Ok im new on here but i have searched and searched and searched and no one seems to be able to have a straight forward real answer to my question... I have a 2000 dakota sport 2wd 3.9 5spd reg cab SB. Im in the process of gathering parts for a 5.9 swap... however apparently they never made a 2000 r/t manual so my question is what do i need for an ecu??? Ive heard these possibilities which is the best and most realistic or possible?

1) 00' dak 5.9 ecu with the auto trans flashed off of it by tuner?
2) 00' ram 5.9 manual trans ecu?
3) 00' dak 5.2 ecu (manual available in that year/motor?) then tune for 5.9?
4) 00' ram 5.2 manual ecu? retuned for 5.9?

Can you use a ram ecu in a dakota...period? i dont wanna to do any wire hacking and i dont want any CELs what is my best route to go? I work at a dodge dealership so i have access to all the tools and resources but as you know this isnt regular mainstream mechanical knowledge with this kinda frankensteining...lol If you dont know what your talking about dont post on here...REAL ANSWERS ONLY!!!...no "i think so"..answers please!!

 

where you getting the motor from if you have a donor ram with a manual just take the electronics from it and swap it over

 

the 5.9 motor is out of a 01 ram and i dont have the truck just the engine and harness... so your saying that the 00' ram 5.9 manual trans ecu will work in the dakota without any issues? and what would be a better route to use the ram harness or to use the v6 dakota harness and add the wires for the extra injectors? obv the ram harness on the motor works with the engine fine but will i run into issues if i use that harness in the dakota as far as connectors possibly not being where they need to be to reach the intended components due to the ram engine bay bein bigger and stuff layed out a lil differently?

 

does anyone know?

 

It will run the motor, but you will not have any dash gauges at all. Something to do with the wiring resistance is different between the trucks. I did run a ram ecu in my dakota for several weeks while I waited on an R/T ecu. Mine is an '01, and my ecu needs to be "year specific". I think, and I emphasize "think" any '97 to 2000 ecu will work for you. I would venture that you can get a 5.2 manual ecu and reflash it for 5.9 specs. That is just speculation on my part, but it seems that it would work. Bottom line: Yes the ram ecu will run the motor. Good luck.

 

If you use a 5.9L computer with an auto trans setup you should throw codes, but it also will run the motor.

As far as the harness, if you have it I would use it, but it is your choice ultimately. Take a few measurements and see how it matches up to the harness in there now.

A good group to ask might be the guys at airram. I know they specialize in the 4.7L engine, but they also sell SCT tuners. They may be able to let you know what they can do in terms of flashing the computer for you. If the truck does not have a separate transmission controller and everything is run from the main computer, i would bet there is a chance they can control or change it for you.

 

i know most of the dakotas are year specific with the ecu's after 2000. So 97-2000 the ecu can be swapped 2001 and up are year specific for the fact of the OBD II. So the ram ECU should work for you and just for extra measure I would get the harness from the Ram rather than trying to wire in the 2 extra injectors if there is extra length in the ram harness i would say use the extra length to reroute the wiring to hide and keep the engine bay looking clean, I know my RT's engine bay is a wiring nightmare that im working on rerouting to clean it up.

 

ok so ill use the 01 ram harness...its conveniently already on the motor ... and i can use any 97-00 ram 5.9 ECUs that are interchangable in my dakota as long as its from a manual truck? also are the trans sensors connections part of the engine harness or is that a seperate harness/module that i can just leave the connectors disconnected since the truck i got the motor from was auto... or would i be better off finding a manual ram harness from a 2000 5.9 and a 2000 5.9 ram manual ecu just to keep things simple

 

95_318SLT did a good write up on a manual swap in the first gen forum, should be in the FAQ, check that out, should have a lot of info that is applicable to your swap as well since the engines and trans really haven't changed all that much, with the exception of electronic control vs. hydraulic.

 

^ well i know what parts i need and have everything else i need for the swap its the ecu/harness part that i have questions on so i need year specific info with that stuff...

so?.... so far as i can tell i need to use :

1)97-00' ram manual 5.9 ecu
2)01' ram 5.9 motor w/ external balanced flywheel and r/t oil pan [have]
3)00' ram 5.9 manual harness or 01' harness [have, on motor]

will this combo work without having CELs and all gauges will work fine?