Hello everyone i have a 96 Dakota Sport 3.9L 4x4, I was wondering what type of upgrades i can do to gain more power out of it. I've put a cold air intake i modified from a dodge ram on, the rear end has been rear geared seems how i dont tow anything, and i put a flowmaster super 44 on. Im looking to get as much of a gain i can with out doing a v8 swap, open to any suggestions (turbos, chips, etc.) Also i was wondering if anyone had upgraded the dash cluster in theirs because the lights in mine had gone out awhile ago and ive traced all the wiring and even tried replacing the cluster itself and ive replaced the dimmer switch along with its wiring harness.

Thank you
Mike

 

You have already done about all you can without going forced induction. Turbo setup with light boost is the next thing. But to do that right and have a decent setup it would cost about what the V8 would if you did the work yourself.

 

can i swap over a 5.2/5.9 with out having to change my wiring harness or tranny??

 

u can put in an msd coil that helps abit and a 318 tb (grab the trottle cable too) i did both made a diff
u can go to a wreaker to get the tb and cable for cheeper than new

 

Yes on the trans, No on the harness unless you run the 2 wires for the extra injectors. The trans will work as long as you rebuild it to handle the extra power.

Speaking of trans do you have a manual or auto?

 

automatic

 

Alright my suggestion is they to get a V8 as a whole unit with trans still attached. The 5.9 is externally balanced and will need it's specific torque converter and flexplate, the 318 is internally balanced and if I recall can use the v6 torque converter but still needs the 8 flexplate.

If you go up to a 46rh trans(V8 trans) you will need a different driveshaft since the 46rh has a longer tailshaft on it.

 

sweet thanks i might do that i can get a engine and tranny from the junkyard by my house for $300

 

Keep in mind most junkyard stuff will need to be atleast freshened up, if not rebuilt.

My advice for a wiring harness is pull the whole thing with whatever engine you get. Then running the extra wires only means plugging them into the pcm and routing them through the wire covering. This also leaves you with spare parts in case you need to replace anything later or what have you.

Seeing as you have a 96 Dak, You have it much easier in your selection, you need anything that is OBDII, pre 95 will need to be switched forward to the new system. But you can pull out of almost any Dak, Ram or Durango, and drop it right in.

As far as exhuast is concerned, if you can get manifolds from a 92-93 your golden, they are larger in diameter and you will want the Y-Pipe that goes with them. Your exhuast flow will thank you.

I think thats about it, good luck and happy hunting!

 

nope I just put a 46 rh in place of a 42 rh in my 93 dakota and used the same original driveshaft. When they went to the OD tranny they actually use teh same tailshaft housing for either automatic unlike the old 3 speed auto tranny days