96 motor swap questions...

Posted By: MoPar Jamie

96 motor swap questions... - 10/18/13 04:01 AM

Hey all,

Found a '96 1500 today. Truck isnt in bad shape, extended cab shortbox with a 5 speed (3500 trans). The only bad thing is is the motor knocks. He is willing to throw in a good '94 318 magnum (that I know is good, I owned it for a spell!)

How hard is it to swap motors on a later truck? I looked and it didnt seem too hard but I have never done one. Does the intake have to come off? What about the trans, does it need to be pulled or can it stay in place?

Also how durable is the 3500 trans? All I plan to do is use it like a truck, no hot-rodding. I have a 4500 trans loose as well out of a 92-ish truck. Will that swap in directly?

Hoping to do some trading to get into it with my stuff I dont need.

Posted By: 71yelladustr

Re: 96 motor swap questions... - 10/18/13 04:11 AM

The 94 engine will work in your 96. The intake will need to be changed and the passenger side exhaust manifold. The 94 will have EGR and the 96 will not. The intake wil have to come off to pull the engine anyways, so no big deal. R&Ring the engines is pretty simple just take care not to break the crank sensor mounted to the right rear of the engine. I would suggest removing it from the blown 96 engine before pulling it and re-installing the new engine before putting it back on. The manual trans engine and auto each have specific crank sensors that do not interchange. The 3500 is a good trans but if your wanting to do some heavy towing you may want to upgrade to the 4500.

Posted By: BulletBob

Re: 96 motor swap questions... - 10/18/13 04:45 AM

Quote:

The 94 engine will work in your 96. The intake will need to be changed and the passenger side exhaust manifold. The 94 will have EGR and the 96 will not. The intake wil have to come off to pull the engine anyways, so no big deal. R&Ring the engines is pretty simple just take care not to break the crank sensor mounted to the right rear of the engine. I would suggest removing it from the blown 96 engine before pulling it and re-installing the new engine before putting it back on. The manual trans engine and auto each have specific crank sensors that do not interchange. The 3500 is a good trans but if your wanting to do some heavy towing you may want to upgrade to the 4500.

Done quite a few of these swaps the last few years
Me & a friend have been fixing & flipping CL 94-01 Dodge trucks for the last 5 years or so

Posted By: MoPar Jamie

Re: 96 motor swap questions... - 10/18/13 05:39 AM

He is at 900 which I dont think is bad for the truck and motor. I'm hoping he will bite on my Club and parts truck. Gotta replace the Van even if the little wee six is still going.

Posted By: BulletBob

Re: 96 motor swap questions... - 10/18/13 06:29 AM

We buy (mostly ClubCab & better)2wd's with either motor or trans bad for between $600-900 4wd's for around $800-1200 more if they're below 130k on the speedo

My SS/T w/receipts for $772 for a complete brake job two months prior I bought for $775 with a trans that had to be manually shifted The trans had 11k on a nine month old rebuild

Posted By: 76dodgeboy

Re: 96 motor swap questions... - 10/18/13 12:55 PM

Quote:

He is at 900 which I dont think is bad for the truck and motor. I'm hoping he will bite on my Club and parts truck. Gotta replace the Van even if the little wee six is still going.

The clubcab shortbox

$900s pretty decent. If I had the time theres a reg cab lb I could get for under $1000 4wd they think the timing chain is bad. Tires are worth $400-500 its been beat on but could probably flip for double but no time cash or an empty garage at home. Heck no garage at home at all

Posted By: WO23Coronet

Re: 96 motor swap questions... - 10/19/13 03:09 PM

Xtended can short box with a 5 speed, that's a rare beast, I don't think I've ever seen one, in person or otherwise. If the 4500 is a bolt in then I say go for it, it would be a neat truck. I'm sure you already know this but when you have the intake off, replace the plate on the bottom with the Hughes one