Hello all I realized yesterday my 3.7 has a god awful knock. I was planning on swapping the engine at some point because it’s old 263k and the previous owners did a poor job on taking care of it, didn’t think I’d have to rush to do it so soon . I’ve only ever done one other engine and it was on a 1994 Chevy k1500 and now that truck is dead in my garage with a bunch of mysterious issues with wiring and not running right. I have no choice but to swap the engine in my Dakota. It’ll be a direct swap with another 3.7 for a 2004 Dakota. Does anyone have any pointers? I’m extremely nervous as I refuse to get rid of the truck and I don’t want to mess up.

 

It's a fun job. Do you have an engine hoist??

Label the wires as you disconnect them. Taking some pics of how things look before you take it apart isn't a bad idea either. If you have a/c, and it still worked.... see if you can just unbolt the compressor, (leaving the lines intact) and set it out of the way somewhere.... Sometimes that works, sometimes it don't. Not sure where the compressor on your is. (on top, or on the bottom.) Having another warm body to help makes a big difference too.