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PDF Dodge DAKOTA INSTALLING AN 8 3 4 REAR END manual

Dodge DAKOTA INSTALLING AN 8 3/4 REAR END manual. The 8 ¾ rear is one of the best rear ends ever made. It is strong and lightweight. Best of all, it gives you a better rear end and keeps your Dakota all MOPAR. It’s not that hard, once you have all the info. When I looked into doing this I found guys that had done it, but nobody could give me good details. So I’m going to try and do that here based on my experience. I’m sticking to the Dakota specific install issues. At the end of this, I’ll post some links on specifics of the 8 ¾ with respect to housing specs, gears, sure grip’s, etc. Which 8 ¾ rear housing should I use? Some people said A-body, some said B-Body, etc. I used an E-body rear out of a 1970 Challenger. It is about ½” narrower than the stock rear end in my Dakota, a minimal difference and probably a positive in that it makes it easier to run wider tires in the rear. I’ve seen difference measurement on track width etc. The “been there done that answer” from somebody who has had each of these side by side is that E-Body rear is ½” narrower than a stock 8 ¼ rear from a 1995 Dakota. Other rears may work, but I can tell you from experience that the 70-74 E-Body rears DO work. Will I have to do anything to the housing to mount it in my Dak? You will have to put the spring perches and shock mounts in the proper place for your truck. You can cut the spring perches and shock mounts off of your existing rear but I don’t recommend it. P4120074 is the Mopar part number for new spring pads and they’ll only cost you about $8. New shock mounts can be made out of steel square stock. It will make for a cleaner install. The placement of the spring pads and shock mounts is critical to maintaining your suspension geometry and driveline angles. It can change your pinion angle which will result in a wicked vibration in your drivetrain. So, make sure your measurements are good if you do it yourself. Or get someone to do who builds rear ends on a regular basis. Also, you want to weld onto a bare housing. When you weld onto a rear end, you bend it. If you weld onto a complete unit, you can’t straighten if afterwards. You want to weld you new mounts onto the bare housing so you can straighten it and then re-assemble. This is the RIGHT way, the PROFESSIONAL way to do this.

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