Hi all and thanks in advance for any info.
I have a 1998 Dakota 2wd regular cab 5 speed with a 2.5 4 cyl that has 191,000 from the noises its making and the total loss of power going up hill it think its about to die. I'm curious when it dies could i put in a 318 motor or at least a 6cyl.

thanks,
James

 

You probably have either an ax15 or an nv3500 tranny. Both are good enough for the 239ci, 3.9L V6. They (the trannys) are not going to be strong enough for a V8 though..... well, they would work, just not last that long.

EDIT: Your truck probably has an AX5, NOT the AX15 or NV3500. The 2.5L 4 cylinders all came this way (truck and jeep). The AX15 and NV3500 is found behind the 6 cylinder motors.

 

so that tranny will bolt up to a SB? then if he sticks a V8 in there he could take it easy till he got a 904 or a 727?

 

The bell housing bolt patterns are the same between the 3.9, 5.2 and 5.9. I was mistaken about the tranny though. It will most likely be an AX5 which is the little brother to the AX15. I wouldn't trust the AX5 behind anything larger than a 4 cylinder. If you want a larger motor, swap it in with a larger tranny. 3.9/nv3500 should be pretty cheap, even if it's out of a donor truck.

 

Thanks for the info. The reason I was wanting to keep the tranny is because it's a 5 speed when I bought the truck the only thing I could find with a v6 or v8 came with automatics. I have ( knock on wood ) been very lucky with my transmission I just replaced my clutch at 185,000 miles and I've heard nothing but horror stories about the automatic transmissions in the Dakotas. I was just wanting a little more umph under the hood

 

Here is a pic under the hood of my '90 Dakota with a 340 / 727 combo.


Good Running Motor, just needs the right guy to tune her in

Don't forget, you'll need to look at your rear end gearing..... it's been a long
drug out project for me. But we finally got it.
Good Luck with your project!