Azie L. Magnusson wrote:
> Don in Ct writes: >> seeing that the '89 never came with a
> Mag V8... But as of yet, my 318 is as stock as it can possibly
> be <<
>
> How much trouble was it to install the 318Mag in your
> '89?? I have an '89LWB with the 3.9L and it has always
> been a DOG.. Reliable but absolutely gutless.. I happen
> to have a 318Mag out of a '95 that I would love to install
> in there, but I don't have a clue as to how to make the
> multipoint injection work.. Give me some how-tos please..
> Will the A518 Auto also fit and work?? I have a spare of
> that one also.. The old A500 is weak..
> Feel free to contact me off list @ Maggie11@MCHSI.com
>
> Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime
> that damage morale, and undermine the military are
> saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged.
> --President Abraham Lincoln "
>
> Azie
>
Don already covered the major points - and as I'm still in the precess
of working on my 89 Dakota V8 Swap - I'll throw in my 2 cents.
I hate the A-500 automatic transmission. In a stock 3.9L premag truck
its on the edge of workable. The stock trans in my 89 2wd truck didnt
even last to 80K miles with regular fluid changes, before the overdrive
went out. The overdrive units on those are weak. They were added in
place of a tail shaft on a weaker build variation of the old 727
torqueflite. Later model Dak transmissions were beefed up. Don't even
try to use it behind a premag. Its not designed for even the stock power
output.
Donor Options:
Your best bet is to get a donor truck. Through my research I found that
the best case donor would be a 1995 model Dak. Its the last year of the
OBDI trucks so the wiring is a little less difficult to deal with...
OBDII started in 96 - look for the datalink connector under the drivers
side dash if its there its OBDII.
Automatic Transmissions:
For the automatic, you will get a 46RH in a 1995. Its the last year of
the non-electronic controlled transmissions (overdrive and TQ Convt lock
up are still electronic however - - and the 46Rx model is stronger than
the 42RH/E that was found behind newer 318 Daks. Changing the A-500 to
the 46RH will require crossmember replacement. As for your A-518 - I
think that is virtually the same as a 46RH transmission - however don't
quite me on that. I'm not a transmission expert, and Chryslers
transmission versions can be confusing. Especially since they went from
the old naming system to the current one. The older name system
(727,959,A500 etc etc) - was not as good at telling the transmissions
attributes as new system. We know a 42RE/H and a 46RE/H will bolt in
place of eachother, however the 42 is weaker (built for less power) than
the 46.
The A-500 transmission crossmember and mount are different than the 46RH
transmission. You will have to use the 95 crossmember and mount. You
should be able to use a mount from a 96 as well - I'm not positive if 94
and older would work. I was able to find a crossmember at the dealership
for a 95 model! The crossmembers are direct bolt in swaps however,
making this an easy deal. No frame modifications needed.
Engine Compartment:
You will need to use electric fans mounted in the FRONT of the radiator.
The shorter flat nose of the Gen I trucks does not allow space for a
belt driven fan. If you try to install factory AC, you will need to
sandwich the condensor between the radiator and the electric fans.
I did look at the radiator support on Christine, and I saw that I could
probably mount the fans on the inside of the engine compartment, in a
puller configuration, if I used an after market radiator and moved the
radiator forward and under the nose. Its better to have electric fans
in a puller configuration - where they suck air into the engine
compartment, vs a pusher config where they are infront of the radiator
behind the grill, blowing air in. Shelbys had front pusher fans that
seemed to work.. but under hot driving conditions at low speeds - the
pusher fans might cause the truck to run a little warm. DOn Rey hasn't
has any problems that I know of, with his fans in the front... and
neigher have I - however I have had very little up and running time with
my V8 swap because of electronics and fuel system incompatibilities. My
V8 swap was slightly less orthodox and more complicated heh - don't
ask... but lets just say that I did not do what Don did - don swapped
everything over from a donor... I didnt I tried the Monster Garage way.
Drive Train:
Assuming your Dak is a 4x4 - the front drive shafts are all the same
from 87 to 96. You can even get those through NAPA if you need to
repalce a front driveshaft.
Your premag rear drive shaft might not work with the newer transfer
case. The spline counts will determine this as well as length. I did
not run into that problem, because my 89 4x4 Transfercase bolted up to
the back of the 95' 46RH transmission (which I got as a Chrysler reman
through the dealer for a fair price)
Rear drive shafts are compatible among body configurations. That is to
say - a 1989 Dakota 4x4, automatic trans, regular cab, 8 foot bed, rear
drive shaft... should be able to be replaced by a 1995 Dakota 4x4,
automatic, regular cab, 8 foot bed, rear drive shaft - - and so forth -
follow? The rear ujoings "might" be different - but I really do not
think they are. Assuming the rear axles are the same (both should be
8.25 axles) If they are not - a good auto parts counter guy can find
you a ujoint that will work - there are lots of "conversion" joints out
there designed to fit oddball configurations.
Mating the engine to the transmission:
The bell housing bolt patterns are all the same. However be sure you get
a transmission that is for the drive truck you are putting it into. a
4x4 Auto trans and a 2wd auto trans have slightly different bellhousing
castings - due to motor/trans mount points. Mike Maskalans managed to
put a 2wd transmission in his 4x4 Dakota - but in his case it didnt
matter because he has a solid axle swap and that mounting point was no
longer necessary. On a stock 4x4 truck it is, because of the way it
ties in to the axle center section (differential). Its needed for
overall drivetrain support and rigidness.
If you do not stick with like-year parts...you might require a different
flexplate. As chrysler changed shit around, they changed flexplates so
that different model year parts cant be bolted up directly. My 95 46RH
torque converter will not bolt to my stock 89 flexplate. The bolt
patterns on the torque converter mounting tabs are drilled different.
One bolt is off center I think. The crank shaft bolt patterns are all
the same - not the TQ converter side. I have a 99 engine, which my 89
flexplate bolted to - but wouldn't bolt to the 95 Trans.
The instrument clusters are different between premags and magnums. The
premags use a cable driven set up for the speedo - magnums use speed
sensors and wires. When Christine went in the drink in 2003, the
instrument cluster suffered severe corrosion of the printed circuit
board. I replaced it with a Gen II magnum cluster, and the tach stopped
working. I never figured out why - but I assume it has to do with the
two different ECM units. Having a donor truck to swap the power train
control and wire harness over, will solve this problem.
If you have a 4x4 premag Dakota - I would suggest upgrading to V8
torsion bars. The bars are interchangable from 87-96. The V8 bars are
rated for more weight. - The added weight of a V8 on the stock, and
worn, V6 torsion bars, might be more than they can handle. I threw V8
torsion bars in Christine when I bought her, back when she was still a
V6 truck, because she had a plow and I wanted to beef up the front
suspension. (Props to Walt Felix for that mod)
I'm not sure what else I might have missed...
Perhaps Don and I should throw this into the DML FAQ...
-- ------------------------------------------------------------ An ordinary person spends his life avoiding tense situations! Repo man spends his life gettin' IN tense situations!!! ------------------------------------------------------------ TerribleTom - AIM & Yahoo: silvereightynine http://www.myspace.com/silvereightynine http://members.aol.com/silvereightynine ------------------------------------------------------------
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