i have a 1988 dodge dakota 4x4 with a 3.9L motor. i love everything about this truck except for the lack of power when climbing hills . this is a work truck, and when loaded down i climb up hills around 35 mph . i have a 1985
dodge ram with a 318 with plenty of power . was thinking of swapping it into the dakota . the 3.9 is rated at 125 hp and the 318 is rated at 140 hp . Would it be worth the trouble of an engine swap for 15 horsepower? Does the slowness of the dakota maybe have more to do with the gear ratio than motor
size ? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated
thank you
bobby

 

hell if it waz me and i waz doing a swap i would go for a bigger motor like a 5.9 if ur after power and really honestly my sisters 5.9 only gets 2mpg less than me in a 318 so if ur gonna go for power 5.9 is a good bet there are tons of threads on the mechanical side of this forum on engine swaps too welcome to the forum bobby chabby
ps hows the body of ur dakota u got pics?

 

kikazzdakota
thanks for the reply. i agree a 5.9 would be sweet, but i've already got the
318. do you have a stock 318 in your dakota, or did you do an engine swap?
i've read that the 3.9 is a 318 minus 2 cylinders, but man my 3.9 seems like a 4 cylinder compared my ram's 318(1985) . the frame & body are pretty much rustfree and in good shape for a 20+ year old truck . and the 4 wheel drive climbs mountains. i love the compact size and i can fit 4x8 material in the long bed.
have you ever driven a dakota with a carbed 3.9 ? how does it compare to your 318 ?
bobby

 

The older years they didn't make much HP or TQ. But TQ is more of what you would need for a truck. The 5.2 or 5.9 will have more TQ than is still needed. I would say if you have the time, space and money go for it. Why take it out of the Ram? Is it wrecked?

 

the ram isn't wrecked, just been used as a work truck for over 10 years, and is pretty beat up and rusted. the motor has 240000 miles and is still running strong (would rebuild if swapped). i love the smaller size of the dakota &
the ram is 2 wheel drive. guess that's why i'm considering keeping the dakota & swapping the motors instead of getting a newer ram
so you think i'd notice a good bit more torque out of the 318?

 

Oh yea you would notice more TQ. But just like anything you do eventually you will want more. A 5.9/360 swap would be best from the get go. But the 5.2/318 will do just fine.

 

cool deal . i think i might go for the switch . the 3.9 just doesn't cut it in the southwest virginia mountains . thanks for the info . i was puzzled, because i did some research and found the 3.9 was supposed to push 125 hp & the 85 318 140 hp . but when i drive the ram there's a whole lot more than 15 hp worth of power difference

 

Post up pics and info as it goes along.

 

mid 80s 318 pushes out 140HP?!!?!?!?!!?? Where the hell do ya get this from?,
every thing ive read from showed that the 80s LA 318 for the most part put out around 175 HP stock, and i think around 230 ft lb torque (not exactly sure though on the torque), by the way if your rebuilding the engine id say beef it up a little