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1997 Dakota 5.2 4X4 - what do I need for a manual swap?

4K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Primus 
#1 ·
Hello! This is my first post on this forum.

I have owned my Dakota since 2002. It was my first ever vehicle and despite having gone through at least 70 other cars I still have it.

It's a single cab, short bed, 4x4 with a 5.2 V8. I'm told this is not a common combo exactly, which leads to the question.

What all exactly do I need for a manual swap? Pedals from a manual Dakota I'm assuming, but which trans exactly [NV3500?] and other bits do I need and which models have them.

Keeping it 4X4 is a must, and also I live in CA so I don't know if the ECU on these trucks needs a reflash after a manual swap to eliminate the check engine light. A number of the Volvos I have owned have needed it after the conversion.

Thank you! I have had the truck on non-op for a few years and I am doing a full blown restoration on it. It's had a rough life but it's never failed me so my goal is to make it nice again.
 
#2 ·
You'll need the NV3500 and the associated transfer case, as the automatic transfer case has a different input shaft length. If you can get the front driveshaft from the manual donor, it should bolt right up. The same should be true for the rear driveshaft, depending on the cab/bed configuration of the donor. Otherwise, you may need to lengthen or shorten it.

Ideally, finding an entire donor truck would be best, and just swap it all over. Flywheels and clutch kits for the 5.2 can still be ordered brand new and the clutch master/slave combo is a sealed unit you can order brand new.

I'm not sure about 2000+ model years, but I've read that at least on the '98-99 Durangos, swapping or flashing the PCM was not needed, and there was no CEL. You'll have to bridge a switch to trick the truck into thinking it's in neutral so you can start the truck, but that's not hard. Again, having a complete donor would allow you to just use that PCM.

As far as the NV3500 is concerned, I believe any from the 3.9, 5.2, or the 5.9 in the 2500+ trucks should bolt up. Though I've read somewhere that the 2500 and 3500 trucks use the NV3500HD, so perhaps looking for the transmission out of a 3/4 or 1-ton may be best. However, I know the 5.2 Dakotas did come with a manual option, not sure if they used the NV3500 or the AX15 (they used both of those in the 3.9 V6 for sure).
 
#4 ·
The problem with the Ram 3/4 or 1 ton trucks is that the manual's may have been the NV4500 and the input and output shafts had a different spline counts, and maybe different shaft diameters. You might not be able to get past that by swapping the U-joint yokes.
 
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