94 Dakota 2wd trans dilemma

wlk

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Aug 21, 2016
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Pennsylvania
Was driving to drop the truck off at my kids and she bucked, made some noises and 4th gear died about 30 miles from home. Drove it back home and 1st, 2nd and 3rd shift fine. If I turn on the OD button it sounds like a squirrel cage fan whirling in a bucket.
Dilemma as I just put $1600 in it to get it road worthy and was going to get a couple more years out of her, rust is starting to catch up with her- rockers and cab corners. 3.9l motor is good 160k in it. It took all my budget for now and since I just put all this into it, I really don't want to scrap it.
Was looking at putting a used transmission in it. I don't have the cash for a rebuild at the moment and I have no clue how to rebuild a tranny. I have a couple questions as I am not a transmission guy.
I know it has the 42RH in it which only has the electric solenoid for OD and everything else is hydraulic controlled. I found a couple older Dakota trans but they are from a 91 & 92 and are A500's. Which when reading are technically the same I believe. Will they work in my 94?
The 92 was said to be rebuilt several years ago but never installed, wants $600obo. The 91 has 131k on it and the guy wants $300. Both came out of 3.9l trucks.
The other thought I have is could it be the bands in it that went out? But the way it sounded I am thinking not but I am not sure. I know, it needs to be opened up but trying to figure out the best path for now. Going to talk to my mechanic today about it and see what he thinks.

Any help is appreciated.
 
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Drove it back home and 1st, 2nd and 3rd shift fine. If I turn on the OD button it sounds like a squirrel cage fan whirling in a bucket.
Dilemma as I just put $1600 in it to get it road worthy
Either use it just around town without OD, or dump it for $700-$800 while it still runs and you can still get some of your money back. Made little sense to put $1600 into a rusty 30 year old truck unless there is some emotional attachment.
 
Depending on how it gets used I'd probably just forget about 4th gear and enjoy my new three speed Dakota for a while before sinking more money into it...
 
Either use it just around town without OD, or dump it for $700-$800 while it still runs and you can still get some of your money back. Made little sense to put $1600 into a rusty 30 year old truck unless there is some emotional attachment.
Was my older son's truck he moved away and we wanted it out of the driveway, we have had it 6 years and my youngest son needs a truck, he bought his first home and supplies don't fit in a roadster. Besides he is going to use it to commute from Hagerstown to Fredrick over the winter. It was cheaper to put some money into it- 4 tires, inspection, front brakes, muffler and blown brake line than buy anything else which also need work.
 
Depending on how it gets used I'd probably just forget about 4th gear and enjoy my new three speed Dakota for a while before sinking more money into it...
That's the thing, hauling stuff but also a commuter from Hagerstown to Fredrick over the winter.
 
Went and talked w my mechanic with no real resolution yet. He did give me another 2 sources for some tranny's w warranties, looking into that tomorrow. Will also be taking the truck to a local tranny shop I have used before for service and complete rebuild and see what they think. Also get a price on how much to pull the pan and see if they can tell if it's just the band or if it needs a rebuild. Also get a ballpark on swapping a used one or even if they would do it. I got a price from my mechanic, not terrible but he hasn't pulled a Dakota trans before.
 
Why? You would have to take the transmission apart. I would hope solenoid.
It only has one solenoid and I could get lucky but I doubt it. A band would be less than a rebuild I think, was looking into it and some can be replaced without removing the tranny. Now I don't know if I could get so lucky if it would be my model or not.
 
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If you slap a new tranny in it, purge the cooler lines in the radiator. Maybe funnel some fluid through it, put the air to it, then a little more fluid down the funnel. Dodges also have a check valve in the cooler plumbing that goes bad, restricting fluid. Get rid of it.

R&R'ing a truck transmission is usually pretty simple, especially a 2wd.

I'd run a couple tanks of fuel through it first, locking out OD, to see if it's a livable situation. If you only lose 1-2 MPG, shrug?
 
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Was my older son's truck he moved away and we wanted it out of the driveway, we have had it 6 years and my youngest son needs a truck, he bought his first home and supplies don't fit in a roadster. Besides he is going to use it to commute from Hagerstown to Fredrick over the winter. It was cheaper to put some money into it- 4 tires, inspection, front brakes, muffler and blown brake line than buy anything else which also need work.

I can tell you if he drives it in the winter to stay on I-70 going from Hagerstown to Fredrick since it's 2wd. The back roads and 40 when it snows are terrible.

Heck, my commute to work from Mercersburg, PA to Hagerstown is all backroads and 4WD is pretty much required as there's very spotty road treatment.



But, back on topic. Any used transmission out of a similar truck is probably going to last as long as driving to the end of the road. It's a pretty big gamble. I'm also surprised you found a couple of those trucks in the junk yard. Most have hit the crusher by now.

Assuming you live sorta close to my area by some of your post Scott's Transmission in Fayetteville does a really good job and fair prices. He just rebuilt my co-workers transmission in his '89 Ram Charger for around $1600, and that was removed, rebuilt, and installed.
 
I can tell you if he drives it in the winter to stay on I-70 going from Hagerstown to Fredrick since it's 2wd. The back roads and 40 when it snows are terrible.

Heck, my commute to work from Mercersburg, PA to Hagerstown is all backroads and 4WD is pretty much required as there's very spotty road treatment.



But, back on topic. Any used transmission out of a similar truck is probably going to last as long as driving to the end of the road. It's a pretty big gamble. I'm also surprised you found a couple of those trucks in the junk yard. Most have hit the crusher by now.

Assuming you live sorta close to my area by some of your post Scott's Transmission in Fayetteville does a really good job and fair prices. He just rebuilt my co-workers transmission in his '89 Ram Charger for around $1600, and that was removed, rebuilt, and installed.
I appreciate the info. I live up on the other side of Harrisburg and if they could do the rebuild for $1600 +/- that would be worth putting it in a trailer and towing it down there. Going to a trans shop tomorrow to inquire about options. My mechanic was $800ish to R&R with a used option but depending on what my local shop is I will call the Scotts down your way after the new year. Then the kid could just drive up w a friend and pick it up, ~30mins from him.
 
The Overdrive section can be removed with the transmission in the vehicle, It takes experience & tooling to disassemble the O/D Housing so I wouldn't normally recommend someone do it at home.....The 700-800 pound Direct spring can seriously injure or kill you!
 
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Here's a quick overview of disassembling the O/D Housing, He talks about it getting cocked in the press....But of coarse his comes right apart. I can't stress enough how spooky it is when you remove the round wire snap ring & it doesn't come apart.

 
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