My '06 Dakota 4x4 ext cab has a Getrag 238 6 speed. Third gear is cracked and isnt engaging. The rest of the trans is working and shifting fine. We know this because the clutch, slave cylinder, throw out bearing are new and the trans has been driven, opened and inspected by a local shop. Individual parts are near impossible to find and i cant drop $1900 on the whole countershaft assembly. I'm hoping i cant get some help with some questions before going back to the mechanic. The mechanic has suggested converting to a nv3500. Ive looked, read and called around and this seems like a relatively straightforward swap that many (some?) have done successfully. Seems like the only modding that needs to be done is to one of the sets of brackets holding the trans in place. Is this correct? Is modifying the mounts an "easy" job for some one with experience fabricating mounts? Would the nv3500 use the same clutch kit as the one that matches to the Getrag 238? Are there any glaring reasons not to do this swap? If i have this swap done, are there enough Getrag 238 owners out there that would (might) be interested in the parts if we parted it? Alternately, is there a way to get the build specs on the Getrag 3rd gear so that it could be machined or someone that can get hard to find Dakota parts or does someone know of a more recently made vehicle that uses the same Getrag 3rd gear?

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

Not sure if anyone has done the swap to a NV3500 on a 3rd Gen Dakota.
Here is one post, but it was in a 2nd Gen Dakota. The swap was going from a NV3500 to a Getrag trans.

 

Thanks, I read that. According to a mechanic that has done one (1), there's a lot less work involved, but the input shaft needs to be swapped for one with the correct splines.