Heres the deal. I have had many dakota's in the past and never had any major problems with any of them. I love d every 1 Ive had. The 1 I currently have is an 87 with auto trans, 3.9 4x4. It runs great. Body is pretty rough but I would seriously drive this thing anywhere. Ive had it for 2 years and the flywheel had bad spots in it when I bought it. Its mainly a weekend driver and a 3rd vehicle but I dont wanna junk it. For the past 2 years Ive had to grab the pully by hand and give it a little spin to get off the bad spots. Well, after doing this so many times and all the times it done the grinding teeth thing, it has now gotten very bad and now the starter is about junk. Ive been lookin on EBAY and all I find for the 87 is for CALIF EMMISSIONS. Is there any differnce? From other info Ive found 88-91 are the same. Will these fit my truck? Also the 87 starter seems to be listed seperately from all the others.

Last catch is that Im thinking about attempting to do this myself on the ground. Is it doable??? I have the mech skills to do it. Just wondering if its doable on the ground. I do have access to do it on a hoist but at my buddies shop 100 miles away. What do you guys think???

 

Take it to the hoist, much easier. Hoist it up, pop in the tranny jack, and shes down.

Much easier than struggling under a few inches of clearance at an awkward angle.

 

For automatics the flywheel is called a Flex Plate. You can buy those new cheep at autozone for $15. But the teeth for the starter are on the torque converter, but a quick look at autozone and I couldn't find one. Your probably going to have to get one from a transmission shop.

The transmission has to be removed to take off the transfercase. It is very possible to do in a driveway on a weekend. Get a transmission jack and a few friends to help you move it around.

 

Try rockauto.com for parts. they are very reasonable and quick to get you the parts. Also recommend do change it out at a shop..much easier than laying on your back and trying to wrestle with a 300lb tranny, even if you have a tranny jack. clearance issues, weather, just a few factors to consider...hope you get her fixed.