1990 Dakota 2.5/ 5spd manual A535/NP2500 gear ratio ?

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rustytoolss

rustytoolss

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I've be looking every where online, can't find any info. Can anyone tell me what the gear ratio (of the 5spd manusl trans) is for a 1990 Dakota with a 2.5 4cyl. The trans is the light duty A535/NP2500..It has a granny 1st gear and it has overdrive in 5th. Any help would be great..Thanks
 
For 1989 I am showing
  • 5 spd gear ratios
  • 3.79 (1st, creepy)
  • 2.29 (2nd)
  • 1.48 (3rd)
  • 1.00 (4th)
  • 0.79 (O/D)
  • 3.90 (Rev - even creepier)
  • Shows a different set of ratios from 1991 until discontinued in 1993, hope this helps...
 
Garrett Ellison said:
For 1989 I am showing
  • 5 spd gear ratios
  • 3.79 (1st, creepy)
  • 2.29 (2nd)
  • 1.48 (3rd)
  • 1.00 (4th)
  • 0.79 (O/D)
  • 3.90 (Rev - even creepier)
  • Shows a different set of ratios from 1991 until discontinued in 1993, hope this helps...
Click to expand...
can you tell me the ratios for the other years ? Thanks This helps alot.
 
rustytoolss said:
can you tell me the ratios for the other years ? Thanks This helps alot.
Click to expand...
I’ll get those to you tonight here, the newer ones are available on the Dakota site I came across. Oddly enough, the early ones are on a van site...
 
AX-15
1992 - 1993:
L4 and V6 AX-15 5-speed (1st 3.83, 2nd 2.33, 3rd 1.44, 4th 0.79 Rev. 4.22)
V8 No Manual trans offered. All info says 1991 was actually last year for NP-A535/NV-2500, I seen some info stating otherwise but it was determined to be incorrect. These are relatively light duty unit, but the NV-3500 isn't a whole lot better.
 
Last edited:
AJ/FormS said:
Fixed it for ya
Click to expand...
Was multitasking there, thanks! The ones I posted first were the standard ratios for all dodge NP-A535/NV-2500 transmissions. Production continued for other applications, and is still being used in some foreign Nissan vehicles, oddly enough.
 
I like those progressive ratios; the faster you go the shorter the splits;
.61-.62-.69-.79
definitely works well with a low-powered engine to keep it on the pipe.
For a street V-8 tho, the short od might not be the best idea, and the deep low is really really low, wanting about 3.23s as max rear gear. with 2.94s probably better. With 2.94x 2.33=6.85, this is a great V8 second gear. And third becomes 4.23 so that's a good gear for a stout engine to trap in. But in the quarter, you're done in third gear..... so that V8 is gonna need a very wide power band, to trap in third gear...... So the ET is gonna reflect that.
If you gear it to trap in 4th, you might want 4.30s in the back.... and then the starter becomes 4.3x3.83=16.47....... which is, IMO, horrible on the street. And 4.30s x.79= 3.40 final drive , so not as useful as one might want.
I would like to see someone put this behind a 4bbl 273 tho. I think it would be soooo much fun with say; 3.55s. Hyup that would make road gears of; 13.60-8.27-5.11-3.55-2.80 or
with 3.23s; 12.37-7.52-4.65-3.23-2.55
I would build the engine up specifically to use that trans.
 
The NV 3500 from a 2 wheel drive Dakota is a much better choice, these 2500's are too light for performance usage, D-100 and small B-100 vans with maybe 318's are the heaviest/highest load usage. There was a reason for the AX-15 followed by the NV3500, the service life was just not adequate in the earlier models. Jeep NV3550 is similar but somewhat different. It had a removable bellhousing. here are the ratios 1994-2004, I had one of these behind a 4.7 magnum with a modified Hurst shifter for an S-10 and somehow never broke it.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th R
GM Silverado 4.02 3.21 1.49 1.00 0.73 3.55
GM S/T, Ram 2500* 3.49 2.16 1.40 1.00 0.73 3.55
Dodge Ram 1500, Dodge Dakota** 4.01 2.32 1.40 1.00 0.73 3.55
* Source unknown and possibly unreliable
** As of 1994, as per Chrysler tech and press materials. May have been different in later years. V6 Dakotas used the AS82 five-speed transmission which had a narrower range. ALL INFO FROM ALL-PAR.
I imagine that second ratio set was for V6 HD 3/4 ton,have seen NV3500 in a 3/4 ton chevrolet. I used to have a huge chiltons Dodge truck service manual that covered all ratios from 1972-1992 models. If those are accurate on that one version, that would make a dandy A body transmission, but it is large and would require significant crossmember modification. Apparently, the AS-82 is not even worth looking for, cannot find anything on it.
 
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Yeah, but providing replacing the trans tunnel for fitment, the NV-3500 is a lot more "340/360 friendly", lol! Talk about having to "feather the throttle" out of the hole in first though, even with the 3.49:1 ratio. Let's say 3.73 gears, 13.02, 8.06, 5.22, 3.73, 2.73. Here is a pic of a transmission fit for a C-body wagon. NV3500
mzyzm0qAzS4EyN3mjgBXEVQ.jpg
 
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Garrett Ellison said:
Yeah, but providing replacing the trans tunnel for fitment, the NV-3500 is a lot more "340/360 friendly", lol! Talk about having to "feather the throttle" out of the hole in first though, even with the 3.49:1 ratio. Let's say 3.73 gears, 13.02, 8.06, 5.22, 3.73, 2.73. Here is a pic of a transmission fit for a C-body wagon. NV3500
View attachment 1715282644
Click to expand...
An early S-10 Chevy Hurst shifter fits but you have to make a 5/8 inch spacer and get some long metric studs, star washers, and ny-lock lock nuts and a little anaerobic gasket maker. I can’t remember the exact size of stud. I broke stock Dakota shifter power shifting on the rev limiter, had to upgrade. 4.7, homemade air intake, K&N filter, home made 3-1/2 inch exhaust large cat converter deleted. Put 70/30 mix of HD synthetic and Lucas oil treatment in the transmission, never hurt the transmission or clutch.
 
Garrett Ellison said:
An early S-10 Chevy Hurst shifter fits but you have to make a 5/8 inch spacer and get some long metric studs, star washers, and ny-lock lock nuts and a little anaerobic gasket maker. I can’t remember the exact size of stud. I broke stock Dakota shifter power shifting on the rev limiter, had to upgrade. 4.7, homemade air intake, K&N filter, home made 3-1/2 inch exhaust large cat converter deleted. Put 70/30 mix of HD synthetic and Lucas oil treatment in the transmission, never hurt the transmission or clutch.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the info for my A535/NP2500. yeah it's the lightduty trans. It was used in the early 2.5 cyl Dakota's . Mine is in a 1946 Dodge dumpbed pickup. Has a 2.5 turbo 4 cyl engine.
I had the gear ratios long ago ...but lost them. Thanks for the information.
 
Update, the close ratio was used in V8 Dakotas, and a two wheel drive was available. Not a bad manual swap for someone willing to make room for it to work.
 
QUOTE
I would like to see someone put this behind a 4bbl 273 tho. I think it would be soooo much fun with say; 3.55s
ENDQUOTE

And I'm pulling all the parts together to do just that. As "lightweight" of a transmission as it is, it shouldn't break if the vehicle is traction limited. A nephew and I are playing with tubing, a Korean vintage Willys body and a pile of parts, go kart style. We're thinking with a completed weight of 1400-1500, lbs, the 535 should be durable enough. If not, we'll replace it... what hot roddin' is all about

upload_2020-9-14_22-38-26.png
 
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