Hi guys, I'm a newbie starting off with cars and I'm just wondering if this is possible. I hve a 99 Durango with a 318 5.2L motor and i am planning on buying an 06 Charger with a blown 3.5 in it and plan on swapping over the 318 to the Charger. so my questions are 1)is it smart to rebuilt my 318 to basically have a brand new motor in the Charger 2) will it get better MPG meaning its in a lighter vehicle now 3) how do i make my 318 more fuel efficient so the charger wont be a gas guzzler?

 

A 318 will be a gas guzzler no matter what you do to it. Not even sure that what is basically a truck engine will even fit in a Charger, but I guess with enough time and money, anything is possible.

 

ROFLMAO
Sorry. All that custom work for less power and worse mileage than the V6 that was in it. Make no mistake, this will be ALL custom, 318 was never designed to sit and function there. If you were hell bent on putting a V8 in that Charger then do a hemi swap, that at least was an engine available. You couldn't even bolt the same trans to the 318. If I remember right the 318 was rated at 230hp and the 3.5 at 250hp.

To swap 318 in:
Need trans, custom mounts for trans and engine, custom wiring harness as 318's have a distributor and 3.5 and hemis do not, custom engine tuning to even hope it runs, different trans my require custom driveshaft, also 318 intake manifold has a vertical throttle body, this will not fit with air cleaner under the stock Charger hood.

To swap hemi in:
Electronic pedal, harness and computers, may have same transmission not requiring a swap (still cheaper/easier than the 318)

Replace factory 3.5 (best bet):
Cost of engine and installation.

 

The 318-360 was was used in everything, Only the modern magnums are basically truck engines. They didn't change all that much from the la style. I really don't think this is a wise thing to do. Just rebuild(or get a replacement) for the 3.5. Since it seems you are more concerned about fuel economy rather than performance for an engine swap.

 

They were used in everything up until the late 80's. From then on they were relegated to strictly truck and Grand Cherokee engines.

 

To start off my reply I would say that if you are a newbie to cars then this is the type of swap that you would never do. But, there are tons of 318's available for cheap, and to argue gas mileage, my 81 Mirada CMC with a 318 delivered 25 MPG highway which is the same as a Hemi Charger. If you knew what you are doing you can squeeze 400HP out of a 318 with basic part swaps like heads, cam, intake, carb, and exhaust. The 99 was a Magnum engine, you are already ahead of the LA based 318. For the money, do a Hemi swap. there are so many problems to overcome that unless you have skills and lots and I mean lots of money this is a swap you would only do for the sake of pride in knowing you have a 318 in a modern Charger. I could care less that my Mirada didn't have tons of power but I still have not had a car that sounded as bad *** as that 318 when I slammed the pedal down.