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Jack
Dodge Dakota
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8/07/2003
20:01:13
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 Subject: Towing.
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I bought a 2000 dakota sport ext.cab with a 3.9 auto trans. What mods do you recomend to increase the low end torque to pull around 5000#. Please no hemi swap or 513 gear B.S. I drive the truck 80 miles a day and will only tow now and then. Also it's a 2wd. and I would like to install a limited-slip dif. Any advice? Thanks.
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ErnieQuad03
Dodge Dakota
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8/07/2003
22:29:57
|  RE: Towing.
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I would say if you do not have 3.92s in the rear, those would help with the 3.9
The limited slip shouldn't be a problem, there are several options available, just try a search here on this board, lots of good advice on that topic.
I used to have a 3.9 4x4 ext. cab auto with 3.92s and pulled a trailer close to 4000#, did a great job towing, hills were a bit challenging though.
A few quick mods that would help and not be very costly are....
Intake system (I recommend intense performance)
Dynomax Super Turbo #17748
180 degree stat
F&B 48mm throttle body, or if on a budget a V8 throttle body.
It should not pull too bad with the setup you have now anyway. One definite is to make sure you have a trans cooler! Very important!
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Jack
Dodge Dakota
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8/08/2003
01:27:17
| RE: Towing.
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Thanks for the reply. What model V-8 T.B. bolts on the V-6? Any computer upgrade needed? I bought the truck used and don't know what gears are there. Any way to find out besides counting teeth? And last, would the T.B. offset the torque loss of a cat-back 1 to 2 system? Love the chrome tips out the back. Thanks again.
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ErnieQuad03
Dodge Dakota
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8/08/2003
11:06:07
| RE: Towing.
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Best way to tell what gears you have is by looking in your glove box. There should be a sticker there listing the gears.
As for the V8 TB, I know one off of a 318(5.2L) works, not sure if the 360 is the same. You will also need to replace your TB cable with a V8 TB cable, and from my experience, if you were to go to a new TB, go with the 48mm F&B if money is not much of an issue, it is $400 but in my opinion the best TB upgrade for a 3.9 and it was made specifically for it.
If you are doing a cat-back dual exhaust, stick with the 2.5" up to the muffler, out of the muffler run 2 1/4" pipes with some nice long 3" tips. You will not notice any low-end loss and if you do it would be very minimal...also with the addition of the TB and an intake like K&N or Intense Performance, you will definitely not lose any low-end. If you go with a single-in/out setup, then stick with 2.5" all the way, no need to go 3", just run a 2.5" system with a 3" tip. I suggest staying with a single system if you are going to tow 5000#.
If you want to make these changes, these are basically your costs (these are approximates)....
F&B TB - $400
Intake - $150 (www.intenseperformance.com)
Exhaust - ($300-$400) for a shop to give you a nice 1 to 2 system.
So for close to $800-$1000 you will have a much better running 3.9
Not sure the costs for the gear upgrade if you are in need of that. But I would not change the gears until you have towed what you want to tow with the current gears...and if you check the tag in the glove box, you may be in luck and have the 3.92s in there already.
My new Dakota is now a 4.7L Quad Cab 4x4 with 3.55 gears, with the setup I have, the 3.55s are doing just fine and I will not go to 3.92s unless needed. When I had my 3.9 CC 4x4, it had 3.92s so I never had the chance to tow with 3.55s in a 3.9
Hope this info helps you out.
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Jack
Dodge Dakota
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8/10/2003
07:43:18
| RE: Towing.
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Yesterday I saw a caravan pulling a four wheel flatbed trailer with a monty ss on it. Left lane, 70mph. I think I'll be fine. Thanks again.
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ErnieQuad03
Dodge Dakota
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8/10/2003
13:38:53
| RE: Towing.
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Good luck with the towing, everything should do well. Defintely get a trans cooler if you don't already have one. They are inexpensive and easy to hook up yourself, or most local shops will install them for about $25-$30.
My friend's dad has a 4.3L Chevy conversion van, when they were pulling over the normal suggested tow limit of the vehicle, they blew the transmission right out, after that, they replaced the whole trans and had a cooler added, definitely do not pull that much weight without investing the money in the cooler.
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J and J Auto
Dodge Dakota
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8/10/2003
21:57:15
| RE: Towing.
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The 1.7 crower roller rocker arms will give you
about 18hp and 20lbs more torqe at the rear wheels
If you do a V8 TB swap be sure its of a 96 or
newer truck and yes 318 360 both use the 50mm
body with a 48mm torque step and will bolt right
on the V6 but you may need to also swap the cable
Larry
J&J Auto
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No hills
Dodge Dakota
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8/10/2003
23:49:49
| RE: Towing.
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That would be some scary sh*t to pull anything with a dak.. Get a real man's truck.
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jeremy
Dodge Dakota
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8/12/2003
01:24:46
| RE: Towing.
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i towed a 4000# uhaul from idaho to new york, over the rockies even. No mods at all except i move the tv cable a little to change shift points. It did fine and is stil fine, but it was a slow trip. 25 up the pass, 50 into wind.
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