what options are available for swapping/replacing trannys or converting an auto to stick on a 97 dakota 4x4 V6 w/AT?
looking into pickin this truck up soon and need to know my options also are any of these trannys known to be problematic etc.

 

umm well first ur gunna need a manual tranny, the stick prolly gunna have to drill a hole threw the floor bored might have to move stuff round n the engine bay, and if its 4x4 u may have to move the 4x4 shifter depeneding im not quite sure on truck tranny swaps but its a lot of work talkin atleast 20-40 hrs worth of work if done correctly i kno this cuz i looked into doin it wit my old accord

 

I have a 1997 4x4 nothing but problems the auto. But than again it was mostly self inflicted but the thing is the tranny was shot after rebuilt once and now agian it is...

 

actually a auto-manual conversion in a 90+ accord is pretty simple, about 8 hours including swapping the tranny and thats me by myself with a hoist to lower the tranny from the top out the bottom. i know cause ive done it. i was more interested in the other answer i got. as i understand it the tranny in this truck is an aftermarket unit with lower gearing i guess for offroading. my next move is probably going to be to lower rear ratio to try to make it more road friendly.

has anyone actually converted this type of truck to stick on here or is this too technical of a question?

 

it might be hard. The pcm controls all of the shift points etc.. You might need a new computer but who knows Look at the wiring diagrams!

 

we were gunna pull the motor up out of the bay cuz we had nuttin to lift it on my uncle owns a shop and sumtimes does that stuff but he has to do it the hard way so he doesnt have to buy the expensive machinary.. it was a 94 accord i think he was also gunna rebuild the motor thou.. he said the tranny swap was easy but very time consuming and would take almost 20 hrs of manual labor ...that might includ the rebuilding of the engine.. lol honestly if my accord was a stick i wouldnt have baught my truck cuz i'd drop money into that.. now i gotta sell her cuz that was the deal wit my rents but when college rolls around and im done paying car payments im gunna get me another honda debating between another accord or a civic hatch.. i dont really wanna civic but i like that hatches u see souped up accords less than souped up civics.. i dont like the sedans/coupes cuz they are the most riced out wi tthe wings and the kits and what so ever..

 

i used to be big into hondas...now im sellin them off since my need for speed is being handled by my bike.
its not hard...it hard if you havent done it before...in total ive done about 8-10 engine swaps on various hondas and while the accord/prelude has the least clearance around the engine its still no where near as hard as pullin a motor out of a ford econoline van for example.
there is just a certain order to it that can make it real easy even by urself with only a hoist in a driveway or the woods.

bump has anyone swapped trannys on a 4x4 97 dakota????

 

I havent swapped the tranny but I have removed it's a Pain in the a**. Skidplates etc.. I have a etx. 3.9L I want stick but it would be hard with all the extra's... Not sure how it would be Look it up.