 I'm going to put in. I guess the nv4500 would have the same shifter location as the Ram's nv3500.

Can you take a picture of your shifter?

 

Wow great info to know. I thought it would be just a simple plug and play. When you get the pics uploaded. maybe you can give us an idea of how much further forward the shifter sits. (3-4"...)

 

i'm not sure on the difference since i never driven a v8 dakota with an actual dakota version of the nv3500 in it so i'm not sure about the difference between the two.

and 95 it from the pics in your "3500 to 4500" thread it looks to be just about the shift tower length more forward but i can't really say for sure. i found the pics i had on my camcorder and some ended up being corrupt so i'll get some new pics when i have time(i just got hired to do some work on my dads new(ish) ram van).

 

i've been meaning to post these for a couple days now

here is the shifter at (i think) 3rd gear it hits the dash for 1st 3rd and 5th


and here is part of the base of the shifter tower. its kind of hard to see but the part of the trans that the shift tower bolts to extends under the metal(will have a better pic this weekend.


i took the boot off since the trans keeps breaking the screws holding it down when it torques(still have to figure that one out). i hope this helps a bit.

 

Dang that is close. Looks like the shifter will need to be modified.

 

The difference isn't in the tranny but the bellhousing. If the tranny came out of a 360 Ram, while the bellhousing will bolt to a 318, the rest of the bellhousing's dimensions are different (clearance issues with the externally balanced 360 and needing clearance for the Crank Position Sensor and a different flywheel, etc.). Double check your donor truck. If it did come from a 318 Ram, I'm stumped

- miggity

 

There is no difference between the 318 and 360 bellhousings. The flywheels are the same dimensions, but the 360's flywheel has some weights on it (but those weights dont change the dimensions at all). Both use the same throwout bearing fork and throwout bearing. Both use the same dust cover. Both use the same starter. Both use the same clutch slave cylinder. I don't know where you heard they are different, but that is just plain wrong.

I have an nv3500 for a 318 dakota and an nv4500 for a 360 Ram and I have a couple side by side pictures of them as proof. Keep in mind that the nv4500 has a bolt on bellhousing and the nv3500 has an integrated bellhousing, so they will look slightly different, but the important dimensions are all exactly the same...

DSCN1052.jpg?t=1283959935

DSCN1056.jpg?t=1283959799

 

it didn't come from a 360 ram or 318 ram...they used the nv3500 for the v6 ram, 94+ v8 dakota(iirc), and the v8 ram, generally speaking. i got my trans out of a 96' v6 ram and the trans i noticed from 95_318slt's pic that mine is designed differently after the bellhousing, which is why i brought this up. my thoughts are that the ram being a ful-lsize and the dakota being mid-size that the 2 transmissions would be different(if only i had thought of this before the swap). the ram shift will work but will have to modified to fit, which is what i had to do to be able to drive the truck.

i was also thinking if there is a difference in the gear ratio between the two to compensate the different weights of the trucks. when i put my truck into first and give it a little gas i'm at about 1200-1400rpms right away.

 

Had no idea that the NV3500s would be different between Rams and Dakotas.

As far as gear ratios, according to wiki, only Ram 2500s and light duty GMs got the close ratio (3.48:1 1st gear) tranny, Dakotas, 1500s and full size GMs got the wide ratio (4:1 1st gear).