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Sasquatch
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2002
19:36:51

Subject: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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I was just throwing the idea around as I'm sure many of you have before, but why aren't manual trannys available in either the 5.7 or the 5.9? Can you buy a manual tranny aftermarket for either?

Let me know what you guys think. I don't have either, but would love to drop either in, but I prefer manual.



justa4x2
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2002
20:19:17

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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im pretty sure the ram 2500 and 3500 hemi has an available manual. not sure why not in the r/t.



Sasquatch
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2002
21:10:45

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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My bad, I just checked on the Hemi, it is available in manual for the 2500/3500, didn't check the 1500. I could have sworn it wasn't available last time I configured one. Sorry about that bad info. Still wondering about the R/T though.



tsp159
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2002
21:30:46

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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Because Chrysler doesn't love us.



youngbw
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2002
21:31:28

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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They are working on it. If you want some info contact these guys. info@keislerauto.com ask for Shafi. They have a 408 Dak sport with an aftermarket 5 speed, and they are working on a 6 speed for it right now. I have seen it, its slick, killer shifting and looks OEM. Converting the RT is next.

Barry



Todd W
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12/03/2002
23:52:08

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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I believe the big reason there isn't a manual in the Dakota RT is because the NV3500 won't handle the 360. Or at least, not reliably. The RAM has the NV4500 in it, I think, and it's actually a larger tranny. It won't fit in the Dakota without modifications to the truck itself. And since Dodge is an assembly line setup, anything that requires making major changes like that gets tossed.



Red
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2002
00:16:04

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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You probably wont see a manual tranny in any performance truck. If you look at the history of trucks, ill go back as far as the cyclones and typhoons, the lightening, and now rts. Think about it, dealerships have enough problems with broken hardware or bad engineering, imagine if they threw a standard in these trucks and every joe blow went out there trying to do 6000 grand clutch dumps, it would be a disaster. And from an economic point of view, it would cost a lot of money for dodge to implement a durable 5-6 speed, the cost of tooling and implementation would jack the price of the truck up at least a couple grand. Also trucks dont make good standards, not a small enough throw. I had a 69 chevy truck with a 4 speed, and i had hell shortening the throw to get decent shifts. Dont get me wrong, I love standards, and would love to have one, but I dont see Dodge putting them in, it would have to be aftermarket.



92whitedak
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2002
00:50:20

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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good point on the throw distance. I've got to say I'd be begging to have a manual in my dak, but i'd also be willing to bet i would have major back problems after i put in a nice short throw kit ;)



Hersbird
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2002
10:47:37

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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Last I heard the 2500/3500 Rams with the 5.7 Hemi and manuals are on indefinate hold. Probably not even the NV-4500 will hold up to the Hemi's even greater torque. You wouldn't want the nv-4500 as a performance tranny anyway. It's first and even 2nd gears are deeper then the automatic's first gear. It makes the gap between 2nd and 3rd gears huge. The nv-3500 is the only manual designed to fit into the current Dakota and it's not rated for the input torque of a 5.9 or a 5.7, (and also not good enough for a 4.7 HO, so don't expect if the HO 4.7 makes it to the Dakota for it to be available with a manual either.) Has anyone ever seen a 5.7 Hemi 2500/3500 Ram on the lot with a manual? I've seen the deisels but no manual Hemis.



Mark R
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2002
17:15:36

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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Last time I checked the deisels made a lot more torque than a 5.9 or a hemi, so what tranny do they use in those trucks.



Hersbird
Dodge Dakota
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12/04/2002
23:07:51

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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The deisel 6-speed is the NV-5600 which is very big, and very strong. The transmission weighs over 3 times as much as the nv-3500 in the Dakota! The gearing is better spaced then the NV-4500 as it starts and ends at the same ratios but has an extra gear in there reduce the rpm drop from gear to gear. Still if performace were the goal, the 6 speed viper transmission is plenty tough enough and will be installed in the SRT-10, so should be pretty easy to add to any ram with factory parts.



Tim
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2002
22:29:38

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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I always laugh when someone says the NV 3500 won't handle the 360, I can beet a stock 360 all day with my slightly modified 5.2 with 5 spd.



Hersbird
Dodge Dakota
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12/11/2002
23:50:58

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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That's because it's your transmission that's beating the 360, not the 318. Put that transmission behind a 360 and it will be even faster, until the motor 'beats' the transmission. Is your truck a Gen 3? If not then you also have a bunch of weight reduction on you side as well (I used to have a 93 Dakota 5.2/auto with a few mods that could beat some stock R/Ts also, it ran a 14.9). Bottom line there would be an unacceptible level of failures if they put the nv-3500 behind the 360, that's why they even bother rating them in the first place! Some nv-3500's do survive in higher torque applications, but could you imagine the bad press that would result if somewhere in the neighborhodd of 50% of then failed? Even the most nototious problems faced by a specific car get past even a 20% failure rate, and that usually spells doom for future sales of that car forever.



Texas Todd
Dodge Dakota
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12/12/2002
08:56:19

RE: Why no manual tranny in Hemi and R/T?
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Well,

I'm just glad I could get my set-up with the 5spd manual! A 01, Quad, 4.7, with some mods.

I did get a whole new tranny under warranty, though it wasn't a torque issue, the synch. for third went out, and they replaced the whole thing.

With the few mods I have, for very little money, the most exspensive mod was the HO cams, for $110, and with no belt fan, this thing really moves!

I do hope they can continue to design comparable tranny's for the engines they're putting out, for those of us who can't live without a manual tranny.



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