Any tips for pulling 2.5L Dakota bellhousing?

[bigmistake]

Hey everyone, I'm going to be pulling a 2.5L Dakota bellhousing and was wondering if there were any tips from others that have done it.  I'm guessing it is the same as just pulling the whole transmission (which I have never done before, but from what I have read it is straightforward): remove rear driveshaft, remove crossmember, unbolt bellhousing from engine, remove bellhousing from transmission.

 

Are there any special tools I need or any tips that helped you along the way?  I went and started it a week or two ago and had a hard time reaching the bolts to remove the crossmember.  I only had an hour, so ended up leaving with the job partially done.

 

Thanks!

[87MJTIM]

A transmission jack would be helpful 

[mjeff87]

Where and what are you removing the trans from......junkyard or a vehicle in the driveway/garage/other?  If junkyard, just find a spare tire somewhere and place it in the general landing area of where the unit will fall once you back it off the engine (or not, you can just let it fall to the ground like most of the other meatheads that pull parts off with no regard for damage).  Either way, once you unbolt/remove the transfer case (if 4WD) or pull the slip yoke out of the back of the trans 2WD), you're gonna lose ALOT of lube out of the trans tailpiece, so be prepared for that either way.  Best bet is to pull the drain plug on the trans beforehand and drain the fluid into a pan.  Pretty straightforward after that....get the trans on the ground, then unbolt the BH.

[bigmistake]

12 minutes ago, mjeff87 said:

Where and what are you removing the trans from......junkyard or a vehicle in the driveway/garage/other?  If junkyard, just find a spare tire somewhere and place it in the general landing area of where the unit will fall once you back it off the engine (or not, you can just let it fall to the ground like most of the other meatheads that pull parts off with no regard for damage).  Either way, once you unbolt/remove the transfer case (if 4WD) or pull the slip yoke out of the back of the trans 2WD), you're gonna lose ALOT of lube out of the trans tailpiece, so be prepared for that either way.  Best bet is to pull the drain plug on the trans beforehand and drain the fluid into a pan.  Pretty straightforward after that....get the trans on the ground, then unbolt the BH.

 

Pulling at a junkyard.  Thanks for the tips!

[mjeff87]

Don't forget to disconnect/remove the shifter from inside the cab BEFORE pulling the BH bolts and trying to drop the tranny.  It's an easily overlooked step, because your mind is on everything underneath.

[omega_rugal]

bring enough extensions for the socket wrench...

[bigmistake]

Success!

 

 

I lucked out.  Someone had pulled the engine before I got there, so all I had to do was unbolt and go!

[carnuck]

I was looking at a ‘95 Dakota, but it has the Mitsubishi 2.5 (OHC) with 5 speed which is totally different than the AMC one used ‘96 to ‘02? So it’s not useful to Jeepers.

   If the diesel parts weren’t so hard to get, I still would entertain getting it and use that setup to put a Mitsubishi 2.6L turbo diesel in an XJ or MJ. 

   Most of them have cracked heads due to lack of enough cooling from the factory, but they were used in Dodge D50s as well as Mitsubishi Mighty Max and Ford Rangers, and the cast iron tractor/marine cylinder head bolts right on. 

 

 

One other thing for the OP, I recall needing the clutch and maybe flywheel for the swap as well because the AX15 clutch was bigger than AX5. 

   

Edited January 14, 2019 by carnuck
Forgot info