Which Transmission?
 

Looking at buying a 04 Dakota quad 4X4 with bad transmission. Which transmission do I need to look for? It has 3.9 engine Thanks

Rockauto says that in 2004 only the 4.7L and 3.7L were available, in which case the 3.7 would have a 42RLE.

http://www.dodge.com/webselfservice/dodge/index.html

Click link and click "equipment listing" which is on the left under "Your Vehicle". Enter VIN and download the list. That will tell u.

I'm pretty sure that 2003 was the last year they had the 3.9L in the Dakota.

The 3.7/4.7/5.7 motors all had the (5)45RFE. I believe the 42R(L)E was discontinued in 03 with the pushrod magnum motors.

3.9 pushrod magnum has 42R(L)E, 5.2 pushrod magnum has 44RE, 5.9 pushrod magnum has 46RE.

I will look into it further, I have not seen vehicle yet, just talked on phone. Is 03 better than 04 with the V6? Can they pull light loads? Thanks

I am also interested in what it has as I recently acquired a 04 quad cab 4x4 with a 3.7. If the 4.7 has the same tranny as the Hemi 5.7 has then the 3.7 must also use the same trans as the 5.7 Hemi, right? If that is right I heard they are excellent transmissions.

I believe that the only application of the 545RFE in the Dakota was with the 4.7L V8. The 3rd Gen Dakota used the 42RLE with the 3.7L V6; therefore, if the 42RE was not used, it was likely the 42RLE. I know this site is far less than perfect, but I believe it is correct. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradrive#42RLE

I didn't realize they kept the 42R(L)E for the 3.7. I mean I can see the (5)45RFE taking more power to turn than the 3.7 makes seeing as it's a not-very-efficient slushbox, but at the same time the 42R(L)E is such an old box from the A904 days, I'd expect DCJ to finally have a new version.

While the names are confusingly similar, there is a big difference between the 42RE and the 42RLE. The 42RE as you listed is based off of the A904 torqueflite. The 42RLE is a rear wheel drive application of the 42LE/A606 Ultradrive first introduced in the LH cars (Intrepid, Concorde, LHS, Vision/300M). The 545RFE has a very strange selection of gear ratios, but is a very durable unit from what I hear. All things being equal if it were possible to use the 545RFE with a 3.7L V6 in a Dakota, that is what I would prefer to use as it has the widest gear ratio spread (545RFE: 3.00=1st to .67=5th vs. 42RLE: 2.80=1st to .69=4th).