hey guys I'm new to the page, I'm thinking about buying a 98 dakota 5.2 4x4. truck is a 5 speed and it grinds 2nd, I've been trying to figure out if its worth getting. 110k miles on the truck. he wants 2 grand iwas gonna offer him 1500. it also needs a radiator. give me your advise please. can this project be done myself or d i need to pay a shop, any special tools needed. or should i replace the trans? any thoughts let me know thanks

 

Well can you drop and reinstall a transmission? If you can then you can definitely do all the work but I'm guessing you'd be looking to pay a shop for that. In my opinion in order to drop and reinstall a tranny you NEED a garage or paved driveway and a tranny jack. I've dropped trannies in yard/gravel driveway before but never reinstalled and I can only imagine how difficult that is.

I don't know much about the NV3500 which I believe is what is in that truck, but some transmissions really like certain fluids; for example my Accord grinded 3rd...internet said put GM Synchromesh (oddly enough) in it and that completely got rid of the grind. So, could be something as simple as a fluid change but you should only buy the truck if you're willing to do the worst case scenario and put a tranny in it, or if you know you can get back MOST if not all of what you spend on it.

In conclusion, I'd start my negotiating assuming the trans is shot. Seller may argue that point but I wouldn't listen to him.