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06:38:24 - 04/18/2024
V6 Dakotas
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eagledak
Dodge Dakota
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8/15/2005
05:27:46
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 Subject: problems during engine swap
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Hello, havent been on here for months. I have given up trying to find a used transmission for my '89 v6 dakota. I have gone through 5 transmissions (1 was the orginal, 1 we screwed up the pump, and 3 non-working). Me and my father can replace an a-500 transmission in our sleep now. My old name on here was Tony (if any could remember my past frustrations).
Anyways, my best friend had a '93 Ramcharger and he replaced the engine a while back with an '84 318 (the original '93 magnum engine was was blown and the computer was shot). I bought the engine and tranny for $500, and he is helping me do this swap. We have the v6 out of my dakota real quick since it was sitting without a tranny, and we just got the 318 and tranny pulled out of the ramcharger.
I am putting the intake manifold onto this 318 that was from the blown magnum v8 so I can go with a TBI and fuel-injection. Also, we have to put on new rod and main bearings on there since the existing ones look like crap. We are almost done. We're waiting for a harmonic balancer puller to do the mains.
I know that this 318 is about 4-5" longer, but the engine mounts are going to be the biggest problem. The existing mounts on the dak's frame are offset by about 4", and the engine mounts on the '84 318 are not. How much of a problem is this going to be? We may be able to get one of the mounts on one side to work, and an adapter can be made for the other out of an old set of engine mounts, but the firewall may have to be cut a little to make way for about 1-inch of the engine. Is this going to be a big problem considering that the heater core is in there, too? I am too cheap right now for those fancy engine mount conversion kits for v6 to v8 swaps. I may be able to get some mount adapter fabricated for me, but thats a big maybe. Also, aftermarket electric cooling fans are out of question ($$), although I may find some from a junkyard, but do those flex fans work good? Which are the best?
The ramcharger was a 4x4, so the auto tranny (that works) has a bulky transfer case. Will I have to cut into the floor for it to fit? Will I have to modify the crossmember to support this? I know I will have to get my driveshaft shortened or extended. I dont know by how much. What does it cost, on average, to get the driveshaft changed in length? Also, I have the stock dakota fuel pump, a v8 TBI (with v8 fuel regulator), and a brand-new distributer for the OBDI computers. Will my v6 computer (OBDI pre-mag) work for the time being? Should I get a v8 one instead?
Is there something else I need to know about now to make this swap happen? The oil pan isnt a problem, and I got an awesome deal on a pair of headers so nothing should clash ...right?
Finally, with this '84 318, stock TBI, open-element air filter, headers, and straight-pipes going to two purple-hornies (glasspacks), and sitting in a lighter dakota, how much HP should I be looking at?
I am confident that this swap will work well, but I wanted to make sure it will work well without a huge problem or excessive work. Any reply with tips, hints, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
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vern
Dodge Dakota
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8/15/2005
06:07:36
|  RE: problems during engine swap
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i,m a little confused.
your putting a 84 318 motor a 93 trans and transfer from a 4x4 and the intake from a mag motor
first,the mag intake won,t work with your tbi system in your premag system,you,ll need a mag v8 pcm and do some wiring or change to a premag intake[88-91]and a premag v8 pcm
is your truck a 4x4? if not why would you use the transfer?is the trans a o/d and is it a500 or a518?
if your truck is a 4x4 then you,ll need a oil pan for a 318 dak and you,ll have to fab motor mounts[no one makes them for a 4x4]
your firewall will be fine,no cutting here
these are a few things you,ll need to address just to install,along with driveshaft and fan
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eagledak
Dodge Dakota
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8/15/2005
17:46:44
| RE: problems during engine swap
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Sorry about the confusion. Actually, it is a pre-mag intake. I dont think that the intake was from the 93 motor at all. I will have to ask him where he got the intake from. He said it came off of the motor (unless his original was older -a '91). It sat for a while so we sandblasted and painted it.
The engine is an '84 (and the intake will work, dont worry about that), and the transmission and transfer case is from the '93. My dakota is 2WD, so it would be too much work to convert it to 4WD. I am keeping the transfer case because I dont have a was to join the driveshaft to the transmission without that transfer case. If I could, I would have to fabricate a plate to keep the tranny fluids from leaking. I am using the transfer case just for ease of installation for now.
The tranny should be for an a518 w/ O/D since it came from a Ramcharger (they come factory with 318's and 360's).
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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8/15/2005
20:38:10
| RE: problems during engine swap
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Anyone else reading this feeling dizzy? That's a lot of info.
On the HP front....not much. The '84 will respond to the better breathing, but you're still limited by the tiny cam. It was made in the heart of the lowest point for V8 engines, and is totally smothered in smog-era crap. It wasn't til '85 that the 318 began getting the fast-burn heart-shaped chambers and roller cams (later in trucks). At best, you're only gonna get maybe 190HP, and that's at the crank, not the rear. Hauling that transfer case around isn't gonna help anything. Also, a pre-Magnum intake will not bolt onto a Magnum block with Magnum heads....it's not wide enough (and even if it was, the heads would still have to be drilled for the intake to bolt in), so you really do need to nail down the particulars on the engine.
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schmidtmike
Dodge Dakota
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8/15/2005
21:49:14
| RE: problems during engine swap
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Message:
You're just better off swapping in an old LA engine. Like a 66-74 or something earlier than smog. You'll need to buy the mount kit if you want it to go easy at all. Start saving your money and buy a mopar electronic ignition kit, and convert to a carb. You'll need an inline fuel pressure regulator going to the carb. You're going to have to spend some money on this if you want it to work. Also, take the transfer case off, and put a tailshaft on from a 2wd truck tranny if you still have one laying around. And presto, you just took 100 pounds off the truck. It's a nice dream, man, but if you're gonna half ass it and jerry rig things together, then you might as well just hand up the wrench and watch a football game or something.
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schmidtmike
Dodge Dakota
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8/15/2005
21:51:21
| RE: problems during engine swap
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Also, on the engine mount thing, you probably could take the engine mounts off of a 93 Dakota with a mag engine, and put them on yours.
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