Hey folks,

The stater on my /6 duster is pretty much pooched so I went to the wreckers to find a replacement. The yard owner sold me a Dakota starter (3.9 I believe). I have heard this swap works also. Is this pretty much a direct swap or do I need any special parts to mate this to my old school iron?

Yup, it'll fit and work fine. These Nippondenso mini starters are better than the Chrysler units in every possible way: Lighter, stronger, faster, draw less current, longer-lived. They just don't sound original, is their only problem.

You can use a starter from any '89-'01 RWD Mopar 3.9, 5.2, or 5.9 engine. That mostly means Dodge trucks (Dakota + Ram) and full-size vans. The '01 stop year is because later starters do not have an enclosed nose cone that fits in the round recess in the bellhousing. Using an open-top (no nose cone) starter on an earlier application causes misalignment and early starter death.

Be sure and get a genuine starter with a Chrysler, Denso, or Nippondenso nameplate on it. The Chinese copycats flooding the market (advertised at parts stores as "100% new!") are junk.

Sometimes the original hookup locations are inconvenient. There are multiple different connectors available, though, to solve that issue. See here here for connection options.

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Thanks for the help Dan!

I hooked those 3 up and everything worked fine Dan...thanks again!