Thought I'd post a step by step since this question of it being a direct swap always comes up
99 Durango 4wd v8 non snowplow gearbox
First off I had my grill off to do engine work do it made it super easy to reach the gearbox,it can be done with grill on
The old box
Remanufactured box
Looks nearly identical...... But not.we will cover that shortly
Remove the steering shaft bolt completely
13mm and you may have to turn the wheel slightly to make the bolt eaiser to reach,don't worry about realignment because the shafts/pitman arm only go on one position
Remove steering shaft coupling by shaking/tapping and pushing towards cab
Remove the two fluid lines with a 18mm wrench,last time I done this from the bottom it was easier to pull the lines off after the box was unbolted.no need to worry about mixing the lines up as there bent to only fit in one place
Place a bucket underneath to catch your oil
Place the lines high or let them drain
Remove the pitman arm but and lock washer.i used a 24" crescent wrench but I think it's 36mm
Now my arm wasn't tight,I just removed it with a heavy duty puller/heat and lots of beating a year ago.
It's said that some are stuck so tight people just buy a new pitman arm.
If your grill is off you have room to fit a large punch and tap down on the arm
Here's the punch method with 3/4" round bar and can be accessed by removing the plastic swaybar cover
Here's my proto puller/2 jaw
Arm off still connected to the draglink
Old box everything off
Remove the three mounting bolts with a 15mm
These like the pitman arm nut are tight,catch the box it weights about 29lbs
Now if your using the stock bumper the box won't direct fit as claimed
I grinded the stock bumper,notched out for the box to fit and painted
Until the notch is grinded the bolts won't line up
99 Durango 4wd v8 non snowplow gearbox
First off I had my grill off to do engine work do it made it super easy to reach the gearbox,it can be done with grill on
The old box
Remanufactured box
Looks nearly identical...... But not.we will cover that shortly
Remove the steering shaft bolt completely
13mm and you may have to turn the wheel slightly to make the bolt eaiser to reach,don't worry about realignment because the shafts/pitman arm only go on one position
Remove steering shaft coupling by shaking/tapping and pushing towards cab
Remove the two fluid lines with a 18mm wrench,last time I done this from the bottom it was easier to pull the lines off after the box was unbolted.no need to worry about mixing the lines up as there bent to only fit in one place
Place a bucket underneath to catch your oil
Place the lines high or let them drain
Remove the pitman arm but and lock washer.i used a 24" crescent wrench but I think it's 36mm
Now my arm wasn't tight,I just removed it with a heavy duty puller/heat and lots of beating a year ago.
It's said that some are stuck so tight people just buy a new pitman arm.
If your grill is off you have room to fit a large punch and tap down on the arm
Here's the punch method with 3/4" round bar and can be accessed by removing the plastic swaybar cover
Here's my proto puller/2 jaw
Arm off still connected to the draglink
Old box everything off
Remove the three mounting bolts with a 15mm
These like the pitman arm nut are tight,catch the box it weights about 29lbs
Now if your using the stock bumper the box won't direct fit as claimed
I grinded the stock bumper,notched out for the box to fit and painted
Until the notch is grinded the bolts won't line up