ATTN: Everyone considering an engine swap (super long)

From: DICEMAN469@aol.com
Date: Tue Oct 31 2000 - 09:35:10 EST


This is for anyone that is considering doing a 360 engine swap in their
dakota. I see alot of people are considering this swap and now that I've done
it myself, I believe I have enough insight to give you guys the downlow.
    If you have a 318, it's fairly straightforward. The computer, harness,
tranny, etc are already in place. All you really have to do is change the
engine itself, which should be able to be done in a few days. Personally I
wouldn't do the swap. I believe that the $$ used on this swap can find more
horsepower if you soup up the V8 you already have. But that's just me.
    If you have a V6, you should seriously think before you take on this
project. It is a HUGE undertaking, and I don't recommend it for the light of
heart. Unless you have a truck you've done serious modifications to, or just
can't part with it under any circumstance (as I am) I'd suggest just selling
it and getting a V8 truck. In the end it'll come out cheaper, trust me.
    If you DO decide to do this, you will need alot more than you think you
do. You'll need the engine, tranny, computer and the harness. If you get the
5.9 it won't be out of a dakota, so you'll have to get a Dakota harness. No
other harness will work. If you have an automatic you should be ok with the
current tranny you have, but if you have a 5-spd you'll have to get either an
auto or an NV-3500. The AX-15 WILL NOT WORK with the V8, I found this out the
hard way. The flywheels are different sized and the bellhousing is larger to
accomodate it. Also you will need to either get your driveshaft shortened or
purchase a V8 driveshaft. The difference is 7" between the 2 driveshafts. In
my case I had to modify the wiring harness for some of the sensors. It is
highly recommended you know how to read wiring diagrams and own a service
manual to do this. Hayes won't cut it here. The oil pan will have to be
changed if you get the motor out of anything other than a Dakota. If your
changing from a stick to the auto, you will have to get either a new radiator
with the tranny cooler lines built into the bottom, or a 3rd party tranny
cooler. Most likely your tranny lines will have to be custom fabbed by
yourself, unless you want to pick up the factory hard lines. If you wait till
after everything is installed to put these in, my hat off to you, it's nearly
impossible to do so.
    Please be advised that you will most likely need alot more than just
these items, depending on your situation. If you have to change your oilpan,
you will also have to change the pickup tube, just take that off the V6,
that's the one you need. The oil dipstick is longer on the V8 than the 6, so
don't get rid of it. If you get a rebuilt engine, check out the timing before
you install the motor. Turned out my rebuilt had the cam installed 180
degrees off. Doesn't run too good like that :-) . Be very careful when
installing the motor, I galled the hell out of the master cylinder resevoir
in the process and had a ball trying to stop the resulting leak. The best way
to install if yo take ALL of the front body panels off the truck. Both inner
and outer fenders, and the entire front assembly. This way you can slide it
in much easier, and you'll have an easier time installing the accessories. I
had problems installing the y-pipe and now it hangs down too close to the
ground, so I'll be getting a new custom one made when i can get around to it.
    Take this opportunity to replace EVERYTHING you can afford to. Water
pump, starter, O2 sensor, and PS pump are all easier to replace with the
motor out. Things like the alternator are easy to change and you can wait to
later to switch if you so prefer.
    Thats about as much as I can think of. I hope this all aids in your
decision on swapping motors. It's long as hell, but you guys help me out
alot, and I don't want to see anyone sitting there with useless engineless
Daks in their garage cuz they took on too bog of a project. If you decide to
do the swap anyway, good luck with it and email me with any questions.

-Austin
Vipertruck



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