I posted this a few months ago and i think it's a good time to repost for
those of you who are getting started on your spring projects early. This is
just about everything you need to know about swapping a 360 into your Dak.
Read the ENTIRE thing.
Happy reading.
<<
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're pretty good with wiring and such it is
possible to adapt your V6 wiring harness to the V8. All you have to do is add
one wire for each additional injector. To do this you'll need wire, 2 prongs
for the harness connector to the PCM and 2 connectors for the injectors
themselves. Have an FSM available to follow which pins and where to ground
off the injectors. You may have to modify the block to accomodate the Dakota
motor mounts. Dak mounts are on the center of the block, vans attach to the
front of the block. Use the dak mounts as a template. One hole on each center
mount will be drilled out for you already, so bolt the mounts to the block
and use it as a template to drill the other 2 out. Put tape on the bit to
ensure you do not drill a hole too deep. After that, you'll need to tap the
hole out. This is not as hard to do as it sounds. I had my reservations but I
was able to do both sides in under 15 minutes. 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. In addition, if you have an NV-3500
that you're going to use in this swap, you will have to get your flywheel
balanced for the 360. This is very important. Failure to do this will result
in extreme vibration at speed and probably cause you to sheer off the back
end of your crankshaft. This goes for the torque convertor on an automatic
tranny as well. DC sells kits to balance torque converters for 360's, but I
don't know enough about them to tell you if you can use these on our factory
convertors. But you definitely can't use the the TC's in stock 318 form. Also
you will need to either get your driveshaft shortened or purchase a V8
driveshaft. The difference is 7" between the 2 driveshafts. Make sure you get
the right one..there are different shafts for the regular cab, extended cab
and the long bed. 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 unless you already have the 318, in which case you
can use that one on the 360. 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
make sure you have the correct one. 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. All the sensors you can afford to replace is a good idea as well.
Things like the alternator are easy to change and you can wait to later to
switch if you so prefer.
The most important thing to do is to talk to your Dakota. Tell her you're
doing this for the good of both of you. Tell her you love her constantly.
Remind her of all the Ford and Chevy spankings that will be administered
after the swap is complete. Never curse at her, no matter how much you can't
get everything aligned. And I promise, nothing is more exciting than when you
turn that key and it starts.....and it sounds like a pissed-off R/T.
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 big 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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