Grandpa's '92 Dakota

[Tonimus]

Sometime around '92, my Grandpa bought a new '92 Dakota. I went on a bunch of fishing trips with him in it. Always kept his fishing gear in the camper shell. The back always smelled of used tackle. He drove it pretty much exclusively until he passed in 2015.



My cousin ended up with it and drove it for a while. Ended up with a DUI and the truck got parked. Fast forward a few years, he learned his lesson and had bought a new truck, so Grandpa's was sitting. His apartment complex was giving him grief, so this past Thanksgiving he asked if I wanted it. That Sunday I dragged it home.


Starter wire needed repaired. Fixed that. Fuel pump is toast, so I got it fired up by bottle feeding it.


Son and I pulled all the bed bolts and lifted the bed off in preparation for pump replacement.


In desperate need of a cooling system flush, so we yanked the radiator and cleaned it out. Water pump and thermostat will be replaced next.


Slow going. Just working on it here and there with my oldest. It'll be neat to have it running again.

 

[stutaeng]

Interesting...What is the plan for it? Just get it running again? A college GF of mine had the later generation of Dakota, otherwise IDK anything about them.

I was gonna ask how easy or difficult swapping an LS would be on that chassis, but then I found this: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-swaps/1553358-world-s-easiest-5-3-swap-dodge-dakota.html

How long is that bed? Is it a photo perspective or is the Dakota longer than your Tahoe overall?

 

[Tonimus]

Short term is to get it running. Eventually want to swap a LS variant into it and make a quick little street truck. It has a 6.5' bed. The pic is a strange perspective, but it is a few inches longer than the Tahoe.

 

[Tonimus]

Old pump was toast.


We did get it fired after a wicked fuel leak.


Noisy lifter. Quieted down a bit after an rev-up tune up.


Pulled the upper accessory bracket so we could get at the bypass hose. New water pump, thermostat, and housing. Bypass hose is next, along with the missing heater fitting.

 

[Tonimus]

Lots going on in the personal life, but ultimately the oldest has backed out. He's not really interested in wrenching, and I'm not forcing an angsty teen.

So I have pivoted. Originally, the Duct Tape Camaro was intended to be a barely streetable race car. Then things got out of hand and it's now just a drag car. Grandpa's Dakota is in desperate need of an engine rebuild. Who the heck wants to rebuild a V6 Magnum?! Not this guy!

I was able to score a VERY rusty 2004 5.3 engine, already torn down, with all the accessories. Including the wiring harness, intake, throttle body, and PCM. Only thing missing is the pedal. $100. Once I laid eyes on, I saw the short block was beyond shadetree rebuilding.

Scared up another 5.3 long block with lifter tick and a TH400. $550


Get it all home and I find out the TH400 is actually a TH375 out of a '72 wagon. Call the guy up, no problem, he's got more TH400s, just have to go back and swap it out. Go back and end up getting this TH400 straight across.



I got rid of the rusty block and crank, kept all of the accessories. Plugged the PCM in to my laptop and verified reading and programming. Got to work on the harness to make it a stand alone. Got rid of a 5 gallon bucket worth of crusty loom and unneeded wires.


It'll be a slow project as my buddies and I have MANY projects. Current count is nine. But stay tuned for a drag and drive Dakota with a 5.3 and a TH400.

 

[stutaeng]

Nice! How do you control that transmission? Standalone controller?

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just find a good running 4L60e to keep the ECU/wiring more straightforward? But I have no idea how that would swap into that chassis?

 

[Tonimus]

TH400 requires no controller. No problem. It may have been easier to drop in a running driveline, but it’s not what I wanted. It’ll eventually be a turbo engine, and we’re already set up for TH400s and 4L80s. TH400 is also known as a 3L80.

 

[stutaeng]

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but YT Channel called Mountains Garage has a TON of videos on the TH400. Pretty sure he's got the most out there. I've watched a lot of them to learn about the shared parts with the 4L80e. He does crazy high power competition builds as well.

I like the guy. Facts, technical analysis, some old times stories and no BS, drama or loud music playing in tge background. Lol

He's in the New England arena, so he says sometimes commenters make fun of his accent. That's not here nor there...

 

[Tonimus]

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but YT Channel called Mountains Garage has a TON of videos on the TH400. Pretty sure he's got the most out there. I've watched a lot of them to learn about the shared parts with the 4L80e. He does crazy high power competition builds as well.

I like the guy. Facts, technical analysis, some old times stories and no BS, drama or loud music playing in tge background. Lol

He's in the New England arena, so he says sometimes commenters make fun of his accent. That's not here nor there...

I used his info and Nick from Nick's Transmissions to build a heavy duty race TH400 with my buddy. That's why we're already set up. Bought a couple of sets of Kent-Moore tools on eBay and was able to make a nearly complete TH400 rebuild set. Completely emptied the case, cut the bell off for an SFI one, and built it from the ground up.

 

[stutaeng]

Awesome!

Oh, so what i meant to ask earlier was how the TH400 works with the LS engines? Isn't there a TV linkage on those units? I'm not familiar with them.

 

[Tonimus]

Awesome!

Oh, so what i meant to ask earlier was how the TH400 works with the LS engines? Isn't there a TV linkage on those units? I'm not familiar with them.

There’s no cable on a TH400. Kickdown is actuated by a 12v input on the side of the trans. I plan on using the AC off command at WOT to activate the kickdown.