I'm about to get some work done on my truck, a 1992 Dodge Dakota, 3.9 V6, 4x4, automatic transmission. I figured before I took it into the shop, I'd get a better idea of what's going on with it.

The transmission is currently having trouble shifting correctly.

Some back story on this: The transmission is almost new. It's a NOS transmission from a 1995 Dakota that I had put in. When the trans shop put it in, they reused my old governor and the shift points were all screwed up. I told them to replace it with a new governor. 2 days later they tell me that they cleaned my old governor instead of replacing it. Needless to say I haven't done business with them since.

So the truck has been shifting weird ever since, but recently it's gotten worse. Fluid levels are where they should be according to the dipstick. It's taking longer to shift from first to second, and from second to third. Once in third it rapidly shifts into fourth, then it works fine. Also when it's in first and second, when I let my foot off the gas it makes this weird growling/sputtering noise as the RPM's wind down. It does not do this in third or fourth.

This is difficult to explain, so I shot a short video as that will explain it a lot better:
https://youtu.be/sIeP_U3iOLw

Some things to note before watching: My gas gauge reads empty because of a bad sending unit. I have a new fuel pump with new sending unit ready to put in.

The truck needs a new muffler and exhaust. I have the replacement muffler, will get that put on as well.

At the end of the video you'll see the battery gauge moving when the turn signal is engaged. I wonder what's drawing so much power to make that gauge move like that.

Possibly the Throttle Valve cable is misadjusted.

there's a rather out of focus video on how to adjust it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nral3oYui_w

Interesting, but I don't think the throttle cable is at fault here.

Sometimes the transmission shifts fairly close to normal, other times it gets up to 4,000 RPM before it will finally jerk into a higher gear. I'll keep that in mind however.

Still wondering about the growling/sputtering, like you can see about 30 seconds into my video, and that weird turn signal issue.

The growling & popping I heard was from the exhaust leak, not sure if that's what you are talking about though.

I wouldn't worry too much about the volt meter bobbing with the turn signal, it could indicate a weak battery or a charging system that's not up to snuff but more likely it's just the gauge being over sensitive to a slight voltage dip, if the turn signals are working normally it's not an issue.

When my 96 Dakota was somewhere around 80-100k miles I had to have some device on/in the transmission replaced. I don't know if they called it a modulator or something else, but it cost me a few hundred dollars. It was causing very odd shifts, maybe some skipping around between gears? Hard to remember, that was a long time/many miles ago! Never had any trouble since. Mine always has had a thing where it will occasionally downshift for a second when it shouldn't, under light acceleration. I'm not complaining, this has been a great truck. I do get some needle bounce with the turn signal, but only sometimes...sitting at idle, in gear with the AC on would likely do it. I wonder if new battery cables might take care of this on mine, as the whole system seems to be getting pretty marginal.

Hi !

I got an '88 with 3.9 and 3 speed auto with OD, I'm pretty sure it's 3 speed.... Do you
really have a 4 speed...? Do you have the OD defeat on the dash...? Anyway, I gotta
check my book, but I think the OD has it's own decision making on the engagement.
OD is the only part helped by the computer If I'm not mistaken....

I also think it's probably the governor unit as you suspect, as the rest of the unit is
NOS.... Battery gauge could be cables, bypass resistor, battery, But I don't think it's
part of any trans related problem.... Does the headlights blink or dim significantly
with the blinker if you do it at night....?

The stumbling at deceleration has been written about quite a bit on these vehicles. Mine
has often got strange behavior related to idle, taking your foot off gas, and strange
returning to idle behavior, especially when in drive and moving. Online forums seem
to tie this to the computer..... And like many, I also got relief removing power from
the computer for a few seconds, then turning it back on. Works great long term after
a power recycling.... Cool you have a rpm dial, I got a big gas gauge in that spot...

Mine is 2WD 120K Miles all original 3.9 V6 Throttle body injection, possibly
original spark plugs too.... Regular 3K oil changes & Filter.... And The trans
oil gets changed every few years..... PS Check your rear end oil's they
have a rubber plug on them....


.

Hi !


a power recycling.... Cool you have a rpm dial, I got a big gas gauge in that spot...


Wouldn't that make your truck a 4 cylinder model then? I've poked through a lot of Dakota's at the pick & pull yard, only ones I've seen without a tachometer were the 4 cylinder ones.

Headlights don't dim while the blinker is on. Battery cables are in excellent shape. (replaced the terminals myself a few years ago)

OD only kicks in at highway speeds, and having it on or off makes no difference in gear shifting for 1st and second Also it only "stumbles" when revving down from 1st and second, especially second. Third gear and higher? No problem.

There are several years between our two vehicles, If you believe what is online, the
3.9 V6 I have was only in the 87, and 88. My speedo also only goes to 85 mph.
My OD will kick in at 40-45 or so like GM cars of those years. It also will hang in too
long on long slow upgrades so I often turn it off as the truck slows down on the hill, it
then drops to 3 and keeps speed very well... I found the build sheet to mine, under
the seats, it's a Heavy Duty option, stiffer springs and brakes, 15" dog dish hub cap
plain jane steel rims, while most have 15" alloy rims. I have the 3.9 that was
supposedly the 318 with 2 cylinders cut off... I remember the commercials for it.
Then came a redesign.... I couldn't believe they made an engine for just one model
and only for one or two years.... But it's not my job...
PS The only ones I have seen with techs are the Sport models that were 4 cyls.....

The stumbling I was having was around 30mph, driving around a corner, slowing for
something, stop sign. It seemed the engine would want to go below idle, and make
the gears lock up and clunk a bunch, then stepping on the gas just a little, it
would clunk again, hesitate and go. Online forums say it could be the idle motor, I
have one, you may not. Some replaced the computer, and a bunch had said a computer
reset did it, so I tried it...... Check your computer codes... You know how on yours...?
It may or may not be the 5 key -on - off trick like mine... It should be, I think it
changed in '95 96.


.

Interesting, but I don't think the throttle cable is at fault here.

Sometimes the transmission shifts fairly close to normal, other times it gets up to 4,000 RPM before it will finally jerk into a higher gear. I'll keep that in mind however.

Still wondering about the growling/sputtering, like you can see about 30 seconds into my video, and that weird turn signal issue.

I had a '91 with a 318 and a 4 speed overdrive transmission. There was a recall on it for inadvertantly going into gear or ????. Long time ago, don't quite remember. The service writer came out and said, I had other problems.
My downshift rod assembly was rusted and prevented the transmission to come out of downshift mode. It was shifting rather harshly. They ended up freeing up the problem for just the labor charge. I'm sure the '92 isn't that much different. :scratch2:

My '87 was a V6, optioned up pretty well but crank windows, no tach. My '96 V6 has the tach. The first year V6 was carbureted and that thing was always causing me trouble. About the time I had it adjusted right, the season would change and throw it off again. Rebuilding it helped a lot, and took care of an odd stumble it had. I considered upgrading it to fuel injection but ended up buying the '96 instead. I still miss the old one.

The "new" V6, the Magnum, is still a lopped-off 318, but it's a lopped off Magnum 318. I think at some point the 4 cylinder switched from being a Mopar design to the old AMC design which was deemed to be better. I've also got a little addendum to the owner's manual warning about it going into gear. I think it must have been one of the last vehicles that you could put into gear without having your foot on the brake, and that might have thrown some people.

I've been thinking of selling mine; it doesn't get used much anymore. How about this deal, open only to VK members: $1500 cash, and I'll pack it full of old radios and TV sets!

I don't drive mine much, and not at all in the winter.... I got no rust on anything important,
but it does have the delux paint that comes off in the wind. So there is surface rust
but no rot anywhere.... Frame is clean. I use it for home improvement projects, coal,
steel getting, trips to the dump, big tv's landscaping around the house. I can't imagine
not having it, so I'll always keep it, it's paid for and no trouble. Dakota's are good
vehicles, reliable, and almost full size. Good offer, but I don't need two HA HA !

If I did think about getting another it would be this one: http://elmira.craigslist.org/cto/5162116498.html

This guy has been trying to get $4K FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL low mile '89 for
more than a year.... Now he's at $3K.....


I got crank windows too...... It don't bother me any.....

.

My '87 was a V6, optioned up pretty well but crank windows, no tach. My '96 V6 has the tach. The first year V6 was carbureted and that thing was always causing me trouble. About the time I had it adjusted right, the season would change and throw it off again. Rebuilding it helped a lot, and took care of an odd stumble it had. I considered upgrading it to fuel injection but ended up buying the '96 instead. I still miss the old one.

The "new" V6, the Magnum, is still a lopped-off 318, but it's a lopped off Magnum 318. I think at some point the 4 cylinder switched from being a Mopar design to the old AMC design which was deemed to be better. I've also got a little addendum to the owner's manual warning about it going into gear. I think it must have been one of the last vehicles that you could put into gear without having your foot on the brake, and that might have thrown some people.

I've been thinking of selling mine; it doesn't get used much anymore. How about this deal, open only to VK members: $1500 cash, and I'll pack it full of old radios and TV sets!

That would be darn tempting if I had a bit more dough, and was not trying to reduce my unnecessary stuff in prep for a possible move.

Hey EM ~ A pickup would be a big help if you needed to move..... I think I hear
it calling your name....... Plus it comes pre loaded with more E-Crap !
Another reason to keep mine.... I got a LOT A E-Crap ! !

.

I've been wanting a pickup or other appropriate console hauler/beast of burden, but if I buy that before I get a job I won't be able to pay the insurance on my Lincoln, or get any for the truck for that matter...Or even buy gas. I love E-crap, but I may have to move in the next 4-12 months....I have more than I had last move, and that was NOT a fun move....Thus I've been dumping my crappiest E-crap, and trying to sell as much of the rest as I can without incurring deep regret...

I had a '91 with a 318 and a 4 speed overdrive transmission. There was a recall on it for inadvertantly going into gear or ????. Long time ago, don't quite remember. The service writer came out and said, I had other problems.
My downshift rod assembly was rusted and prevented the transmission to come out of downshift mode. It was shifting rather harshly. They ended up freeing up the problem for just the labor charge. I'm sure the '92 isn't that much different. :scratch2:


My 92 is certainly different. The transmission is a NOS unit from a 1995 Dakota. The engine is from a 94 or newer... The truck is a bit of a Frankenstein.

Okay, a new development: I now have a working fuel gauge. It's not accurate, I'll get to that in a bit, but it's working.

This may not sound like much, but getting to this point has taken:

4 years
Hundreds of dollars
Hours of frustration
And a mechanic who flat out lied to me.

The sending unit in my fuel tank was bad. About a month ago I tried to have the fuel pump assembly replaced. The mechanic told me that my sending unit was fine and the issue was with my gauge.

So I spent 2 weeks gauge hunting before finally pulling the cable off the fuel pump, locating the wires for the gauge, and using a potentiometer as the sending unit. The gauge responded perfectly.

Today I got conformation that I was lied to, and ripped off when I saw the old fuel pump. The traces on the sending unit were blackened. This is the same sending unit the last mechanic told me he personally looked at and tested.


Sooo now onto my current issue:

The gauge gives an accurate reading when I'm sitting still. When I accellerate, the needle goes up, then plummets to empty when I hit the brakes. I'm wondering what the problem is now.

The gauge gives an accurate reading when I'm sitting still. When I accellerate, the needle goes up, then plummets to empty when I hit the brakes. I'm wondering what the problem is now.

Sounds like it's responding to the fuel sloshing around in the tank, depending on how it's wired this may be normal.

Some vehicles have an "Anti slosh" module, it just delays the response of the gauge so every hill and bump in the road doesn't make the gauge do what yours is doing.

I don't know if a 92 Dakota has an anti slosh module or not so I can't say if it's normal in this case. If it has one it's likely built into the cluster, or the gauge itself.

Ford used a plug in module on some of their vehicles from that era.

Could the module go bad?

I had a 93 Dakota that never had this issue with fuel sloshing around.

Say, would the module happen to be a circuit board with a multi pin connector that plugs into the instrument cluster's board?

Say, would the module happen to be a circuit board with a multi pin connector that plugs into the instrument cluster's board?


Possibly, Ford's was a small module that plugged into a slot in the edge of the cluster.

I can find one easily for a Ford with Google, don't see any for Dodge.

This may be of some help:

http://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-dakota/269286-diy-fuel-pump-or-fuel-gauge-trouble-shooting-no-dial-up-friendly.html

I think I saw that post before... its how I figured out how to attach a potentiometer to test my fuel gauge.

Fuel gauges etc. on american cars are temperature "heat and stay" gauges....
Or "Averaging" Gauges. So they don't show dips and spikes as you move...

My dakota gauge keeps the last reading when you turn it off... That means it has
a small oil reserve inside the gauge itself, and does not allow the gauge to return
to zero with no power... They may even do it some other way on some cars....

Sampling readings are done using a "blinker" like devise on the dash, put your volt
meter across the resistor in the tank and you should see pulses not a constant
voltage.

I don't trust mechanics anymore. I have had too many problems long term that
they are unable to properly diagnose and repair, and it costs hundreds each time
they change a part till they stumble on the right one that may eventually fix the
problem....

Unfortunately, they way to really fix things is to learn how it works, and fix it yourself.
You have to figure out how your system works, and then see if you can test things
to see if the evidence you have collected matches the description of how it works....

.

Unfortunately, they way to really fix things is to learn how it works, and fix it yourself.
You have to figure out how your system works, and then see if you can test things
to see if the evidence you have collected matches the description of how it works....



I have a surprise for you. The only reason I had a mechanic replace the fuel pump is because I couldn't physically lift the bed off my truck and do it myself. But thanks for giving me an excuse to brag about the work I have done on my truck over the last 4 years that I've owned it:


Lets see maybe I'll start with the drivers side fender replacement. As the attached pics show, I got a fender and wheel well from Parts Galore, painted them, and put them on myself.


Then maybe we can move on to my dashboard light mod, where I replaced the burnt out dashboard bulbs with blue LED's, then made diffusers out of a piece of translucent plastic I cut off a tea jug to make the lighting more even across the gauge cluster.

Or the time, back when it had the last transmission, when I lost reverse gear, dropped the pan, changed the fluid and filter, and got reverse back, admittedly to my amazement. Later I had a NOS trans from a 95 Dakota put in.

Or the time my alternator went out, so I checked around and discovered that Chrysler has used that same basic alternator design for every truck and SUV they've made in the last 20+ years, so I went to Parts Galore, pulled a good one off a 2004 Durango, which was rated higher to boot, paid maybe $20 for it, put it in and haven't had a problem since.

Or something more recent, like discovering my floorpan was rusting out, removing the seats and carpeting, washing 20 years of dirt out of that carpeting, cleaning up the rust, then bondoing the holes and coating the area with 2 coats of primer and two coats of paint.


Oh I could go on and on. I have a lot of stories about that truck. The things I've discovered inside it, the near miracles I have achieved to keep it on the road. The repairs I have managed to accomplish by myself with little money. The times where if things gone just a bit differently, the truck would have caught fire...


Wow... typing all that brought back a lot of memories.


Oh and by the way you are completely wrong about how fuel gauges work. Your Dakota's fuel gauge is all electronic. There is no oil reserve in it.

Repairing the exhaust today and I discovered a new issue.

I'm leaking power steering fluid.

I found the source of the leak (see attached). I'm wondering what's going to be involved in fixing it?

Also, now my truck's accelleration has gotten weird. The engine will run rough, like it's not getting enough fuel, and acceleration will bog down... Then it instantly fixes itself and behaves just fine. I hope that new fuel pump isn't the cause...

Hey - good to see you getin into it with the pickup !
I have not had trouble with my gauges so for sure I don't know how they work, just
offering up some ideas.... I had to work on some GM gauges and was told about the
oil damped thing.... I thought it was too much work for the cheap 3 to do, but it did
have the blinker signal on it when I measured it.... I think it was a '76 GMC 6 yard
dump I was working on.... I always kept that in my mind for gas gauges that hold their
value when shut off.... I'll look at my manual on the Dodge one evening....

My rack has a leak on it too, but it's small, I ain't gunna do anything with it....

Good to know about the alternators.... But I bet my '88 has a different mount than yours.

I'm gunna have to put up my picts from floor fixing on the '86 Prelude I did this past
July. I hate welding upside down.....

You got too much love into that truck to give it up !

.

You got too much love into that truck to give it up !



Exactly!

And I think I know where you're coming from on gauges. GM does their gauge setup different, and something from the 70's, yeah that probably would have oil or something in it.

So... I spent today using a hacksaw to cut off a new tailpipe over at Parts galore, then got home and used my Dremel to remove the old pipe. Attached is a picture of the old muffler and tail pipe... where you can see my attempts to quiet it down long enough to get the money and time needed to fix it.

New tailpipe came from a 98 Dakota, so it doesn't perfectly match up but I can work with it. It's the right size for the new muffler which is the most important thing. Putting on the new exhaust tomorrow!

Also, seems like I might just need to replace an O ring or some kind of sealing ring to fix the power steering leak, so I'll probably do that tomorrow as well.

Also went online and found out how to reset the computer, so I'll see if that has any effect on acceleration.

That tail pipe is pretty funny.... I should put up a picture of the one I still have to put back
on the wife's car.... Honda uses 2 bolt flanges on all the exhaust couplings, put SS bolts
on and removal is 4 minutes.... Whenever it gets a leak I take it off and weld little
patches all over it... Looks like we both get the last few cents out of those parts HA HA !

On the Dakota, I use the dremel to carefully cut the outer pipe, on the coupling joint.
When you said dremel, I figured you were doing the same thing.... I put them back
together with a thin film of anti-seize so they don't rust-weld, and thin enough not
to kill the O2 sensor....

I even put engine paint on the pipe after welding it... Helps a little....

This little story goes over two types of gauges used on old cars, It's not
bad, and it's been a while for me, I thought they worked a little different...

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/how_it_works_fuel_gauge.htm

Also, you know a lot of mechanics are not too far off from some of the
individuals here when it comes to fixing things. I have read several
threads here about some circuit not working, and some critical voltage
may be posted, and it's wrong, but the person doing the work has it
in his head that he wants to change some transformer, and gets it
puts it in, and it don't fix anything. If something is not working, most
of the parts are suspect until they are eliminated. Some people eliminate
the parts as suspect by replacing them each until the bad part is eventually
replaced because it's part of that system of parts. A lot of auto mechanics
are like that, especially when it comes to electrical stuff... I have seen it
many times before..... But the pain in learning how some of the parts work,
and understanding what the system may do if missing this little part, is what
a lot of people miss. Not that it's always their fault, it's not often easy to
be a good troubleshooter.... There are a few really good people here, and with
lots of experience.... I'm not sure what goes on with some mechanics, or
appliance repair people..... Not sure if it's money, knowledge, lack of, or
what.... Anyway, I love reading about the stuff you got going on with the
little Dodge that can do a lot !

.

I've heard that on PS leaks, that if it's the O-rings, adding a little brake fluid will stop the leak.

I've heard that on PS leaks, that if it's the O-rings, adding a little brake fluid will stop the leak.

Might work, might not. Part's easy enough to get to, might as well fix it properly. Have the time and money now.

Last couple days have been a lot of labor for little result.

Had the exhaust all nice and buttoned up, sounded nice and quiet...

Then the weld at the end of the Y pipe broke.

The pipe from the Y pipe to the muffler was pretty rusty, so I measured it and walked to the closest exhaust shop to buy the length I needed and had them flare the end to fit over the Y pipe (was a clean break, Y pipe wasn't damaged)

Then I realized I needed to put in a slight bend to line it up with the muffler.
Then I had to find a way to bend it.
Then I had to walk a block to a nearby renovation dumpster and use that to gain enough leverage to bend the pipe.

Then had to walk back there because the bend wasn't enough.
Then had to walk back there AGAIN because the bend still wasn't enough!

Then I had to wrestle with it for hours because it didn't want to line up with the muffler or Y pipe.
Then it didn't want to go into the muffler.

Then the tailpipe didn't want to line up. So I went back to the dumpster to bend it.
Then it still didn't want to clear the shocks. Had to bend it some more.
Then I messed up the end that goes into the muffler.
Then I had to use a hammer to bang the end into a shape that would go inside the muffler.

Fought with it for 12 hours with the damn exhaust system kicking and screaming and fighting me every step of the way before I finally got it lined up enough to function! Leaks slightly at the Y pipe end. Only way I could secure it was with a band clamp, and even that wasn't easy what with the transmission and frame giving me almost zero room to turn a wrench!

All that was yesterday.

Today I decided to track down that power steering issue. Vise grips and a large crescent wrench would not remove the lines from the rack and pinion. Finally broke down and got a proper sized wrench for those lines.

Then they came off easily. Go figure.

The connectors and O rings look perfectly fine. Cleaned them up anyway and put it all back together. a short drive didn't reveal any more leaking so hoping and praying that I've fixed that headache!

Oh, and did I mention that for September in Michigan, it was insanely hot and humid today? I sweated off about 5 pounds working in the heat, then drank a quart of water and ate 3/4ths of a pizza.

Well guys I got a new mystery. My passenger's side rear brake drum is leaking some kind of fluid.

The mystery is it's not brake fluid.

The fluid smells like gear oil, my brake fluid reservoir is full, and the brake line and cylinder are dry.

rear end fluid from the shaft seal..... There is one at each drive wheel, and the
pinion seal where the propeller shaft goes in....

You got a wheel shaft seal leak.... You'll have to change the shoes as well....

.

There's also a very good chance the axle shaft will be shot where it rides on the bearing.

Okay... how much of a pain is this going to be to fix? Alternately how much time can I give it before taking it to the mechanic?

Well, From what I have seen from the parts people, the bearing is a press on, so it should
not ride directly on the shaft, so most likely you do NOT have a damaged shaft.

You will have to check for sure about this... I am seeing that it has a GM style "C"
retainer inside the pumpkin, so you may have to open it up and remove the retainer
clip to remove the shaft. If it's that style, I would imagine you will have to press off
the bearing, then change the seal, and repress the bearing, or just get a new one, it
would be worth it to do that if you got it out....

Again, I didn't find credible forums about this replacement specifically, so you should
either get or look at your manual, or keep looking online for the best information....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYCCyzE6DI

Here's a video of someone taking axle out of a dodge, NOT the same vehicle
but if you have a removable cover on the pumpkin, then you may have the
type with the C clips, and here's how it's done.... It's not bad, it would
be nice if it were like the really big trucks, you just unbolt the axle from
the outside...... Nothin's easy.... I feel for ya-

.

That video likely doesn't apply. Chrysler redesigned the Dakota for the 97 model year, and in any case the RAM is a different beast all together.

If I gotta have a new bearing pressed on then it's got to go to the mechanic. I assume the gear oil is coming from the rear differential, so my plan is to keep that topped off and wait until i can afford another trip to the mechanic.

And funny thing is either I've missed it or my haynes manual says nothing about the rear axle.

I thought we were talking '92 for some reason, sorry. Yes the video is of a ram,
but if you have the "c" clip type rear end, it will be something like that to get the
axle out, as opposed to 4 bolts and pull it out from where the brake plate is.....

Well, you gotta figure out how the axle comes out, that is the key to $. Some come
out fast and easy, and the seal is easy to replace and tap in with a hammer and wood,
vs all kindsa work that may be better done at a mechanic if you don't have the
equipment to do it all....

.

If it has the C clip holding the axle in then it most likely has the axle that rides directly on the bearing, the pressed on bearing were usually held in by the four bolts that hold the backing plate on.

I recently inspected the rear differential on a Dakota for a friend of mine and it was the loose bearing type, I think it was a 93 model.

Eric is right, I just got done looking at the manual for my '88, if yours is the same
it has the C clips, and the bearings ride on the shaft, So you will have a good bit
of work to do to replace the seals. Some forums lump 92's with first gen, up to 97,
so yours is most likely same as mine.... Must be the bigger models that have the
4 bolt thing... I think my fords had the 4 bolt thing.....

I think I'll get my coal delivered this year.....

.

You may be right.

Then again around the 1990-1991 model year they changed the design a bit. Your 88 I'm pretty sure has 5 lugs on the wheels. Mine has 6. If they changed the lug pattern like that, what are the odds they changed the axle setup too?

In any case I don't think I can tackle this one. This is one for the mechanic...

Yes I have 5, I read in a few spots about 6 on later years and I thought it was a
mistake, after all these are smaller than the rams, why 6....?

Well, good luck however you handle it, and as always we, and I am very interested
in hearing how its going with your Dakota !

Have a great day !

.

Thanks.

Yeah, 6 lugs on 1990 and later models and I think it stayed that way until 2000 when they went back to 5.

Changing the Axle seals and bearings isn't all that difficult but it requires some special tools like a slide hammer and adapter for knocking the bearings out.

I found this post on changing the bearings, it's for a Ford but they are basically identical.
One quibble, he says his axle looks fine but it doesn't look good to me, the bearing surface looks pretty bad to me.

http://www.f150online.com/forums/articles-how-s/371600-how-replace-rear-axle-seals-bearings-your-04-f150-lots-pics.html

That surface actually looks very good ! I would not change that shaft....
And I think I would have left the bearings if they were not making noise.
It's not an easy call on stuff that takes a lot of work to get to. It's the same reason
when doing timing belts on honda's they always say do all the oil seals
and water pump - because your "in there". I left one water pump in my
wife's honda for 200K and it started leaking out the weep hole by the time
The next T-belt was due. So now I do it on the 100's with the belt.

That guy with all the tools laid out on the bench, I don't have 1/3 of those
fancy tools when I do a job like that, so don't be intimidated. That bearing
puller for example, I have made soooo many tools from threaded rods from
the hardware store.... Pullers of all kinds can be made from stuff at the hardware
store..... I have made lots of tools for those jobs as well. I got lots of steel, and a
welder, so there is no tool you can't make at that point.

.

Oh if I had a welder...