Ok so I have a 2000 Dakota SLT 4x4 with the 4.7 in it. I am pretty sure I have a bad cylinder. I have a 5.9 that I tore down and custom built that was originally going to go in a 98 Ram. Now that this happened I want to drop it in my Dakota. My real question is, will it bolt up to my 5spd tranny in there now, or will I need a custom bell housing? Any and all input would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

umm....quite frankly, the (5)45 was not designed for the 5.9, nor was the electrical system that runs it. I'm not even sure what to advise- at the least you'd have to score a 46RE and the 5.9 externally balanced torque convertor, and a 5.9 PCM. I'm sure the shifter setup would change, as would the transmission crossmember, among other things.

 

The PCM is already with the 5.9 as is a built auto tranny. I hate automatics and haven't driven one since i took my drivers test 13 years ago lol. But it was a free tranny that the guy had built and used in a rock crawler. I know it's possible to put a 5.9 in cuz my buddy just bought a 2000 4x4 with the 5.9 I'm just not sure how to go about doing this other than just jumping in lol. Thank you

 

if you already have the motor, trans, torque convertor, and PCM, throw it in there, and see if the gauge cluster, CTM, and PCM all communicate!

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...g-and-rpm.html

www.allpar.com

The 5.9 your buddy has unless it was seriously modified or been rebuilt wrong, is a 46RE transmission. If you have bought a Dakota and it has a 5.9, no matter what the other person may tell you the stock transmission is a 46RE. Magnethead is right you will need to change out the tranny, and with that comes a lot of work and things will need to be changed out. Also if you're a 4x4 it makes it even more complicated.

Now with that being said anything can be done with money. So it is possible, but custom will take on a whole new definition, and you may have a very hard time finding a shop willing to consider doing it. For the money you would spend on this any custom shop will also ask you first "Why don't you just drop a Hemi in?" and it probably would be significantly cheaper to do that too. I've been around some of the forums, your not the first person to consider this but no one has done and everyone else keeps saying the same thing it is not worth the money or is the 5.9 isn't built to handle the transmission. The 545RFE, the 3.7,4.7 and 5.7 engines were all built and designed together. This transmission is was developed in the 90s and today still is considered very complex and smart.

My opinion is don't try it, even if you have thousands to throw away. Is it the conversion feasible, maybe. But it is cheaper to buy a new 4.7 and build it up. Someone else may say something different then I have, but if it were my money I wouldn't do it.

But you say you have all the existing stuff for the 5.9 and its tranny. So by all means throw that in there! That sounds like it will be a good project! Plus I'm a little jealous.

 

only remote thing I can think of for a hiccup, is if the CTM/gauges/PCM all get mad over a VIN mismatch or some stupid thing like that.

 

The CTM/Gauges all run over the CCD bus. Shouldn't be a big concern.

The PCM is. You will need one flashed for the 5.9 and it must be for correct model year. Things changed, big time in '01.

 

he has the PCM, built 5.9, built 46RE, and torque convertor, he says. The only issue I see is that a 98 Ram PCM may or may not behave well with a 2000 dakota CTM/gauge cluster.

 

I'm really one of those 'keep it simple, stupid' guys.

Did you hate the 4.7? I've always heard that it was a step up from the old 5.2/5.9 magnums. Even if it's not, is the older engine that you built worth all the aggravation of trying to get it to work in your Dakota? I think I'd either rebuild the 4.7, or sell all the 5.9 stuff and buy a new (remanufactured) 4.7 and pop it in-- you're talking about a long weekend and a limited amount of money to spend doing this.

I live in one of those smog areas where they hook up the truck to a computer every couple of years. I have to stay with girl what brung me, so to speak, or I get in trouble with the sniffer po-lice.

 

Thank you all for the input. Blacknights, i am one of the lead fabricators at a bike shop and the owner already said if I need to use the shop after hours for any of it to go ahead. Mainly cuz he wants to see it too and told me he might want to offer to buy it lol. 00DakDan and magnethead, the 5.9 came with the PCM yes you are correct, but it came with the engine which came out of an 01 ram 1500, not sure if that helps me more haha.