2000 dakota engine swap

i have a 2000 dakota with a 4.7 and it needs to be replaced. can i swap the

4.7 with a 5.9 without much trouble?

-- Message posted using

formatting link
information at
formatting link

Reply to
rekelley
Loading thread data ...

According to some here, a engine swap is taboo.

Reply to
Roy

Just a guess, but I'd think that the computers were different?

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

the 5.9 will fit under the hood but there will be a few difficulties. pcm and motor mounts will have to change and possibly the transmission. what tranny do you have. a good many parts will interchange between the two. your current radiator, alternator, a/c compressor, etc should swap over.

rather than the 5.9 liter 360 have you considered a 5.2 liter 318 swap? that would actually be easier and give you plenty of power to move a dakota about town. there are tons of dakotas with 318's in the junkyards so tracking down parts would be easier.

try this url

formatting link
they have parts to even help you shoehorn a 440 into a dakota. IMHO the 5.2 would be the most bang for the buck in a dakota. michael

Reply to
nunya

formatting link
More information at
formatting link

Possibly. The 5.9 was a factory option, so you know it will fit. The best way to do a swap like that is to find a donor that you can pull all the parts from. There were very few Dakotas built in 2000 with a 5.9, so finding a donor might be tough. OTOH, there are lots of 5.9 Rams built. The motor mounts might be differant, but the rest of the parts should be pretty much the same.

The transmissions were distinctly differant between the 4.7 and 5.9. The 4.7 had a 5 speed, with 2 second gears and an OD. The 5.9 had a simple 4 speed OD. They probably bolt up without problems, but the ECU's will be differant. You'll probably need the donor trans as well.

Reply to
.boB

Definitely the transmission. He's got a 45RFE, which isn't going to bolt up to an LA block. He'll need a 4xRE (not to mention a 45RFE isn't going to work with a PCM for a 5.2/5.9, either).

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

i was pretty sure of that, but not 100%. i have never owned one of those newfangledy small v-8's. i bet finding a salvaged dakota with a 5.2 for a donor vehicle would be easy enough though.

both of my dakotas have the magnum v-6 and if they ever get tired i am going to just rebuild the stock blocks and just add a some wheaties to them. the combination of fuel mileage and dependability of my two dakotas would be foolish to change too much. when i need extra ponys i just hop into one of my full size trucks. michael

Reply to
nunya

I think the block is different too.

JAM

Reply to
Bill Dukenfield

Now that's funny.

Reply to
Nosey

Reply to
Scootter

No shit? Might be why they're different engines, too, ya think?

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Not like the old 318 and 360. They were the same block.

There will be much trouble trying to sub a 5.9 for a 4.7. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you have nothing better to do with your time.

JAM

Reply to
Bill Dukenfield

have some real fun and cram a viper v10 under the hood.

Reply to
Christopher D. Thompson

Even if it is possible, do you really want to feed that much fuel into it? I had a '02 Dakota 5.9 and it was slightly better than 12MPG. Now I have a '99 Grand Cherokee 4.7L and I like the 4.7 better. Better mileage. More top end power but less low end grunt.

Of course, it will cost a lot more to rebuild the 4.7 when it wears out, which might be why you asked the question to begin with.

If you get a crashed donor truck and have enough time, it can certainly be done, but there has to be better alternatives.

Reply to
The Reverend Natural Light

Ignorant superstition, nothing more.

JAM

Reply to
Bill Dukenfield

i did not post this, dont know why its showing as from me, unless someone is hyjacking my name and nospam fake email.

Reply to
Christopher D. Thompson

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.