97 Dakota 2WD engine swap

I inherited my dads Dakota a few years back, 2wd, 3.9 V6, auto. Body and interior are beautiful (Florida truck has never seen a Michigan winter) but that V6 is a TURD. Either it has to go or the truck does...

I'm being forced to retire soon (chemo ...) and I'm going to lose my company vehicle (after 22 years) so I need a daily driver. The Dakota would be perfect but again that V6...

So what would be a good, reliable, relatively inexpensive swap. Not looking for a race truck here but I want something that has some guts.

My company vehicle is a Grand Caravan and I love the Pentastar V6, if the Dakota ran like the Caravan I'd be happy but looking all over the net it doesn't seem like the Pentastar swap is easy and hasn't been done much.

I've thought about a 5.7 or an old school small block and I've also looked at a doing a LS swap (Blasphemy I know but I don't care... :^ ) )

Anyone?

Magnumswap.com has some info on swapping the Magnum V-8's in. Got 230,000 on my 3.9. It's been good to me.

I'm in the middle of swapping in a 5.9 into a '00 quad cab that had a 3.9. Bought the truck sans engine and had my Durango already so all I needed was on hand. Mine is a 5 speed though. A 5.2 would be a bolt-in, a 5.9 would require a converter change, IIRC. Dakota/Durango pans are different from Ram truck pans, at least on 4wd versions. And you can use the 3.9 fan shroud by trimming it down.



Tim

i have a 03 dakota with a 3.9 v6,it had a 3.55 rear axle and was kinda doggy,i swapped in a 3.92 rear axle and that woke it right up!!,if you have drum rears and find a disc rear dont sweat it the stuff all swaps right over,i never changed the master cyl!!,tho mine had discs to start with and the replacement had drums

Thanks for the input, my 3.9 just has all kinds of issues, the newest is a coolant leak and I have no idea where it's going. I never see it on the ground and the oil looks perfect, doesn't show any signs of it in the engine... Yet the radiator will be empty in a month even if it hasn't been started, which it hasn't

I'm going to look at a couple of Journeys and Grand Caravans tomorrow.

I've about had it with the truck...

A 5.9 bolts right in with the same motor mounts and even the same trans, if you bolt it in with the a-500 from the v6 it will be very peppy. You need a V8 harness and computer, it is ok if they are from a 318 truck, they work fine.

Check the carpet on the drivers side to see if it's wet. The heater cores in those trucks give up fairly easy. As bad as I hate to say it, an LS is almost a bolt in for a 2WD Dakota. There are several on You Tube. I was gonna put a 5.3 and 4L60E in my wifes 04 quad cab Dakota, and make it emissions legal and everything. The NCDMV inspectors tried to help me get it ok'd, but their big wheels in Raleigh said it would not pass inspection because when the place I go to for inspections plug it in, and DMV sees a GM computer in a Dodge truck.....it will automatically fail even if emissions passes 100%. I just had to suck it up and put a new 4.7 in it so she can go down the road!

Well, that sucks, Jackie.




Discovered yesterday you have to trim a little off the bottom of the pass. side mount bracket when using the 3.9 mounts (then remembered reading that somewhere). Hits the oil pan lip. Would have dropped it in but got a little careless with the cut-off wheel and cut my finger pretty bad. Better half said it could stand some stitches but I just used some super glue like I used to before I retired. Need to go clean up the garage floor since it now looks like a crime scene.

Gotta watch those cut off wheels, they don't care much what they are cutting, they just do the job.
You don't want to bind them up either, I had one wheel explode, it split the safety glasses I was wearing into two pieces, right between my eyes! Fortunately for me, the safety glasses were the only thing damaged, that time. Gene

Dang, Tim! I bet that will be sore for a while. Was it the bracket that bolts to the motor you have to trim? The ones on the 4.7 in Susan's Dakota were aluminum. I think the 5.9 Magnum brackets that were on the motor I plan to put in my beater 88 D100 were aluminum also. I went to the N. GA Swap meet today....scored some 67 Sport Satellite fenders CHEAP! I had to walk away from a pile of 452 big block heads the same guy was selling for $10 a pair! I have too many already.

Yes, it was the steel part that bolts to the block. Had to trim about a 1/4" off the bottom. I had read about it then forgot it until I tried to bolt the bracket on.

Finger was pretty sore until last night. Fortunately I have a high pain tolerance and am a quick healer.

Back at it first thing tomorrow. Really nice day and calling for rain Tues.-Thurs. I have to have the hoist halfway out the door so I need to drop it in tomorrow after I test the heater core as you suggested.



Tim

Amen to that, Gene. Used to ask the younger guys at the dealership who didn't wear safety glasses, especially using a cut-off wheel, if they were wanting to possibly be blinded by the crap coming off the wheel and whatever they were cutting. Some would stop and grab glasses, some would keep going.

Sorry to 'jack your thread, Sledge.



Tim

Make things easy on yourself and swap in a 5.9. Factory v8 computer swap, correct converter/flexplate for v8, along with pinning a couple additional wires for the other two injectors and you are done.

If you need a hand with your truck I live right around the corner in Lawrenceville. Let me know happy to help out.

For my swap, I used the Durango harness & truck PCM that I had put in for the manual trans swap. Engine is in and bolted up. Need to plug in the PCM, install exhaust and radiator then it's ready to fire up. Headed back over tomorrow to work on it. Should finish it this weekend.
Thanks for the offer to help. Funny thing is it's at my SIL's old house in the edge of Lawrenceville, off 124 near Hi Hope Road. Small 2 car garage that is pretty cramped but had enough room on one side to get the truck in. Between my PT job and helping him pack stuff up to sell the house, it's taken a little longer to finish.



Tim

Small world. I am a stones throw away from your SIL's house. Anyways my offer stands. It seems there is about 10% or so of stuff that would be so much easier with an extra set of hands. We should at least grab a beer one night and talk mopar. I don't have any local friends that are into Chrysler stuff.