my97dakota

Hey ya'll I've got a 97 dakota 3.9 v6 5 speed, that i'm wanting to make into an auto. I bought the thing with no trans and with a motor that knocks. and yet the entire thing only has 127000 on the dash. Anyway, I've already got all the auto matic things and another motor for it to make into an auto but have run into a few problems.

the motor and trans that i have are out of a 94 dodge ram 3.9 v6 auto.

One of my problems is on my 97 auto trans wiring, there are 2 sensor plugs that, i was told, relate to one another as Neutral safety switch plugs and the back up lights. On my 94 trans, there is only the 1 plug, right below the gear selector which controls all of that. would I run into problems with the one switch plugged up and the other plug tucked away?

Also on my 94 trans, the over drive control switch, also what i was told, is a 3 prong switch. Right by the gear selector. On my 97 wiring, it's a 7 prong plug. Could i splice the 97 wiring plug with only the wires that i need, splice them back together with my 3 prong plug, plug it all up and go on with no problems or am I going to have to spend 500 bucks for a trans that I absolutly know nothing about? Ya know.

If any body can help me, I would GREATLY appreciate it. I've been stuck with this thing for 2 weeks almost and cant drive it cuz it's my only vehicle.

And if it's not to much to ask, could i get wiring diagrams of both years labeling what each wire is spose to do regarding the switches. Again, i would love to know and say thanks to whoever can help me on this.

my97dakota

Thanks for the quick response. In all honesty, I've already got an automatic for the 97 but it's bad. Thats kinda why i was asking if i could splice the wiring that fits the 97, find the ones that i only need for the 94, plug it up and go, ya know. I know the wires have got to be the same, theres just more wires there that i don't need for the 94 to work. ya know. I just would like to get ahold of the wiring diagrams for the 97 and the 94 that point out what each wire does on each tranny plug. I've done this before but it was on a 86 cutlass with a 3 speed lockup and i put a 4 speed lock up in it. Dodge is a lot different too, ya know. let me know ya'll. thanks

my97dakota

yeah I hear ya and opinions help to ya know. In all honesty, don't get mad at me or any thing, i like opinions my self, to a certain degree, but my philosophy on opinions is "opinions are like ********, ya know, everybody's got one" ya know. your opinion helps, seriously cuz your the only one that's given me some pointers. thanks

I looked, and called around for a 42re trans and a re builder. The CHEAPEST i could find a good used one for was $400. LOL, I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH TO GIVE FOR A TRANS THAT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. ya know. and a rebuilder was around $800. $846.68 to be excact with labor and parts included. Who's got that to put into a 30 to 90 day warranty trans. My luck, it'll go out a day or 2 after the waranty. that's the family luck charm. seriously.

Now i've also looked at the 94 trans and noticed that theres only 3 wires inside of it and they go to what looks like 2 little servos. From what I can remember from a 3 and 4 speed gm trans ( th350 and a 200r4) I think they relate to the lock up on the convertor. I think, i'm still not sure. would I be able to run an aftermarket set-up for the torque convertor lock up if thats what they're for?

my97dakota

Brother, i appreciate the help. I'll let ya know what i come up with.