Hello,

I have a 1995 Dodge Dakota 2WD with the 5.2L. I want to upgrade the cylinder heads and camshaft but I know the regular OBD I computer doesn’t like this so much. What are my options to keep the stock EFI system but tune it for more severe modifications? Are there any good standalone systems people have tried? If so are they hard to install?

Thanks!

 

Wolfstar - saw your post in the Gen2 section and came here.

Easiest solution for a 95 is to swap in a 96 harness and computer. Chuck Litty did it on his truck, which he is in the middle of supercharging - http://www.dakotart.com/forum/showth...w-engine-build

 

I dont have any experience with the mopar systems, but I have GM.....

I do plan to put a 5.9 in my 87 truck and plan on starting out with a edelbrock 7577 intake and a holley 670 carb. (already have) Latter plan to add a holley sniper system if not happy with the carb.

Going with heads, you can get the EQ heads in a LA intake pattern and then use anything made for a LA SBM. IE Edlebrock pro flo 4.
The problem is the thermostat comes up where the factory magnum AC compressor mounts. So if AC is important, you will not be able to use a LA designed intake....

IMO it will be easier to use the edelbrock 7577, designed for the magnum, and the sniper. At any rate, there are a lot of advantages in the self tuning systems.....
Personally, I would not spend the time and money to convert to OBDII chrysler, and then try to get it tuned.

 

Thanks for your response. I saw a thread where a guy converted to OBD2 but it looked like a complete nightmare. He had to pull the main wiring harness, rewire all the circuits of the vehicle and fab up a bunch of custom parts. Before I go down that route Id like to look at all the options. Hopefully something simpler!

 

Is the Holly Sniper system available for magnum engines? I deleted my AC a long time ago. I just have a dorman bypass pulley in its place.

 

The sniper is a 4bbl throttle body design to replace a 4 bbl carb. But the edelbrock 7577 is a 4bbl intake designed to bolt on to a 5.2-5.9 magnum.

If you have no ac, you may want to consider the eq heads for a magnum, but use a LA style intake. Here is a link to the heads. https://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS/JEGS-Eng...95951/10002/-1

Then you could use the edelbrock pro flo 4. https://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/35900/10002/-1

 

Find a 1996 V8 donor, with the same or "superior" options to yours (i.e., if it has power windows but yours doesn't, not a problem. If yours has power and it doesn't, a bit more work.)

Scavage ALL the wiring harnesses out of the donor.

Transplant to your truck.

Note: The clockspring is a different part number and the cruise control uses different values resistance and it's wired differently; you should consider swapping steering columns. But it's doable if you don't use cruise.

Grab the 1995 AND the 1996 FSM from the FAQ here so you can compare connectors; there may be others I haven't caught in a quick glance.

The auto transmission is different (1995 is a 4xRH, 1996 a 4xRE); but even that's not a big problem. A tune and one wiring change, or just tuck the transmission harness up and use the "727 to 518" conversion harness available from places like PATC (disclaimer: Their office is like 2 or 3 miles from my house ...) https://transmissioncenter.net/shop/...iring-diagram/ and get your tuner to tune the auto transmission out.

RwP

 

Theres no "trying" to get it done. You obd2 swap and that's it. You get it tune. Which is the best route over a junk carb or trying to learn how to tune. Facts.

 

THere's no fab. You can get a donor and swap it all over. Its just wiring and a decent amount of it.

 

There are a few options.
The first option is that Mopar Performance (MP) made a performance PCM for Rams and Dakotas.
Next option is to get an OEM or MP PCM for a 5.9 since that will have a wider fuel map than the 5.2. (The Ram pickups and Vans PCM basically are the same pinout and can be used between one and other along with the 5.2 and the 5.9 can run off each other PCM, I know of this first hand)
Next is to get your PCM flashed, it is super rare these days but B&G performance did it at one time, CALL THEM! See link below.
Next is to get a multi-processor-driven signal manipulator, see the magazine article below.
Next is to get a stand alone fuel management system, like Megasquirt, and you can tune it yourself. See link below
Next is to convert from OBD1 to OBD2 as said above very time-consuming.



Here is a copy and paste from the FAQ2 in this section.

Engine Stand Alone Engine Management Systems
http://www.megasquirt.info/
http://www.fuelairspark.com/Products...er/sb/over.asp

Factory Computer Reflashes

There are very little for Dodge OBD1.

The best would be a Mopar performance computer. You can get them at http://www.mopar.com/performance/index.html or http://www.summitracing.com/

Jet chips has a plug in. It has been cheep quality and not worth it for most. http://www.jetchip.com/

You can get http://www.hypertech.com/Products/Po...uning%20Module (No reviews yet)

Here is one that flashes and can give you a handheld unit. http://www.bgperformancepcm.com/#magnum
At once this site had it listed but the site seems to be down now. http://nrar.com/

You can Also get get a multi-processor-driven signal manipulator that goes in-line between your engine and ECU.
http://www.unichip.us/dodge.asp

Petersen's 4Wheel & Off-Road Magazine did an article on it.
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techart...ing/index.html
________________________________________