If I wanted to put a manual in a 99 Dakota 5.9. Which transmission would be a correct fit. Also what else would I need like a clutch pedal and pcm? I am thinking about doing a swap but I want to see what I would need first to do it.

 

I would be looking for an NV4500.

As far as bolting up you could also look for an AX15 or an NV3500 I believe. Out of those 2 I would go with the 3500, it's the stronger of the two. But the 4500 is stronger still. That's what I'd be looking for if I had a 5.9.

The NV4500 can be found in the 1500, 2500 and 3500 series Dodge RAM V8's. Sometimes it came with the 5.2 and I think all of the 5.9's had the 4500.

And make sure it cam from a V8 equipped vehicle. The v8 versions won't be a direct fit.

 

Thanks man. I want a manual in my Dakota just not sure how much work it would take

 

Well you'd need not only the tranny, but the clutch assembly and the hydraulic master and slave cylinders, the pedal assembly, the shift tower, a new floor bezel to cover the big hole in the floor with a shifter coming through it...

Only way to make this work without breaking the bank would be to find a truck that you can use as a donor and get the whole system. I would also try to make a template of what the hole in the floor should look like so you can cut the right hole. I'm guessing that they only cut the hole in the floor on the manuals and the autos had a solid floor. But in all fairness I've never pulled the carpet back in an an auto.

I'm also not sure if the ECU controls the auto tranny in your truck or if there is a dedicated transmission computer. You might have to figure that out as well.

 

Oh, and I don't know anything about the hydrailic slave and master cylinder setup on an NV4500, but on the 3500 it sucks. The slave is not a serviceable unit. Most slave cylinders have a bleed nipple so you can pop the old one off and swap a new one in and then just bleed out the air and go. You can't do that on the dakotas (at least not on my 99). The FSM says that you have to buy a whole new pre bled assembly but you can only buy the individual parts at the parts stores so it's INCREDIBLY hard to bleed. I could never do it.

Not sure if the 4500's are the same, but if so I found a whole new prebled system on rock auto (everything from the fluid reservoir to the master and slave and all of the plumbing in between) that was filled and prebled so you can just bolt it up and go.

I would suggest trying to move the whole hydraulic assy over as a whole and not letting any air into the system if you get one off of a junkyard truck. Keep the fluid reservoir higher than all of the rest of the system at all times.

 

The nv4500 is a very strong tranny but will it fit with out major mod faction where the nv3500 will bolt right in and they are good tranny. I use to haul 3ton loads of scrap iron (on a trailer ) with no problems. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Thanks guys, now I just need to find a donor truck from a scrap yard.

 

You can use one form a 3.9 as well as the 5.2 if you go with the nv3500. But if you will need a flywheel for the 5.9.

 

check to see if you already have the hole in the firewall I did on mine but my auto shift cable was going thru it, for me my master cylinder bolted right up had the hole in the floor already but was covered up by a metal plate just modded that plate and everything bolted up just had to modify my transmission mount, I got transmission and flywheel pressure plate and clutch hydraulics out of a 01 dodge ram, but that clutch master wouldn't work of I had to buy one for my dakota, everything works perfect, ! And I did all this to my 97 dakota, I know 97 was the year they started putting the five speeds in them, hell I even already had the connector for the clutch pedal neutral safety switch but I don't use it , I make sure it's out of gear before starting

 

I think the 5.2 and the 5.9 use the same 12 clutch flywheel and pressure plate , the 02 ram had the 12 inch my dakota uses the 11 if it came factory with the stick, but I used the 12 that came off that 5.2 and put it on my 5.2, but I would still check that first, any auto parts place or dealer should be able to tell you that, if you have to get the auto parts guy to look it up, I used to work at oreillyauto till they fired my for a dirty shirt... And it's really easy to look it up and see if it'll work and all!