42RH/A500 4WD vs 2WD

[halfafish]

Hi all. I am continuing my path towards putting a 42RH in my 72 Coronet wagon. I am having trouble locating a 42RH locally, either as a core or a running unit. That said..........

I found a local 96 Ram 1500 that went into a corner too fast and laid over on the driver's side. The damage was enough to total the truck but the drivetrain is good. The engine and trans still runs and drives. That's the good news, so I went to get eyeballs on it today. It's for sure the right trans, but the bad news is it's a 4WD truck with a married transfer case - I thought it was a 2WD. For those who have been down this path before is the 4WD business a deal killer?

I have been in contact with a local trans rebuilder that was going to put one of these together for me but his two core 42RH units both had internal water damage making them junk. If he still has the tailshaft parts, can that be swapped out with the 4WD and transfer case business?

Or, bottom line, should I just keep looking for a 2WD version.

TIA for the help for this transmission newby!

 

[BeepBeepRR]

1992 Dakotas have the 42rh after 1996 they went to the 42RE Possible optional vehicles that used the same trans would be Ram vans, Dakotas, Maybe some Jeep Cherokees. From what I was reading that you could install the main shaft out of the 42RH 2wd into the 42RH 4wd but you will need to have a few parts from the donor 42RH 2wd like the tail shaft. Here is some reading for you. They discuss this very thing. https://www.dakotaforumz.com/threads/4x4-to-4x2-trans-question.1493/

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Applications:​

A500 (40RH/42RH/40RE/42RE/44RE)​

• 1989-2001 Dodge Ram pickup 150/1500 V6/V8(2WD)
• 1989-2003 Dodge Ram Van B150/B250 V6/V8
• 1989-2003 Dodge Dakota
• 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee I6
• 1996-1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2 V8
• 1999-2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.1 TD
• 1998-2000 Dodge Durango 5.2L V8 (4WD (98-99) or 2WD (99-00))
• 1998-2000 Aston Martin Virage V8 5.3L

 

[pnora]

Hi all. I am continuing my path towards putting a 42RH in my 72 Coronet wagon. I am having trouble locating a 42RH locally, either as a core or a running unit. That said..........

I found a local 96 Ram 1500 that went into a corner too fast and laid over on the driver's side. The damage was enough to total the truck but the drivetrain is good. The engine and trans still runs and drives. That's the good news, so I went to get eyeballs on it today. It's for sure the right trans, but the bad news is it's a 4WD truck with a married transfer case - I thought it was a 2WD. For those who have been down this path before is the 4WD business a deal killer?

I have been in contact with a local trans rebuilder that was going to put one of these together for me but his two core 42RH units both had internal water damage making them junk. If he still has the tailshaft parts, can that be swapped out with the 4WD and transfer case business?

Or, bottom line, should I just keep looking for a 2WD version.

TIA for the help for this transmission newby!

Find a 2wd. Using a 4wd will involve a complete tear down along with finding the needed 2wd components.

 

[pnora]

Plus anything newer than 96 will require electrical components to make it function correctly.These are RE models. Best to find a 95 or older that's the RH models which are mechanical.

 

[Rebelrouser]

Hi all. I am continuing my path towards putting a 42RH in my 72 Coronet wagon. I am having trouble locating a 42RH locally, either as a core or a running unit. That said..........

I found a local 96 Ram 1500 that went into a corner too fast and laid over on the driver's side. The damage was enough to total the truck but the drivetrain is good. The engine and trans still runs and drives. That's the good news, so I went to get eyeballs on it today. It's for sure the right trans, but the bad news is it's a 4WD truck with a married transfer case - I thought it was a 2WD. For those who have been down this path before is the 4WD business a deal killer?

I have been in contact with a local trans rebuilder that was going to put one of these together for me but his two core 42RH units both had internal water damage making them junk. If he still has the tailshaft parts, can that be swapped out with the 4WD and transfer case business?

Or, bottom line, should I just keep looking for a 2WD version.

TIA for the help for this transmission newby!

Don't remember all the parts I needed, but yes if you have the output shaft governor, and tailhousing you can build one. I used an electric shift version and changed out the valve bodies as well. Been a couple years ago so I don't remember all the little stuff I had to do.

I have one done on the shelf for my 65. And yes those transmissions are getting really hard to find.