I am experiencing the same problem. I have a mechanic friend you has not looked at my truck suggested unbolting the motor mounts and jacking the tail of the transmission I have not tried this yet but plan to in the morning.
How do I get to the flywheel bolts on a 98 dodge dakota to remove a transmission
Remove the 1992 Dodge Dakota inside door panel. The door handle mechanism will be visible. Remove the door handle linkage. Remove the door handle retaining bolts.
the fender must be well loosened or removed to get to the hinge bolts
Remove wheel Re-install 2 lug bolts to hold rotor in place Remove flexible brake line Remove caliper mounting bolts Slide caliper off rotor
The flywheel just bolts up, remove the bolt.
Remove the shield on the front lower side of the bell housing.
you have to remove trans.after trans is removed remove tork.conv.check bushing in front pump you will find that it is bad
its in the dash youl need to drop the dash and air box and it should be 3 or 4 bolts to remove
It is a mixture of both.
how do you fix transmission on a dodge ddakota
If it's an automatic take the inspection plate off and on the passenger side there is a L shaped bracket. Remove the bracket it has 3 bolts. You can get to them from there.
Remove the top and bottom radiator hoses including the transmission fluid, then remove the side mounting bolts, after that is completed, slide the radiator up and out of the engine compartment