Originally Posted by DakCC4x4

Those AX15s were always bad about losing the syncros in 4th. Every one i ever had did that.

Originally Posted by chickenlights

i have a nv3500 that i just pulled from my truck with 120000 on it. works great you can have the clutch and flywheel with it. i live in columbus indiana. pm me if interested. only reason im getting rid of it is because i have a nv 4500 going in behind a 4 bt cummins

Originally Posted by volaredon

I think 1st gear is slightly too low in either an AX 15 or an NV 3500.... and too big a jump from 1st to 2nd not like these trucks are that heavy or anything, even loaded down

Originally Posted by yellowdakota

Hey guys, Im new to the forum and i was wondering what parts i would need and a ballpark estimate on what it would take to convert my 99 dakota 5.2L 4x4 from a automatic to a manual transmission. The reason im looking into this is because unfortunately the auto transmission just gave out Monday and doing this conversion is looking like a real possibility so i wanted to do some research on what i would need to do it. As i said, im not sure what parts it would take to do this, other than a manual transmission, clutch peddle, brake peddle, and possibly a new steering column. If possible, i wanted save a few bucks by using the automatic steering column i have now by just deactivating the column shifter. Is this possible or is there something that will require i get a manuals steering column to do the conversion? iv been looking for a long time all over the internet and have yet to find a strait forward answer and now that the auto failed, i figure now's a good a time as any to ask around for help/insight.

Originally Posted by Tom A

I disagree. I think the low first gear is awesome for starting off from a stop, especially on hills or when towing a heavy trailer (or when towing a heavy trailer on hills). It also helps the crawl ratio when you're offroad.