I'm using a 96 Dakota drive train in my 49 Dodge truck. It is a 318, OD auto, 4x4 drive train and I'm using everything except the front and rear axles from the 96. One of the 96 transmission cooler lines has a check valve in it (I assume its to stop converter drain down). It appears to be functioning correctly (the truck only had 44,000 miles on it), I have flushed out both lines, and I will be replacing the filter and fluid. I've heard the check valves plug up and cause the trans to overheat and fail. Should I keep the check valve, or remove it from the line? Gene

The check valve prevents the high-mounted cooler from draining back through the converter. I would remove it, lining material from the lockup converter is what normally clogs the check valve. Make a habit of making the first start of the day in Neutral instead of Park or install an aftermarket manual valve in the trans.

OK then, I have a question about that 96 Dakota that you are parting. I also have a 96 4wd Dakota. Are you using the steering column and the intermediate shaft between column and box> The stub shaft with the 2 U joints. I need that part for mine badly. If you arent using that and want to sell, I'd buy it from you. and a far fetched "how's the body"?

I posted on your thread.
I may have another shaft laying around here, while the 96 was still drivable, I had a column hooked to the cab on Dakota 4x4 frame so I could move it around the yard.
The body on the 96 was in much better condition then the frame was, but it was not cherry. Unfortunately, I cut up most of the decent cab, I've removed the firewall and the tunnel from an extended cab that only needed rockers the rest of the cab is still here, but the entire interior is removed. The center of the door bottoms are separated on both doors, but other then that, the doors were pretty straight, I may be cutting the door handles out of the doors to use the latches, handles, and locks, but those parts don't need to come from these doors (except the locks that match my ign key. The box is pretty nice, it would need patches on the top of the wheel tube inside the box, I didn't remove the fender extensions, but the box sides look pretty good. at this point, I'm intending on using the box floor and front panel, but it is still intact right now. The front fenders are junk, there is a rather large hole right through the top of the inner fenders on both sides.

Posted are pictures I have of the black Dakota. The last picture, inside the bedliner, you can see the bottom of one of the front fenders. Both look about the same.

No one around here is doing anything with this era Dakota. I'm cutting the parts out of this one because it would just go to the scrap other wise, I really do not want it sitting here over the winter if I can help it.

If there is anything you can use, let me know, I'll take specific pictures of those parts, I'd rather see them save a truck then be cut up or scrapped. Gene

Hello. I am curious if the check valve is the difference from the 93 and earlier lines?
I need lines for my 93 and see that Dorman and Duralast has them for 94-96 only Does anyone know what the other difference is? Fittings is the only thing that I can think of.

The transmission cooler lines have the same fittings at both ends on all the 90-96 Dakotas I've worked on. The inline check valve is in a short hose section that is crimped on to one of the steel lines about 6" from the radiator.

I have discovered that if you simply remove the check valve and its hose and replace it with a transmission fluid rated hose, it tends to blow the hose off the cooler lines, even with double hose clamps. When that hose comes off the steel line, it dumps 9 quarts of ATF+ 4 out onto the ground very fast. You discover that when the transmission quits functioning about a 1/4 mile from where it came apart. I did it 2x, the 1st time with a single clamp on each end of the hose, the 2nd time with the steel line flared a bit and double clamps. Both times refilling the trans made it work OK. That replaced section of hose where the check valve was really needs to have a steel replacement section with compression fittings on both ends.

was that section of line "bubble flared" on each piece so the clamps had something to resist the hose blowing off ?

Thanks Gene, much appreciated. Did you use the Dorman lines?
Did you need to purchase any fittings? I see in the first sentence that they matched.
I'm leery of getting lines that won't work.

The line ends were "flared" in the parking lot at a grocery store with what ever I could borrow from the O"Rilley's across the street from where the truck coasted into the parking lot. I don't remember for sure but I believe I used a regular flare just enough to make getting the hose back on the line much more difficult, then added another clamp on both ends. That lasted about a month when it blew the line off again. That time it got hauled home and the steel line with compression fittings replaced the rubber with 4 hose clamps. Both times when the hose blew off the ATF was cold, and both times it blew the hose off within 100' of first moving.

Hasn't caused a problem in about 3 years and 15,000 miles since.

Sorry, all I deal with are factory lines, but the lines from the older Dakota (early 1990) and the lines for the newer Dakota (at least up to 96) all interchange (bolt in, no modifications). Both the trans end fittings and the rad end fittings between the old and the new are the same fittings.

Dorman has been making replacement parts for a very long time. I suspect the reason for the limited dates on the trans cooler lines are because of the inline check valve. The earlier trans cooler lines did not have the check valve, so the newer lines are not considered a direct replacement. Doesn't mean they won't fit, just not exactly the same (the newer lines have the check valve, the old lines didn't have them, so they are not exactly the same). The fittings in the radiator are the same and the fittings on the transmission are the same. The transmission fittings are at the same location on the trans, and the fitting location on the radiators are in the same. The relationship between the transmission and the radiator are the same on all the 89-96 Dakotas.

I don't see any reason the Dorman lines won't work on your truck, unless there is a difference stated for different motors. If the motor use isn't stated as being different, all motors will use the same lines.

I removed the check valve on my cooler line because it was partly plugged up inside when I got the truck. I don't need the check valve in my cooler line on my truck because it gets used every day, and I put it in neutral (out of habit) after the 1st startup every day for about 30 seconds before I go anywhere. That 30 seconds in neutral refills the converter of any fluid that may have drained back into the trans pan while the truck was parked. I've been doing that for years.

The purpose of the check valve in the line was to keep the converter from draining the fluid back into the trans pan after sitting for a while. A converter can cause as much as 2 quarts to drain back into the pan and causes fluid leaks (by raising the fluid level in the pan above the pan and low transmission seals) and cause poor cold transmission function because the converter was not full of fluid on first start ups, after sitting for a while.

The challenge with the inline check valve is they can get plugged up over time from the small particles from the friction discs that get wore off from normal use, over time. The fluid picks up those fine particles and they collect around the check valve ball in the cooler line and prevents the ball from functioning correctly. Timely fluid changes at factory intervals usually solves the plugging issue, lack of fluid changes cause the problem.

Thanks for the explanation, much appreciated. I just ordered the Dorman lines.