i cant find the trans dipstick on my 98 dakota 5 speed ive looked everywhere and anywhere and cant find it

 

Well you wont find one cause there isnt one.

 

thats what i thought but then how am i supposed to check the trans fluid?

 

There is an Allen bolt plug in the fill hole on the upper right side of the transmission. Remove it and check the level of fluid with your finger. It should be just below the bottom edge of the fill hole. You can maybe look at or smell the lube from the transmission to tell if it needs changed. If so, the drain plug with the same size Allen head is on the bottom of the transmission. I don't know what transmission and lube they used in 98. Read your manual to find out what transmission you have and what fluid to use, or you can call the Dodge dealer, give them your VIN and they can tell you what fluid and how much it needs. If you are unsure when it was last changed it may be a good idea just to go ahead on and change it anyway. I change mine at every 45 to 48,000 miles.

Jimmy

 

its a 17mm allen and is a bitch to find if you don't have one haha and they use mopar, gm, pennzoil synchromesh from dodge its called mopar manual tranny fluid or something...why do you wanna check it? the manual says its good for life but i changed mine anyways the hardest part was finding that damn 17mm haha

 

Some are 17mm, some are not. The plugs on my 2001 are 5/8", way smaller than 17mm. I found the right Allen head wrench in a good set of large Allen wrenches from Northern Tool. Seems like the set cost about 15 or 20 bucks. The guy at Northern even let me use his micrometer and flashlight to crawl under the truck and measure the fitting on the plug. The wrench set has come in handy on other jobs too.

Jimmy

 

i dont see why they'd put different size fill holes on then maybe someone changed yours even tho i believe you got it with that but still am not sure how when i did it and everywhere you read it says 17mm and your the only one i've heard thats gotten it without it but im not here to argue heres a link on how to do it even tho its an nv3550 its basically the same the fluid changing at least http://www.4x4xplor.com/trannyservice.html

 

You could always find a bolt with the right sized head and add a couple of jam nuts to the end of it and use that as a wrench. Being as how I usuallu have some metric bolts around from my V.W. projects this has come in handy a time or so. 5/8= 16mm, 17 is closer to 11/16. It should be one of those 4.

 

The fill hole plug is 24 mm socket & the drain plug is 1" as I recall , weird but that's what mine has. The others are right that the only way to check the oil is sticking your finger or an approved wick device. of coruse don't use anything that will contaminate the oil.
The tranny in my 99 dakota is a NV3500 synchromesh and I purchased 3 quarts of Pennzoil syhcnromesh oil (& one Lucas tranny treatment 11.99 )from autozone at 7.99 a quart , it takes more than the manuals say to reach the bottom of the fill plug . It took 3.5 quarts , but was fully drained and flushed . I also pulled the shifter due to a leak & found both factory gaskets to be uselessly deteriorated . So knowing normally using silicone gasket sealant on trannys is a poor sealant . I used an effective approach of cleaning the center tin port deflector and all surfaces with alcohol , then micro-meshed the same areas then applied the high temp ultra red-orange permatex silicone gasket maker sealant . It has not leaked and the tranny has never been better